Retailer Watch · May 2026
The Expansion List: Who Is Actually Opening Stores in 2026 — and What It Means for Owners
The 2024–2025 retail reset has finally produced what owners have been waiting for: a clean, public expansion list. The retailers that survived the shakeout are now publishing aggressive 2026 growth plans — and the categories doing the most growing happen to be the categories that drive traffic, support rent growth, and underwrite center NOI. Here is our read on who is opening, where, and how owners should be thinking about it.
Notable Names Pushing Growth
Urban Outfitters
Reported a record Q1 and plans to open 54 stores this year across its banners. The brand portfolio is one of the few specialty plays that is meaningfully accretive at the center level right now.
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Sales up 10%, five new clubs planned in 2026 including expansion into Texas. Warehouse club tenants drive exceptional traffic and remain among the most coveted anchors for value-oriented centers.
Madewell
Three new stores opening this quarter, including a Sag Harbor location on Long Island. A focused, smaller-footprint specialty story working in resort and lifestyle submarkets.
Ross Stores
Sales up 21%, guidance raised. Off-price continues to dominate junior-anchor leasing across the country, and Ross remains a primary backfill candidate for vacated big boxes.
Lowe’s
10% Q1 sales gain, driven by a strategic focus on the pro customer. Home improvement remains a structurally healthy big-box category despite DIY softness.
Michaels
Adding 600+ new items and opening DIY bars in-store as it works to capture share left behind by Joann and Party City. Format experimentation in the crafts and party-supplies space is creating interesting backfill stories.
The Categories Driving the Bulk of Activity
- Off-price: TJX banners, Ross, Burlington, Five Below — all absorbing junior-anchor space at meaningful pace.
- Value grocers and specialty grocers: ALDI, Lidl, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s leading the category.
- Warehouse clubs: BJ’s, Costco, Sam’s Club selectively expanding.
- QSR & fast-casual: Chipotle, CAVA, Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, Starbucks driving outparcel demand.
- Medtail: Urgent care, dental, dermatology, vision, PT backed by PE rollups.
- Specialty lifestyle: Madewell, Urban Outfitters banners, premium athleisure.
What Owners Should Be Doing With This Information
- Map your existing tenant roster against the expansion list. Where are you missing one of these growth categories? That is your leasing priority for the next 12 months.
- Reposition stale boxes proactively. If you have a soft anchor or a long-term vacancy, the right backfill candidate is on this list. Be aggressive about pursuing them.
- Push lease terms while leverage is yours. The expansion list also confirms that quality tenants are willing to commit. Lock them in long.
Want help mapping the expansion list against your assets?
Schuckman Realty has direct tenant-rep relationships with most of the names on this list. Let’s compare your roster against where they are looking.
Chain Store Age, “Urban Outfitters notches record quarter; to open 54 stores this year”
Chain Store Age, “BJ’s sales climb 10%; to open five new clubs”
Retail Dive, “Madewell plans to open 3 stores, starting this week”