Scott Goss

The News Journal

Best Buy says it will close two of its existing Delaware locations this summer to make room for a new store at the Christiana Fashion Center.

The Minnesota-based consumer electronics retailer announced plans Monday to shutter its 48,000-square-foot Stanton store off Kirkwood Highway (Del. 2).

The roughly 75 full- and part-time employees at that store were informed of the plans Sunday night, company spokeswoman Carly Charlson said.

Best Buy announced in April that it would be moving all 120 employees from a store in the Center Point Plaza II shopping center off Churchmans Road (Del. 58) – also in Stanton – to a new Christiana Fashion Center store about 2 miles to the south. Closing the other Stanton location was not revealed to be part of the plan at that time.

“We recently made the decision to combine the two stores into this one larger location,” Charlson said. “So we then decided not to renew or extend our lease at either store.”

Bob Stella, whose company Windsor I LLC owns the Kirkwood Highway property, said he was told of Best Buy's plans months ago. Best Buy, he said, first opened there in 1990, and at one time the location was among the chain's top sellers in terms of volume.

Stella said he's received some interest in the property but "nothing that makes economic sense at this point."

The last day of operation for the two existing Best Buys will be Aug. 14, Charlson said.

The new store in the Christiana Fashion Center is slated to open later that same week.

Best Buy expects to retain about half of the employees at its store off Kirkwood Highway by relocating them to either the Christiana Fashion Center location or another store in the Concord Mall off Concord Pike (U.S. 202) in Brandywine Hundred, Charlson said.

The chain currently operates four locations in Delaware, including a store in Dover. Charlson said no changes are expected at the Kent County location.

Restoration Hardware outlet opens in Christiana

The 46,000-square-foot Best Buy under construction next to DSW Shoes in the Christiana Fashion Center will offer a slew of in-store vendor and product shops that require more space and more employees than the two existing locations now planned for closure.

Best Buy began unveiling its store-within-a-store concept in 2013 in response to sagging revenue, largely blamed on the rise of online shopping.

The new location is slated to include in-store shops for Apple and Microsoft, along with a Samsung Experience Shop for mobile devices.

A Samsung Entertainment Experience, Sony Home Theater and Magnolia Home Theater will hawk TVs and speakers. And a Samsung Open House and a Pacific Kitchen and Home will both be dedicated to household appliances.

“These in-store shops give us a new way to showcase all the products we offer,” Charlson said in April. “And they’re staffed with specialized employees who can really educate our customers about those products.”

The relocation of one Best Buy and closing of another comes at a turbulent time for big-box retailers in New Castle County.

The bankrupt Colorado chain Sports Authority will close its lone Delaware store in the Brandywine Commons shopping center off Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred on Sunday. Company officials have declined to say how many employees will be let go.

Eastern Mountain Sports, another sporting goods retailer seeking bankruptcy protection, closed its Stanton store on May 30, leaving up to a dozen people out of work.

EMS was located in the same Center Point Plaza II shopping center that also soon will be losing its Best Buy after more than a decade. The director of commercial leasing for Capano Management Co., which owns the property, was not immediately available for comment.

Even as those national chains contract or withdraw from New Castle County, the new Christiana Fashion Center has managed to attract new retail options to the area.

Christiana Fashion Center: Jared, Ulta, 2 others coming

The shopping center’s first 200,000 square feet opened last fall with eight new stores, including four that marked their chain’s first foray into Delaware.

The newcomers included Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI; the Container Store; Nordstrom Rack; and Saks Off 5th. Jared the Galleria of Jewelry opened a second Delaware location at the new shopping center, while DSW Shoes moved there from the Christiana Town Center. The state also gained another Ulta Beauty, which also has locations at Dover Town Center in Dover and at Concord Mall off U.S. 202 in Brandywine Hundred.

Christiana Fashion Center owner Allied Retail Properties has since signed leases with buffalo-focused eatery Ted’s Montana Grill, fast-growing burger joint Shake Shack, Mediterranean-inspired Zoes Kitchen and the furniture chain Raymour and Flanigan.

Restoration Hardware also recently opened a new outlet store in DSW Shoes’ former location in the Christiana Town Center off Del. 273, which also is owned by Allied Retail Properties.

Other chains that recently joined the Delaware retail market for the first time have included a Gabe’s in Bear, a Stein Mart in Talleyville and an Xfinity Store in Brandywine Hundred. The Christiana Mall also has opened a host of new stores owned by Delaware newcomers, including the active wear chain Fabletics, cosmetics companies BioXAge and Kiehl's, men’s grooming retailer The Art of Shaving, teen clothier Garage, bean-bag furniture dealer Yogibo and the footwear chain Flip Flop Shops.

Contact business reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.