Verizon Opens First LEED Certified Wireless Retail Store
Verizon Wireless’s first store to seek LEED certification for commercial interiors recently opened for business in Casper, WY. Gruskin Group, an integrated design firm, worked with Verizon Wireless’s internal corporate design team, as well as Paladino & Co., the team’s sustainability consultant, to design the 3,479 sq. ft. Casper store with the goal of achieving a LEED Gold rating.
“We evaluated every material that went into the prototype with the goal of developing a dynamic retail environment that reduces its impact on the environment,” said Kenneth Gruskin, Principal of Gruskin Group. “Our intent was to demonstrate that ‘green’ stores could be built without significantly increasing the cost of the project, or impacting the customer experience or look and feel of the Verizon Wireless brand.”
“Our new, green store provides plenty of space for both shopping and customer service, in keeping with our commitment to deliver innovative voice and data plans, and the best possible wireless experience,” said Melanie Braidich, Regional President of Verizon Wireless.
Sprint Stores Open Dedicated Sustainability Display Area
All Sprint-owned retail locations are now featuring a dedicated environmentally-responsible section that highlights eco-friendly products and accessories such as the SOLIO Solar Charger and carrying cases made from recycled materials. Sprint also will implement a new sustainable design blueprint for all future Sprint-owned retail stores .
New and refurbished stores will implement sustainable design elements consistent with LEED design standards, and will include energy-efficient lighting, low water usage plumbing fixtures and low VOC paint and carpet. These energy efficiency upgrades are expected to reduce the carbon footprint of each store by 19,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents.
7-Eleven Displays 7-Select Snack Cakes, Donuts & Pastries
To complement its steadily growing line of 7-Select products, 7-Eleven stores are adding 15 packaged bakery items under the company's private-label brand. Snack cakes and pies, mini-donuts and breakfast pastries fill in the snack category for consumers who prefer sweet treats.
Joe Hermes, 7-Eleven Sr. Product Director for bakery and produce, said “Customers who turn to private label are looking for better values and ways to save money.” “But just saving money isn’t enough to keep them as repeat purchasers. Our goal was to match or improve on the taste and quality of the baked goods by the national brands.” Special displays will merchandise the product line.
Giant Eagle Unveils Its Largest Food Store
Inspired by the open-air markets of Europe and the rich, industrial heritage of Pittsburgh, Giant Eagle has unveiled a 150,000 sq. ft. culinary, dining and shopping destination in the new Settlers Ridge lifestyle shopping center in Robinson Township. “The opening of the new Robinson Market District offers all of our best food ideas and discoveries in one place,” said Giant Eagle Sr. Exec. V.P. Laura Karet.
Customers will enjoy a world-class shopping and dining experience with everything from cooking classes and demonstrations to celebrity chef appearances and interactive events. Karet said, “Our people experience food from producers located all over the world, from small farmhouses to large suppliers. They then utilize this knowledge to help satisfy the culinary curiosity of our customers, sharing techniques, recipes and ingredients so customers are inspired to try new things at home.”
Yoshinoya America Installs Ecotek LED Menu Boards
Yoshinoya America, famous for the original Beef Bowl®, has installed energy efficient, high performance Menu Boards with LED illumination in its new store in Los Angeles, CA. The innovative Direct Backlit LED Array menu boards, manufactured by EcoTek Lighting in Lake Forest, CA, deliver extraordinary illumination levels and cutting-edge energy efficiency by incorporating powerful solid-state LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology.
The LED is a solid-state light engine that requires no filaments or glass. LED illuminated menu boards typically provide 55% greater energy efficiency than fluorescent menu boards. EcoTek’s Direct Backlit LED Array technology refers to the process of fully illuminating the graphics from the back using an evenly distributed array of LEDs. This delivers brighter, more evenly distributed illumination of the menu board graphics, while requiring a fraction of the energy required by fluorescent lighting.
First New KFC & Taco Bell Awarded LEED Certification
Yum! Brands’ new KFC-Taco Bell restaurant in Northampton, Massachusetts has been awarded LEED Gold certification. To reduce its carbon footprint, the restaurant uses solar energy to preheat fresh air coming into the building which reduces the use of natural gas. Additionally, the restaurant is using a sophisticated lighting control system that maximizes the use of natural light. LED lights were utilized where feasible both inside the restaurant and on signage. Harvested rainwater is used for irrigation. Many of the materials used to build the green restaurant, contain recycled content. The wood used during construction was sustainably harvested.
Holiday Inn Relaunches Familiar Green Signage
The Holiday Inn brand is currently undergoing a $1 billion global relaunch with more than 3,200 hotels being updated to improve quality at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels around the world. A redesign of the iconic brand logo required new exterior signage for over 3,200 locations. The signage incorporates energy-efficient, long-life GE Tetra LED lighting systems, from Lumination, GE’s LED business.
The new signage will save Holiday Inn an estimated $4.4 million annually over previous neon and fluorescent lighting. This massive signage project involves more than 20 sign manufacturers creating 9,300 signs with high-performance GE Tetra LED lighting inside.
Angela Brav, Chief Operating Officer, North America, InterContinental Hotels Group, said, “We are replacing more than 9,300 signs so the energy savings are significant.”
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Volkswagen Invests $125 Million For New Dealer Storefronts In NYC
Volkswagen Group of America is investing in flagship Audi and Volkswagen dealerships in New York City, as part of its strategic plan to grow business in the U.S. market. The $125 million deal is for the 265,000 sq. ft. building formerly housing Potamkin General Motors.
“As Volkswagen and Audi move forward on our aggressive plan to increase sales in the U.S., there is no better place to demonstrate our commitment than in Manhattan,” said Stefan Jacoby, CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
The new dealerships will showcase Volkswagen and Audi’s new showroom concepts, known respectively as “white frame” and “terminal.”
The dealerships will be part of one of the largest and most prestigious dealers in the area, the Open Road Auto Group.
Lamborghini Debuts Los Angeles Boutique
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. recently opened the newest Automobili Lamborghini Fashion Boutique in Los Angeles, further demonstrating its brand extension strategy towards high-end products consistent with the spirit of luxury sports cars, according to the Company.
Positioned inside the high-end Westfield Topanga shopping center’s luxury wing, the Automobili Lamborghini Boutique will sell items from the Collezione fashion line, comprised of men’s, women's and junior's collections for all four seasons.
These collections include beautifully tailored Italian fashion and fine Italian leather accessories including hats, shoes, briefcases, and more; as well as Lamborghini crested t-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories. The collection is tailored not only to Lamborghini buyers, but to the luxury consumer who values quality, style and elegance.
Winn-Dixie To Offer Affordable Health Insurance In Partnership With Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Florida
Winn-Dixie Stores has partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) to offer its customers Health Cards in all 353 of its Florida Winn-Dixie and Save-Rite locations. The program consists of two options: the $59 Gift of Health Care card and $19 FamilyBlue discount card.
The $59 Gift of Health Care card offers a convenient way to buy affordable health insurance. The $59 is applied accordingly to the plan the customer selects during the activation call. The $19 FamilyBlue discount card provides an entire family with discounts on dental, pharmacy and vision care for three months. The FamilyBlue card can pay for itself in just one visit to a provider. Shoppers will find these cards on a permanent freestanding display unit located in the pharmacy area, and in the cold and flu aisle in stores that do not have a pharmacy.
Progressive Launches Behavior-Based Car Insurance
Progressive is introducing an optional car insurance program that offers lower rates on vehicles that are driven in less risky ways. The behavior-based insurance program, called MyRate, gives drivers a customized rate based on how, how much, and when their car is driven. Drivers who sign up for MyRate receive a device that plugs into a port in their car and measures how, how much and when the car is being driven. Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day can receive a lower premium. Drivers can review their driving data by logging into their policy on progressive.com. They can see how their driving habits are affecting their rate, and, if they choose, make behavioral changes that could lead to savings.
AT&T Opens Its Largest High Tech Store
AT&T has unveiled a redesigned two-story high tech wireless store in New York City’s Times Square. The new 6,000 sq. ft. store is five times bigger, and has an innovative design including AT&T’s first ever “Customer Education Center.”
The first floor has large video screens of today’s most sought after wireless devices and applications. The second floor concourse features information stations; tables with touch screens for a hands-on experience, and a large education center that will provide training for today’s advanced wireless data products and services. Other special features of the store include: Five interactive, bilingual information centers, three Experience tables with large touch screens, and three kiosks with quick and easy self service options for billing and customer support.
PUMA Opens New Retail Concept Store
Global sportlifestyle brand PUMA will debut a unique new retail concept with the opening of its second Chicago store. For the first time in a U.S. based PUMA Store, the new location features product that spans the entire PUMA brand, including sport-performance, sportlifestyle, and sport-fashion. The PUMA Store State Street stocks everything from soccer cleats and performance running sneakers, to high-fashion collaboration projects with Alexander McQueen and Mihara Yasuhiro and PUMA collections such as PUMA Denim. “It was time to open a brand store that spoke to everything that PUMA stands for,” said Jay Piccola, President of PUMA North America.
Best Buy Stores To Offer Fitness Products
Select Best Buy locations have introduced new health and fitness selections with more than 30 feet of technology devices organized by popular activities such as running, walking, swimming, and yoga, as well as fitness equipment in some locations. “We’re constantly looking for the most innovative solutions to address our customer’s lifestyle needs,” said Steve Trier, Sr. Director at Best Buy. “With health and fitness, we’re matching the right combination of gear with experienced BlueShirts and Geek Squad to help them manage and stay motivated by their fitness routines.”
From creating a home gym complete with a TV and surround sound to downloading workout data to the home computer, Best Buy’s health and fitness products connect technology and workouts. Health and fitness shelves at these stores are stocked with heart rate and workout monitoring watches, pedometers, and conditioning accessories; customers can also try out elliptical machines, stationary bikes and treadmills.
Chipotle Plans Major Power Initiative
Chipotle Mexican Grill is partnering with Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy (SRE) to install solar panels on approximately 75 Chipotle restaurants over the next year. In all, Chipotle has committed to panels that will produce 500 kilowatt hours of electricity, making Chipotle the largest direct producer of solar energy in the restaurant industry.
“Our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast food began with our commitment to serving food made with ingredients from more sustainable sources, and that same kind of thinking now influences all areas of our business,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “Today, we’re following a similar path in the way we design and build restaurants, looking for more environmentally friendly building materials and systems that make our restaurants more efficient.” The intent of Chipotle’s solar initiative is to reduce the restaurants' traditional energy consumption during peak hours for energy use (from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), when pressure on the energy grid is greatest.
7-Eleven Launches In-Store TV Network
7-Eleven has contracted with Digital Display Networks to create one of the nation’s largest out-of-home digital networks in more than 6,200 7-Eleven stores throughout North America. 7-Eleven TV is expected to reach an estimated 190 million monthly viewers. Features of the in-store network will include around-the-clock programming with national and local entertainment news and weather, as well as exclusive content fit for convenience shoppers. Other original content will consist of commercials advertising 7-Eleven’s proprietary brands, in-store and out-of-store brands and special 7-Eleven promotions. Network programming will be divided into multiple day-parts to promote specific items at the time when they are most relevant to customers.
Two LCD high-definition TV monitors with directional audio, which reaches only consumers positioned in front of monitors, are being installed in each store. Digital Display Networks (www.ddninc.tv) is providing turn-key services, supervising installation, content production and advertising sales.
Kohl’s Department Stores Becomes First Retailer To Pursue Carbon Neutral Goal
Kohl’s Department Stores recently became the first retailer to announce a commitment to reach net zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as part of its ongoing partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program. To become carbon neutral, Kohl’s will continue to invest in projects to reduce the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions that the company emits into the atmosphere. The goal accounts for U.S. emissions at all Kohls facilities, including stores, distribution centers and corporate offices. “We want to demonstrate it is possible for a large company to operate in a sustainable way,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s Exec. V.P. Store Planning & Logistics.
Metropark Launches In-Store Interactive Twitter
Metropark, a Los Angeles based specialty store that combines the core lifestyle elements of fashion, music and art, has launched a custom interactive Twitter interface. The interface, Metropark REVERB, directly feeds Twitter comments mentioning Metropark into the numerous plasma television screens located in each store as well as across the entire sixty-eight store Metropark network.
“ We have already seen a great deal of feedback from our fashion and tech savvy customers who have readily embraced this new interactive customer experience,” said Metropark CEO, Renee Bell.
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