Our next stop was Atlanta and John Bemis, EVP of the southeast region and retail market lead for JLL. While the market has been slow to recover, Bemis believes sees reason for optimisim: “Space is either being repurposed, or it is going to be absorbed.” He lists a few a few of the sites that show this process in action, including Ponce City Market and Buckhead Atlanta. The complete story, "Ground-Up Retail? It's Happening in Atlanta." can be found by clicking here.

Phoenix: "Phoenix Retail Market Goes From Bleak to Bright"

Like Atlanta, Phoenix retail was also hit hard by the recession. But Tyson Switzenberg of JLL's office there seen its retail recovery come along at a healthier pace. “What we're seeing is a lot of relocations of underperforming stores to better real estate," says Switzenberg in the article. Still, retailers are also filling in the space that was vacated during the recession. What does he think the future holds for the region? “Our housing market has stabilized, and everyone is cautiously optimistic,” he says. “Over the last year, Phoenix has really rebounded, and is one of those markets that will always continue to grow because of the weather and affordability.” Read the full story, "Phoenix Retail Market Goes From Bleak to Bright," by clicking here.

Southern California: "Southern California Retail Strong in Coastal Towns"

But it isn't all landlocked areas that we looked at. In fact, Craig Killman of JLL's Southern California offices notes that it's the coast that is leading growth in retail for the state: “The coastal communities, for the most part, are doing very well.” He notes that as the population gets more health-conscious, “specialty grocers will continue to be more and more popular, especially health-food oriented grocers like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Sprouts Farmers Market.” To read the full story, “Southern California Retail Strong in Coastal Towns,” including further discussions on grocery and restaurant, as well as how e-commerce is impacting the area (and it is), click here.

South Florida: “South Florida's Retail Leads the State”

We covered another coastal state for our next segment, this time joining John Lambert, EVP and retail market lead for JLL in Florida. It's hard to escape the impact of South Florida. “The focus is Miami simply because it's a gateway city,” Lambert says in the piece. He notes the influx of foreign capital and retailers to the area, especially those from Europe and South America. He continues discussing the rest of the state, highlighting the companies expanding and where the new inventory is being developed. To read the full article, “South Florida's Retail Leads the State,” click here.

Chicago: "In Chicago Will the Mighty Middle Retailers Survive?"

Jumping back inland, we met Lew Kornberg, EVP and national lead of retail tenant representation for JLL. He focused on the complexity of Chicago-area retail, where the loss of Dominick's is especially concerning for the market. “While it's never good to lose a major retailer, like a grocer of this size, the impact was mitigated, to some extent, by the net absorption of other grocers that opportunistically stepped up and took advantage of the hole created by the Dominick's departure,” Kornberg notes in the story. He says that mid-level retailers are having a harder time in the current retail climate, but sees opportunity if retailers can carve out their unique space in the market: “Differentiation continues to be a driver in terms of retail success. It's going to be increasingly more difficult for the mighty middle to succeed.” To read the full story, “In Chicago Will the Mighty Middle Retailers Survive?” click here.

New York: Is NYC's Retail Market Overheating?

And lastly, we talked to Robert Gibson, JLL vice chairman and head of retail services, about the New York market. And what he told us was hot: “There is a lot of excitement stirring in the New York market these days.” But there are underlying concerns about the market potentially overheating, and “many retailers are taking a hard look at the market, and figuring out if they want to budget very high revenue numbers in order to justify the rents.” He cites Irish retailer Primark passing on New York for Boston for its first US retail store as one example of this. For the complete story, “Is NYC's Retail Market Overheating?” where Gibson discusses the retail sales environment and the big developments coming online, click here.