"We're going to be looking for quite a few locations," she says. Sally Beauty units, which an average 1,600 sf, are currently located mainly in grocery-anchored centers. The company, which reached $2.4 billion in total sales last year, also operates a wholesale concept, which calls for an average of between 2,000 sf and 2,500 sf.

Sally Beauty was one of many retailers to present its expansion plans at the conference. Many of the retailers presenting were regionally-based chains growing throughout New England.

Convenience-store company Tedeschi Food Shops is looking for more sites throughout the region. Currently, the company operates 200 stores under three brand names: Tedeschi, 24 Store and Little Peach.

But the retailer is rebranding and will convert all of its stores into the Tedeschi banner, switching Little Peach by the end of next year and 24 Store by early 2008. Expansion-wise, the company is trying to grow in New England and is especially making a push in Maine and New Hampshire. "There aren't too many more convenience-store retailers in New England, and we need more sites," says Bob McGann, VP of store development at the Rockland, MA-based company.

Expressions, a seller of men's urban apparel, is also looking to grow in the region. The Providence, RI-based chain currently operates 22 units in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and will open four more stores this year in those states. Over the next two years, executives plan to add 10 to 12 more stores. The retailer is looking at 4,000-sf to 6,000-sf sites, mainly in grocery-anchored centers.

Hannaford Brothers, the New England-based grocery chain of Dutch supermarket giant the Delhaize Group, is targeting 10% growth per year in the region. The retailer currently has 151 stores in five states and has opened 14 units so far this year. Hannaford has three formats, 35,000 sf, 47,000 sf and 57,000 sf, and executives are looking at freestanding and strip-center opportunities.