SCBlog

How retail center owners can ride the $100 billion third wave of digital. Industry experts are calling retail media networks the ‘third wave’ of digital. A number of large retailers have already earned more than $1 billion with their retail media networks. This source of high margin annual revenue also has the potential to impact retail center owners.  How is Retail Media the Third Wave of Digital? Each wave of change since the world has leaned more toward digital marketing has brought both disruption and opportunity.  The first big wave …

Legal covenants often cause excessive property taxation for mall owners that are looking to redevelop. The repurposing of malls and anchor stores is a popular topic in community development circles, but legal restrictions make redevelopment extremely difficult. Often locked into their original use by covenants, malls and anchor stores are often grossly over-valued for property tax purposes.  In pursuing a redevelopment, taxpayers should ensure the properties are fairly assessed and taxed.  Debilitating Obsolescence It is difficult to overstate the plight of malls and department store anchors. Gone are the halcyon …

Looking beyond aesthetics, many are viewing a property’s design as a valuable asset. As centers evolve to have more experiential tenants, many are looking at design as one way to convey experience to visitors. Adding open-air elements, like public gathering spaces, parks and murals, has become popular. Centers are also more open to blending uses than creating retail districts. SCB recently interviewed Mitra Esfandiari, partner at Long Beach, California-based RDC, who has worked on a number of forward-thinking centers over the past decade. SCB: How are center owners viewing design …

To forge ahead, the retail industry might want to look back. Rapid growth of online sales has vastly outstripped traditional retail sales by a considerable percentage. Since 2012, online commerce has grown by roughly 14 percent annually1 while traditional in-store sales have ticked along in the low single digits.2 As a result, it has been forecast that the social utility of retail real estate has run its course, to be replaced in large part by online shopping. Certainly, during the height of the pandemic, it seemed as though this prophecy …

With pandemic-related disruptions fading with time, the retail sector has recovered in impressive fashion. Capitalizing on a flight to quality, 2021 ushered in a dramatic increase in deal flow and revealed surprising resilience following an unusually challenging 18 to 24 months. While market-to-market and sector-to-sector variations remain, the overall mood for retail and mixed-use developers is one of grounded optimism. The pandemic prompted changes in the ways spaces are used and prioritized, and it also accelerated existing trends. Perhaps the most notable acceleration is the pressure on anchor-dependent enclosed malls. …

Retail condominiums are a unique product type, and many real estate investors hold some misconceptions about the ownership structure. Here, we break down the complexities of retail condo ownership, answer a few of the questions frequently asked by investors new to the asset class, and also explore what may impact future supply and demand. Q: How does a condominium differ from other ownership structures? A: In major cities where high-density developments are popular, we frequently see mixed-use projects being built, either new construction from the ground-up or older buildings being …

The pandemic put a spotlight on essential retailers, and despite a resurgence across nearly all retail categories, the grocery sector remains top of mind for investors. Shopping Center Business recently reached out to Tom Georges, director in Stan Johnson Co.’s New York office, to discuss current trends impacting the single- and multi-tenant grocery industry and explore why European discount grocer ALDI has emerged as a growth leader. SCB: How strong is demand for grocery retailers in today’s market? Why? Georges: Over the past two years, several retail categories have proven …