Chipotle, Panera Turn to Drive- Thru’s as Fast Food Stigma Fades 1

By: Jeff Dervech - April 18, 2019 Chipotle, Panera Turn to Drive- Thru’s as Fast Food Stigma Fades

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. It is all about the convenience, and brands are looking to add this luxury of an amenity into their stores...

By: Jeff Dervech - April 16, 2019 Grocery Stores Head to the Mall

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 mall landlords as it adds a tenant that can typically pay more in rent than the previous department store anchors...

Economists React to the March Jobs Report on Twitter: “Sigh of Relief” 3

By: Jeff Dervech - April 10, 2019 Economists React to the March Jobs Report on Twitter: “Sigh of Relief”

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). As the first quarter of 2019 came to an end, the economy proved to perform well with continued job growth...

By: Jeff Dervech - April 8, 2019 ICSC Holds EPA Region 9 Meeting

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 highest impact and best future public benefit to accelerate its decision-making process and contain costs. Shopping center developers use brownfield...

Discount Grocers Compete for Value Shoppers 5

By: Jeff Dervech - April 4, 2019 Discount Grocers Compete for Value Shoppers

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 will continue to evolve entering a new era of platforms and offerings by the individual grocery brands. Given the so-called...

In Their Own Words: What the Next Economic Downturn Will Mean for Commercial Real Estate 6

By: Jeff Dervech - March 26, 2019 In Their Own Words: What the Next Economic Downturn Will Mean for Commercial Real Estate

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 specialty sectors to insulate against headwinds. A focus on Class A product was a common theme, as many leaders believe...

By: Jeff Dervech - March 21, 2019 Spas Go Mainstream

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 majority of the population is embracing. Spa concepts such as Hand & Stone, Massage Envy and Elements Massage are some...

Retailers to Open 2,250 US Stores This Year, Says Report 8

By: Jeff Dervech - March 19, 2019 Retailers to Open 2,250 US Stores This Year, Says Report

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 way consumers shop has changed the retail landscape and with in turn has as changed the physical infrastructure and footprint...

Late-Cycle Real Estate Investing Has Done a 180 9

By: Jeff Dervech - March 14, 2019 Late-Cycle Real Estate Investing Has Done a 180

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 cycle is much different than the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Overall leverage and lending practices are much more...

Dollar Tree to Renovate 1,000-plus Family Dollar Stores; Close Up to 390 Others 10

By: Jeff Dervech - March 11, 2019 Dollar Tree to Renovate 1,000-plus Family Dollar Stores; Close Up to 390 Others

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 approx. 390 Family Dollar units across the country. The company announced its 4th quarter results from March 6th, 2019 with...

What Will Happen to All of the Vacant Sears/Kmart Boxes? 11

By: Jeff Dervech - March 7, 2019 What Will Happen to All of the Vacant Sears/Kmart Boxes?

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 former Sears and Kmart boxes are old and functionally obsolete, ranging between 100,000 – 200,000 SF and in many instances...

New Grocery Store Business Coming from Amazon? 12

By: Jeff Dervech - March 4, 2019 New Grocery Store Business Coming from Amazon?

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 reported by the Wall Street Journal includes the plans of opening a grocery store in Los Angeles this year, with...

Strip Malls: The Least Glamorous Segment In Retail Is Among The Sector’s Strongest Performers 13

By: Jeff Dervech - March 2, 2019 Strip Malls: The Least Glamorous Segment In Retail Is Among The Sector’s Strongest Performers

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 the local population. Strip Centers with good signage, parking, and accessibility will continue to be in high demand. Why is...

NRF study says consumers shop at discount retailers regardless of age or income 14

By: Jeff Dervech - February 27, 2019 NRF study says consumers shop at discount retailers regardless of age or income

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 of a steal, is what drives this desire regardless if the consumer is capable of affording to shop elsewhere. The...

CRE Investors can still profit from Retail Real Estate – If they stick with Service-Oriented Tenants 15

By: Jeff Dervech - February 19, 2019 CRE Investors can still profit from Retail Real Estate – If they stick with Service-Oriented Tenants

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 provide healthy, risk adjusted returns. With so many sources of potential market volatility threatening investors, U.S. real estate remains a...

Thriving “Self-Care” Sector Fuels Demand for Strip Center Space 16

By: Jeff Dervech - February 11, 2019 Thriving “Self-Care” Sector Fuels Demand for Strip Center Space

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 go model which bodes well for shopping center owners, adjacent tenants, and retail foot traffic at these properties as it...

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