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Planet Fitness Targets 180 to 190 New Locations This Year
Chase Will Open 160+ New Branches Across More Than 30 States
TJX Plans 146 New Stores This Fiscal Year
Loblaw Cos. Will Open 70 Stores in Canada This Year
Boot Barn Will Grow Toward 1,200 U.S. Stores Long Term
Ikea Expands 2026 U.S. Store Openings From 6 to 10 Locations
2 Mixed-Use Projects Vie for Atlanta NHL Franchise
Arizona Cardinals’ $200M Facility Will Anchor Phoenix Mixed-Use Development
Saglo Promotes Hue Chen to CEO as Jack Glottman Moves to Chair Role
6 Retailers Expanding Store and Branch Counts
Planet Fitness will bulk up its business with as many as 190 new stores this year, while Chase will add more than 160 new branches. Meanwhile, TJX has earmarked more than $2 billion for new stores and other projects, Ikea plots 10 new U.S. stores in fiscal year 2026, Loblaw Cos. will invest 2.4 billion Canadian dollars in 2026 to open 70 stores and renovate 191 others, and Boot Barn aims for a long-term goal of 1,200 total U.S. stores.
Planet Fitness Targets 180 to 190 New Locations This Year
Planet Fitness is beefing up its brick-and-mortar footprint. The chain aims to open 180 to 190 new locations in 2026, on par with the 181 new locations it added last year. On the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CFO Jay Stasz said most of the new gyms will open in the second half of the year. As of Dec. 31, Planet Fitness operated 2,896 locations.
Planet Fitness plans to open as many as 190 locations in 2026. Above is a Temple, Texas, location on Nov. 12, 2024. Photo credit: MelissaMN - stock.adobe.com
To execute its expansion, the chain in some cases is taking over shuttered retail stores. For instance, Planet Fitness opened a gym last year at a former Bed Bath & Beyond in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the Cape Gazette reported. And this year, the chain will occupy a former Petco in Seattle, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Chase Will Open 160+ New Branches Across More Than 30 States
Chase continues to expand its footprint. This year, the bank plans to open more than 160 new branches in over 30 states and renovate nearly 600 branches. Major expansions are on tap in Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. In 2024, Chase unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to open more than 500 branches and renovate 1,700 by 2027. The bank operates more than 5,000 branches in the U.S.
Chase plans more than 160 new branches this year, including a push in Florida, where this St Petersburg location was photographed on Nov. 8, 2025. Photo credit: Khairil - stock.adobe.com
TJX Plans 146 New Stores This Fiscal Year
TJX enters its 2027 fiscal year with grand plans. During the company’s earnings call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on Jan. 31, senior executive vice president and CFO John Klinger said the off-price retail conglomerate plans to open 146 stores in 2027 in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe under the T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Homesense and Sierra banners.
T.J.Maxx — the New Hartford, New York, location is pictured here on Aug. 4, 2025 — plans to open 146 stores globally, remodel 540 and relocate 40 in the next 12 months. Credit for photo above and at top: Mahmoud Suhail - stock.adobe.com
Those additions will push the retailer’s store count as of the end of fiscal year 2027 past 5,300, Klinger said. Also, as part of its $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion capital expenditure program for fiscal year 2027, TJX plans to remodel about 540 stores and relocate about 40.
The retailer recorded fiscal year 2026 sales of $60.3 billion, up 7% from the previous year. It predicts same-store sales will rise 2% to 3% in fiscal year 2027, down from a 5% gain in fiscal year 2026.
Loblaw Cos. Will Open 70 Stores in Canada This Year
Canadian grocery and pharmacy giant Loblaw Cos. is investing 2.4 billion Canadian dollars to open 70 stores and renovate another 191 in 2026. The new stores will comprise 31 low-price grocery stores under the No Frills and Maxi banners and 34 Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix pharmacies and health care clinics. A Loblaw news release didn’t identify banners for the five other new stores. The openings and renovations are part of a five-year initiative to invest 10 billion Canadian dollars in expansion and modernization. Today, Loblaw Cos. operates 2,500 stores across Canada.
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Loblaw Cos. opened its 300th No Frills grocery store in 2024 in Mississauga, Ontario. Photo courtesy of CNW Group/Loblaw
Boot Barn Will Grow Toward 1,200 U.S. Stores Long Term
Western wear and workwear retailer Boot Barn is heading down the trail toward a target of 1,200 stores in the U.S. As of Dec. 27, it operated 514. The retailer expects to have opened 70 stores during fiscal year 2026, which will end on March 27, and it anticipates opening 20 more in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
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Boot Barn aims to operate 1,200 U.S. stores, up from 514 as of Dec. 27. Above is a Pearland, Texas, location on April 12, 2024. Photo credit: JHVEPhoto - stock.adobe.com
Ikea Expands 2026 U.S. Store Openings From 6 to 10 Locations
Home furnishings retailer Ikea is eyeing 10 new U.S. stores in fiscal year 2026 after opening 14 in fiscal year 2025, which ended on Aug. 31. Ikea originally planned to open six U.S. stores this year. The 10 planned are in Chantilly, Virginia; Culver City, California; Fort Collins, Colorado; Gurnee, Illinois; Huntsville, Alabama; Phoenix; Rockwall, University Park and Webster, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A small-format Ikea Plan and Order point location in Turin, Italy’s Lingotto Shopping Center on May 22, 2023 Photo credit: framarzo - stock.adobe.com
It’s unclear how many of the new locations will be small-format stores. In a departure from its traditional big-box format, Ikea opened small-format stores during fiscal year 2025 in Arcadia, California, and San Marcos, Texas.
Pro Sports-Anchored Mixed-Use Projects Take Shape in Georgia and Arizona
Two Atlanta-area mixed-use projects hope to attract an NHL franchise, while a new headquarters and practice facility for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals will occupy 30 acres at a proposed mixed-use development.
2 Mixed-Use Projects Vie for Atlanta NHL Franchise
Two proposed mixed-use projects in adjoining counties near Atlanta are competing to attract an NHL team.
Krause Sports and Entertainment has pitched a $3 billion development near Alpharetta, Georgia, to lure a pro hockey franchise. An 18,500-seat arena would anchor Forsyth County’s 100-acre Gathering at South Forsyth. The development also would include 1.6 million square feet of retail and office, 2,400 residential units and 500 hotel keys. Full buildout is set for 2033. The site was zoned for a regional mall that never was built, and the property remains undeveloped.
The Gathering at South Forsyth will include 1.6 million square feet of retail and office. Rendering courtesy of Nelson Worldwide
As Krause proceeds with its project, investment and management firm Jamestown has teamed up with Machete Group — which builds sports venues and adjacent mixed-use districts — on the transformation of Alpharetta’s 1.4 million-square-foot North Point mall, owned by New York Life, into a proposed 100-acre, sports-anchored, entertainment district. The developers aim to attract an NHL franchise. The district would include retail, office, hospitality and multifamily. A Jamestown spokesperson noted that the pair of county-backed projects are vying for an NHL franchise.
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A proposed transformation of the 1.4 million-square-foot North Point mall into a 100-acre entertainment district would compete for an Atlanta NHL franchise. Photo courtesy of Jamestown
Arizona Cardinals’ $200M Facility Will Anchor Phoenix Mixed-Use Development
In the mold of projects for the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, fellow NFL team the Arizona Cardinals broke ground on a 250,000-square-foot headquarters and practice facility that will be part of a 217-acre mixed-use development in Phoenix. The Cardinals’ over $200 million facility will open in 2028 on 30 acres the team recently bought at auction for $136 million. The broader development’s remaining 187 acres will comprise retail, restaurant, residential and office space, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.
The Arizona Cardinals’ 250,000-square-foot headquarters and practice facility is scheduled to open in 2028. Rendering courtesy of the Arizona Cardinals
Saglo Promotes Hue Chen to CEO as Jack Glottman Moves to Chair Role
Saglo — which owns retail centers in Florida, Georgia and Maryland — is making changes in its C-suite. This week, Jack Glottman transitioned from CEO to chair, and president Hue Chen has added CEO duties. Glottman joined Saglo in 1998, and Chen came aboard in 2012.
By John Egan
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today