CALIFORNIA — A $6.25 million joint-bid between Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Kohl’s Corp. and Los Angeles-based Forever 21 Inc. has taken 46 former Mervyns LLC locations. Kohl’s will assume ownership of 31 locations and Forever 21 will assume 15, pending bankruptcy court approval.
“This is a mutually beneficial relationship wherein combining resources provides for the most optimal real estate portfolio selection and highly competitive pricing,” explains Vicki Shamion, vice president of public relations and community relations at Kohl’s.
Kohl’s purchased locations in numerous cities, including Salt Lake City; Henderson, Nev.; and Whittier, San Rafael, Downey, Eureka, Monrovia, Hayward, Redondo Beach, Rancho Cordova and Capitola, Calif. Forever 21’s locations include Glendale and Tucson, Ariz.; Sandy, Utah; Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M.; Laredo and Harlingen, Texas; and Lakewood, Cerritos, Montebello, Victorville and Calexico, Calif.
“Kohl’s assessed the Mervyns’ portfolio and strategically selected locations that would benefit our under-penetrated markets,” says Shamion. “We feel that these locations would be hard to duplicate in a ground-up environment and provide opportunities to more convenient to our customers. Forever 21 did their own analysis. Ultimately, we combined both lists and did a joint bid.”
Kohl’s plans to open approximately 50 new locations in 2009, including the majority of the 31 former Mervyns sites. Additionally, the company is negotiating to acquire four Mervyns location leases from Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty (DDR). The four locations are Northridge Plaza in Northridge, Calif.; College Grove Shopping Center in San Diego; Nellis Crossing in Las Vegas; and Pear Tree Center in Ukiah, Calif. Also for sale by DDR is a former Mervyns location at Grand Canyon Shopping Center in Las Vegas.