Panel: Retail Needs Help

NEW YORK CITY-Chain stores and developers have plenty of challenges ahead of them because “the world of retailing is about to undergo a bit of a revolution,” said David Gester a VP at Baltimore-based architecture firm RTKL Assoc. And other industry observers said much of the same at an RTKL event yesterday called “Is America Malled Out?” at the Harvard Club in Manhattan.

Panel speakers gave many examples of how the industry needs to change in order to keep up with consumers’ desires. Part of the problem is sprawl, according to Paris Rutherford a VP at RTKL, who says many of the strip centers in suburban areas are plagued by sameness as a result of poor design and development. “Maybe 5% of [developers] are truly visionaries, and the rest are followers,” he said. “The general retail experience, regardless of its format, is pretty shallow.”

Paco Underhill, a founder of locally-based retail consulting firm Envirosell, said retailers’ offerings are part of the problem. “Why is it that at one end of the mall a size 10 is one thing, and at the other end of the mall, a size 10 is something else?” he asked.