Feb 11, 2012

Fresno Store-Within-a-Store Trend Benefits RetailersBy Bethany CloughFresnoBee.com

Fresno, CA – Don’t be surprised if you find your favorite store in an unexpected place: inside another store.

The store-within-a-store concept is growing in Fresno and nationwide as a way for bigger businesses to nab new customers and smaller shops to grow without paying big bucks for their own stores.

Expect to see more of it: J.C. Penney’s new strategy will bring many more shops into its department stores, starting with a Martha Stewart store. And Target is bringing independent candy stores and pet stores to its more than 1,700 locations.

“Store within a store” is a catchall term that covers a variety of arrangements. Some stores sublease floor space from a bigger retailer. Others aren’t really a second store at all, somebody else’s products displayed as if they’re in a separate shop.

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