Fox-Wizel Ltd. (TASE: FOX) will open 44 stores in the next six months, with an investment of more than NIS 50 million, sources inform “Globes.”
Market sources believe that the majority of the investment will come from the malls and shopping centers in which the stores will open.
The Sharonim Mall, for instance, will finance the establishment of the Fox stores Fox, Fox Home, and Laline. The Sharonim Mall is owned by the Kuperly and Shalom families, who also own the Hatzi Hinam supermarket chain. Since its launch, the mall has had a hard time getting off the ground, due primarily to difficulties in attracting leading brands. The Sharonim Mall has refused to publicize the amount of financing it is providing for the opening of the Fox stores. Moti Kuperly said, “As soon as you invest, it causes damage to other suppliers, because there are other players who also want in.” Either way, the addition of these shops is likely to contribute positively to the Sharonim Mall’s performance. With regards to the question of how large an investment was made by the malls, Fox Chairman and CEO Harel Wizel declined to specify the amount.
Fox will also expand its presence in another major mall, the Hadar Mall, belonging to Melisron Ltd. (TASE: MLSR). Fox will open a branch of Fox Home (335 square meters), as well as branches of American Eagle (560 square meters) and The Children’s Place (220 square meters) on the third floor of the mall - Fox operates the Israel franchises for both chains. According to Wizel, the expansion of the Hadar Mall will impact the entire industrial area in Talpiyot: “It will be like the third floor of the mall in Petah Tikva. The mall will operate very strongly, mostly at the expense of the industrial area. It won’t change anything in the city. There are tens of thousands of meters of commercial space in the industrial area, and now everything will flow towards the mall.” In addition, Fox will enter the G Mall in Afula, in place of the Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) discount supermarket “Yesh,” which will be closing soon. Fox will open branches of The Children’s Place, American Eagle, Fox, and Fox Home in its place.
17 Children’s Place Locations
Fox will open more branches of The Children’s Place (which will be launched in February, 2014) than any of its other brands. Within a month, Fox will open nine branches of The Children’s Place, and by the end of April there will be 14. The new chain will not be concentrated in the leading malls, and will include new stores in power centers such as Ispro in Modiin, Ramat Yishay and Tiberias. Fox currently holds 17 locations for the new chain, none of which is in an Azrielei Group mall. According to Wizel, in the future, branches will be opened in Azrieli Malls as well. “We are currently in talks with Azrieli Malls, and are closing deals. We have been meeting with [CEO of Azrieli Malls] Arnon Toren daily and we are making very good progress. We are also in talks to open branches of all our brands at the new Azrieli malls that are scheduled to open in Ramla and Rishon Lezion. Only now are the conditions right.”
Fox is also working to broaden the reach of the apparel brand American Eagle, which currently has 23 branches. In the coming weeks, Fox will launch nine new stores for the brand, and will also double the floor space of its store in the Sharon Mall (from 200 to 400 square meters).
The bath and body shop Laline, which has 86 branches today, and Fox, which has 136 branches, will both open 6 new stores.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 11, 2013
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