Dollar Tree president and CEO Michael Witynski said 85% of the units the retailer opens in 2022 will feature Family Dollar and Dollar Tree under one roof. All items at Dollar Tree cost $1, while Family Dollar features multiple price points. The first such combo store opened in March, and the retailer was operating 105 as of the end of the second quarter. “We can reach 3,000 of these stores in rural markets alone,” Witynski said. “We anticipate 400 new, renovated or relocated combo stores next year.” Combo stores on average deliver 23% more sales than traditional Dollar Trees, he said.

Sneaker brand Hoka opened its first physical stores, in New York City’s Flatiron District and on West Hollywood, California’s Melrose Avenue. The pop-ups are tests for permanent physical spaces, according to the company, which is a unit of Deckers Brands.

Fusion Dolls, a line of multicultural dolls, is growing fast. Widline Pyrame started the brand in 2019, selling online and at pop-up events around Boston. She opened her first kiosk in February, at Brockton, Massachusetts’ Westgate Mall. A second kiosk at the center followed and this fall, Fusion Dolls will open a permanent store at the mall.

Urban Oufitters will open a Free People Movement store at Ross Park Mall, near Pittsburgh, in November. The store is one of six Free People Movement stores that will open this fiscal year. Currently, Free People Movement operates 13 stand-alone stores, nine of which have opened since the beginning of the second quarter. They are profitable and perform above expectations, according to Urban Outfitters president and CEO Richard Hayne. They even outperform some traditional Free People stores in comparable markets, he said. The retailer plans to open another 15 to 20 Free People Movement stores in its 2023 fiscal year.

International franchise Code Ninjas, which teaches computer coding to allow children to build their own video games, has grown to 300 locations five years after launching. It will have opened 20 this year, the latest at Phillips Edison & Co.’s Lumina Commons in Wrighstville Beach, North Carolina.

Leap, a company that helps brands open and operate physical retail locations, is expanding its portfolio. Leap will operate 50 stores by the end of 2021 and 250 by the end of 2022 for brands like Ashley Stewart, Birdies, Faherty, Goodlife, Mack Weldon, Naadam, Public Rec, Something Navy, UpWest and Vincero. Leap sets up clients’ stores and operates them while the brands focus on product. “Stores are core to our strategy for building our brands and driving overall growth, but developing and managing the complex infrastructure required for physical retail isn’t where we want to invest,” said Matt Scanlan, CEO of cashmere apparel brands Naadam and Something Navy. “By leveraging the Leap platform for stores, we can scale more rapidly with more flexibility and less risk.” Leap, which recently raised $15 million in venture capital to expand, operates in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona.

New Black Wall Street Market will open in Stonecrest, Georgia, this fall, after pandemic-related delays. The 125,000-square-foot concept — named after Black Wall Street, where the Tulsa race massacre occurred 100 years ago — will house 100 minority- and women-owned vendors and businesses. Local developer Bill Allen, who also runs a business incubator that provides education and support for minorities, is behind the project.

Peruvian furniture company Sierra Muebles will open its first U.S. store, in mid-2022 at Astor’s mixed-use Merrick Manor in Coral Gables, Florida. It will occupy 4,500 square feet on the ground level.

Creator opened a unit at Kimco Realty’s Westlake S.C. in Daly City, California. The startup features burger-flipping robot technology that customers can control. Customers also can use their smartphones to tailor their burgers with more than two dozen seasoning and sauce options.

Best Buy will test a “virtual store” in one of its distribution centers, according to CEO Corie Barry. “Customers can interact with our experts via chat, audio, video and screen sharing depending on their preference and be able to see live demos, displays and physical products,” she said.

A few chains are opening new stores in enclosed malls. Hot Topic’s pop culture collectibles concept BoxLunch is opening this fall at Barton Creek Square in Austin; Summit Mall outside Akron, Ohio; The Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Spotsylvania Towne Centre in Fredericksburg, Virginia; and others. And women’s apparel chain Windsor is opening at Summit Mall, The Empire Mall and Capital City Mall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Hobby Lobby, known for its 40,000-square-foot freestanding stores, will open within the DestinyUSA mall in Syracuse, New York, this year.

Apparel company The Normal Brand will open its second store, at Nashville’s Fifth + Broadway mixed-use development, this fall. The retailer, founded by two brothers, opened its first store in 2019 in St. Louis.

Wendy’s wants to boost its ghost kitchen operations without investing in permanent new stores. The fast-food operator plans to add 1,200 locations by 2025, of which 700 will be delivery-only ghost kitchens. Reef will run the ghost kitchens as a franchisee. The restaurant chain will set up podlike units in parking lots in urban areas, CEO Todd Penegor said on a second-quarter earnings call.