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Technology continues to increase efficiencies and create competitive advantages for investors in the retail industry. Sophisticated investors are using satellites to count cars in parking lots to gain a real-time understanding of traffic attributed to same-store sales growth, an important metric for physical retailers. This technology provides investors with data support of store foot traffic […]

Private owners and shopping center investment groups who continue to seek out value are adding retail opportunities, whether that be a grocery-anchored center that needs cosmetic upgrades in order to boost rents and to re-tenant the small shop space or unanchored strip centers with a vacancy that needs to be completely repositioned. Opportunities such as […]

Retail brands such as Circuit City, Toy R Us, Bon Ton, and Wet Seal are a few retailers that have gone through the bankruptcy process and are now re-emerging in an effort to find themselves and their new identity. Many of these concepts will look to online platforms to re-engage with customers, but in the […]

Click and collect is an investment in both physical and digital, with retailers implementing this technology and consumers increasingly using it. According to a recent ICSC survey, 50% of adults use click and collect with as many as 61% using it as frequently as once per month. The retailers that offer this option are seeing […]

The mall landscape has undergone two significant transactions, which finalized in 2018. Brookfield Properties acquired GGP for $15 billion, and Unibail-Rodamco purchased Westfield for $22 billion.The 80% of U.S. malls that are owned by publicly traded REITs with the top 4 malls owners in the US, measured by the total value of their owned or […]

Renting rather than buying is the last trend in the world of retail, and I do not see this changing. The customer in today’s world is interested in having access to the newest selections, and retailers are stepping up to provide customers with this emerging demand. For instance, Rent the Runway is a women’s online […]

Abercrombie and Fitch, a long-standing brand very familiar with millennials mainly through their middle school and high school days, is undergoing change with efforts to evolve to the standards of retail today. How many of you remember going to an A&F store with dark lighting in a large store footprint? The brand has announced plans […]

Brick and Mortar is strong, and retail has transformed and will continue to transform for the foreseeable future. The retailers that incorporate omnichannel into their business model will survive, and the ones that don’t will become extinct. 90% of total retail sales are still completed in stores. Over the last 10 years, overall online retail […]

Shopping centers and health care users are a natural fit; both the health care and shopping center industries continues to evolve, and common ground is being found between the two industries more than ever before. Past obstacles such as parking concerns and exclusivity agreements for health care tenants are being approached by landlords with a […]

With spas continuing to grow at a roaring pace, consumers value health and wellness now more than ever before. This growth has been mainly fueled by a strong economy with individuals having more disposable income. In addition, consumers are placing more value on health and wellness and taking more responsibility for their body and mind. […]

Retail is constantly evolving and changing. In order to compete in today’s environment, retailers must be incorporating omnichannel into their strategy. The dinosaurs that are reluctant to invest the time and resources to morph their retail practice into the standards of today for future growth and sustainability will be left in the dust. Many retailers […]

Tenants defined as “small shop” tenants are performing well, and landlords are participating in their success. Small shop tenants are defined as retail tenants leasing less than 10,000 square feet. The growth of small shop tenants has universally increased across the portfolio of many of the major shopping center owners. Vestar, a Phoenix-based owner with […]

The demand for triple net lease retail investments remains high throughout the country. This investment product is in most demand for tenants that are restaurant-based uses. An investors preference is to acquire assets which include restaurant based, service styled uses because they have less to worry about given the Amazon effect. Assets encompassed by restaurants […]

Restaurants are continuing to right-fit their footprint to accommodate new consumer demands. To meet consumer demands for delivery, restaurants are experimenting with testing kitchens only or shared kitchen outlets with no dine-in options. This comes at a time where delivery costs are high and restaurants are solving this problem by reducing square footage and paying […]

The economy in the United States has delivered its 103rd straight month of employment gains by adding approx. 263,000 jobs in April. This marks yet again another strong and record-breaking metric that proves the current strength and growth of the US economy. Unemployment dropped to 3.6% and is at its lowest level since December 1969. […]

Kohl’s is a retailer getting creative and thinking outside of the box! Kohl’s has announced a partnership with Amazon to accept Amazon product returns at their brick and mortar locations. With Kohl’s extensive brick and mortar presence, approx. 1,100 stores across 49 states, this move will allow both companies to provide excellent customer service, convenience […]

The banking industry continues to change, with the majority of financial institutions focusing resources on technology initiatives rather than aggressive brick and mortar growth strategies as in the past. Over the last 24 months, more than 5,700 bank branches closed throughout the country with a forecasted 1,700 units to close in 2019. Don’t take these […]

The food and restaurant industry is expected to grow by approx. 13% over the next five years. What does this mean? This means that this sector is very strong and will continue to be very competitive which will drive innovation. Majority of the food service spending, approx. 75%, results at dine-in restaurants but online ordering […]

Chipotle adding Drive-Thrus! In an effort to compete for the stomach dollar of the consumer, Chipotle has announced plans to add “several dozen” drive up windows in 2019.Chipotle adding Drive-Thrus! In an effort to compete for the stomach dollar of the consumer, Chipotle has announced plans to add “several dozen” drive up windows in 2019. […]

Grocery store chains are not only in expansion mode, many are entertaining or are in the works of adding mall units into their growth plans. As of recently, many grocery store chains, such as Whole Foods, Wegmans, Lidl, and The Fresh Market have taken space vacated by department stores in malls. This is advantageous to […]

The economy continues to remain sturdy with another strong job report. In the month of March, non farm payroll employment increased by 196,000. This report marks the United States’ 102nd continuous straight month of employment gains. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8% nationally with the unemployment rate for the Tampa MSA at 3.4% preliminary (BLS). […]

ICSC meets with EPA officials to advocate for the expedited process of delisting sites from the National Priorities List (NPL) with a focus on risk-based clean ups and urged for the consideration of partial delisting as a best practice. This is important because this proactive initiative urges the EPA to focus on sites with the […]

Did you know that over 400 grocery stores opened last year in 2018, bringing the total US store count to over 65,700 total grocery units? Grocery is the backbone to the retail world of the consumer and continues to have more and more players entering the space every year. This sector is ever changing and […]

Commercial real estate continues to be on a tear, with many calling this ballgame extra innings. Most believe that the industry is healthy enough with strong core fundamentals to withstand a downturn. Diversification is key, with most c-level executives and market leaders advising to build a portfolio to span geographically with multiple property types and […]

Did you know that there are approx. 20,400 spas operating in the US with aggregate annual revenues of about $18.3 billion? With the economy in healthy shape, consumers are spending more of their disposable income on self-care. Consumers continue to invest more into their own health and wellness entering into a lifestyle choice that a […]

Retail is strong and the brands of which are adopting and embracing change will continue to thrive. Retail is evolving every day and has changed significantly over the last 30 years. Don’t expect it to stop now! Shopping centers will morph and evolve faster over the next 5 to 10 years than ever before. The […]

The current real estate cycle is considered to be in the later innings of the baseball game with some calling it a post 7th inning stretch and others describing it as long in the tooth, more closely resembling a game in extra innings. One thing is for certain, the back end to this real estate […]

Dollar Stores continue to grow and evolve! Dollar Tree, which has over 7,000+ stores and owns Family Dollar with over 8,000+ stores, announced a commitment to renovating 1,000 Family Dollar units in the coming year. The plan calls for the company to rebrand 200 Family Dollar stores to the Dollar Tree banner and completely close […]

What will happen to the hundreds of shuttered Kmart and Sears locations around the country? The retail locations formally occupied by these tenants will be repurposed or redeveloped to meet current market demands, with the exact use or concept to be dictated by the individual trade areas of which these locations lay. Most of these […]

Amazon interested to open a new grocery store model separate from its Whole Foods Concept. The intent was that Amazon wanted to enter the grocery business by way of its Whole Foods acquisition, however their desire appears to exceed purely as a reformat and transformation of just that grocery brand alone. Their recent efforts as […]

E-Commerce Resistant! Strip Centers continue to be a desirable asset class for investors to own. The shopping center tenant mix is usually composed of more internet resistant and service-based uses, concepts from restaurant to medical to daily service needs. The locations of these properties traditionally are in the middle of neighborhoods and can conveniently serve […]

Everyone likes a bargain regardless of age or income! Majority of U.S. consumers are driven by value and have remained price-conscious shoppers throughout time, regularly visiting discount retailers to seek out a bargain. Regardless of age, looking for the best price remains to be a habit in consumers of almost every demographic group. The art […]

Real estate will continue to be a safe harbor for investors in our time of extreme uncertainty as we move into the future. As investors seek out new investments to deploy capital, they should seek out retail investment properties that include service-oriented uses, experimental retail, and internet resistant concepts as they are more likely to […]

Fitness and Self Care Concepts continue to warrant strong demand for space in strip centers. The “self-care” sector which includes wellness, health, fitness, and beauty is a growing business as more and more people are investing their discretionary income into themselves. Majority of these self-care tenants are offering memberships instead of a pay as you […]

Renovate and Freshen Up your Strip Center! Why? Because in many instances you can add tremendous value by renovating or redeveloping your plaza to attract better quality higher paying retail tenants. Creating new energy by way of renovation directly affects the property’s bottom line and positions retail assets to be setup for long-term success by […]

What are opportunity zones and why is everyone crazing about them? Opportunity Zones is a new tax incentive program casted by the government that is forecasted to activate billions of dollars in development and investment in 8,700 federally designated low-income census tracts across the US. The basic concept behind this initiative is to incentive private […]

Whole Foods Market which operates 479 locations throughout its chain was purchased by Amazon in June 2017 for $13.7 billion. Since the acquisition, the chain has been somewhat muted on aggressive store expansion and store pipeline as Amazon worked to fine tune the engine and gear up for the grocery track meet. Whole Foods was […]

Chipotle Mexican Grill which operates 2,250 locations across the United States is a strong tenant for many strip center and shopping center owners and continues to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. This fast-causal restaurant has implemented a new category to meet customer demands designed to follow trendy eating plans. This new “Lifestyle Bowl” […]

As shopping centers evolve, so are parking requirements! The traditional parking ratio of 5 spaces per 1,000 sf is in many cases outdated and not does apply to every situation or commercial development. Municipalities are changing or considering changing the way that they view this requirement by understanding that traditional consumer transportation now includes multiple […]

The economy continues its longest streak ever by adding 312,000 jobs in December. This is a record 99 months of monthly job growth beginning in October 2010. Year over Year wage growth grew 3.2% with unemployment at 3.9%. December numbers show that are economy continues to be in a very healthy state and is not […]

2019 is finally here! As we embark on this new year, investors will look to a world that consists of a strengthen economy with consist job growth in a tail ended real estate cycle. From technology, rising interest rates, economic conditions, potential political risks, omnichannel retailing, change of how brick and mortar space is used […]

As shopping centers continue to evolve, landlord’s will look to lease space at their centers to strong local and regional operating tenants. In order to meet the demands of consumers, landlords will look to input tenants that offer an “experiential, social and engaging experience”. Local and Regional Mom and Pop tenants have been increasing in […]

Dollar General plans to open 975 new stores and remodel over 1,000 stores in FY 2019 which begins in February. Part of their plan includes the incorporation of produce and expanded food selections into areas of which lack grocery options. The addition of produce and expanded grocery is an opportunity to offer a solution to […]

Retailers continue to pour money back into their brick and mortar locations. Why? Physical stores remain the heartbeat to retail brands and it is important for them to keep their core assets polished. The push to make investment into their physical units is an effort to keep their stores fresh, incorporate new store formats and […]

“What do we do with all of this excess parking at our Walmart stores? Let’s create town centers!” – Walmart Executive Walmart has announced plans to capitalize on their existing real estate to reutilize excess parking fields for new town center retail developments. This is a new campaign spearheaded by Walmart called “Walmart Reimagined” which […]

Kroger enters into grocery partnership with Walgreens! This partnership is a format for Kroger to offer a defined branded section within the Walgreens store footprint to sell groceries. The average Kroger grocery section in the new Walgreens program is going to be approx. 4,000 sf which is roughly about a 30% of the average Walgreens […]

Success in the future of retail requires the embracing and implementation of omni-channel into marketing and business operations. The retailers that perform this well will receive a “double whammy” as they capitalize from online in addition to brick and mortar. In the review of the recently passed 2018 Thanksgiving weekend holiday shopping stretch (Black Friday […]

Retail Development is expected to increase for 2019 when compared to 2018 with more than $90M square feet of new retail projected of which includes redevelopments, new restaurants, grocery anchored shopping centers and urban styled experience projects. FY 2018 is on pace to end up slightly less than $70M sf of new retail. The focus […]

TJX is a strong tenant for a shopping center landlord for many reasons and throughout all seasons! Everyone wants a bargain! As consumers look to stretch their dollar, this retailer continues to provide options that are aspirational and economical which bodes well in this sector of the market. They consistently drive traffic to their stores […]