LOS ANGELES—The retail market is really on fire with an incredible amount of tenant interest. That is according to Derrick Moore, principal of Urban Retail Properties at the Downtown L.A. office of Avison Young. Moore tells GlobeSt.com that tenants continue to focus expansion efforts within urban centers as they seek to have a presence where the Millennials and even Empty-Nesters are living, working, and playing.
This trend, he says, can be seen on a national level in urban centers across the country.
Drilling down locally, in the area of tenant rep specialty in Downtown Los Angeles, the retail picture is expanding well beyond food and beverage uses to incorporate community-serving uses such as dental offices, nail salons, dry cleaners, hair salons, and other specialty shops, he says. “We are seeing a continuing expansion of grocery tenants in this submarket, and an exciting re-engaging of soft-goods and fashion tenants to the marketplace. There is really no sign of that slowing down … brands will continue to have a stronger presence as the residential population increases.”
In talking about how retail has evolved over the past 15 years in celebration of GlobeSt.com's 15th anniversary, Moore says that “In the late 90s and early 2000s we were seeing the end of the dot-com era—it held great promise for retail-based online companies, however, their valuations were based upon unsubstantiated and future valuations that the market couldn't reconcile. This resulted in their demise.”
Around this time as well, Moore explains, “we started to see other adjustments with retailers, as technology began to impact the record and video industry as consumers started buying music and other entertainment online. We never thought that big iconic brands like Tower Records or Blockbuster Video would close shop.”
In addition, he says, “We also started seeing the shrinking of clothing brands and introduction of certain fashion brands online, and as a result, we saw a reduction and consolidation of brick-and-mortar stores.”
Ultimately, according to Moore, consumers shop differently with advances in technology via computers and smart phones. “We may try things on in a brick-and-mortar shop, but purchase online; or start our search for a car online with extensive research and options for financing, but go to the dealership to select finishing options on our hybrid or electric vehicles.”
The need for carrying large inventories may be a thing of the past, Moore says. “Brands can also come and go a lot quicker today. If they don't successfully have fluid communication with their customers and potential customers using social media, they can be out of business a lot quicker or seen as obsolete in this tech-savvy consumer environment. Successful retailers are forced to become a lot more sophisticated and offer the utmost in customer service both online and in-store.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
