Matthew Fainchtein, senior director, and Carter Magnin, associate, both in Los Angeles, say that the luxury market has cooled off in the last eight months in L.A. due some uncertainty in the global economy. “With that said, there will always be a market for the luxury experience in a brick and mortar environment,” they say. “In addition, the luxury sector has expanded into too many markets with too many stores, which has diluted some brands in certain respects. Regardless, though, we think luxury will always dominate against startups where the brands are less well-known and viewed as less prestigious by consumers.”

In other Cushman & Wakefield news, the firm released its inaugural North American Retail and Restaurant Expansion Guide here at ICSC RECon yesterday. Led by franchise and fast-casual restaurant chains, the report showed that North American retail growth into 2017 will be overwhelmingly driven by discount and off-price apparel, food, and service concepts.

The guide tracks the growth plans of approximately 2,000 national retail and restaurant chains across 22 categories throughout the US and Canada and includes projections for concepts experiencing negative growth that may be closing existing stores or adjusting brick-and-mortar footprints.

The report notes that restaurants will remain the strongest single category in terms of overall unit growth across all sectors, with franchise-driven and fast-casual chains like fast-fire pizza and sandwich shops leading the charge. “Explosive growth in e-commerce will continue to impact the apparel, books/media/toys, consumer electronics, department store and financial services sectors.”

Check the latest issue of Real Estate Forum for more from Cushman & Wakefield on the retail market, and check back with GlobeSt.com for all the retail coverage you need from ICSC RECon 2016.

LAS VEGAS—How are luxury retailers faring against new disruptors (startups, etc.)? That was the question posed by GlobeSt.com to a few senior directors around the country from Cushman & Wakefield here at ICSC RECon 2016. GlobeSt.com was in attendance at the firm's celebration party Monday evening at the Four Seasons.

Steve Soutendijk, executive director in New York City, tells GlobeSt.com that luxury retailers are holding their own against startups. As much value and quality as some of the “luxury” e-commerce players can provide, there is still brand cache to factor into the equation, he says. “Especially with tourists shopping in NYC, Louis Vuitton and Prada will always have a certain draw that e-comm startups will take years to create.”

Danny Jacobson, senior director in the Chicago office, tells GlobeSt.com that luxury is still doing very well in Chicago. “Over the last couple of years, well-established luxury brands like YSL, Versace and Tom Ford have opened new Chicago locations with huge success, which I attribute to a very affluent local population and the tremendous amount of domestic and international visitors to Chicago,” he says. “Last year, Chicago had over 50 million tourists visit the city, a number that is nearly as high as Manhattan's.”

Over in Miami, the firm's Greg Masin, a senior director, says that luxury is down in Miami, but not because of startups but because of issues in South America like political discontent, economic depression, and currency devaluation.

Matthew Fainchtein, senior director, and Carter Magnin, associate, both in Los Angeles, say that the luxury market has cooled off in the last eight months in L.A. due some uncertainty in the global economy. “With that said, there will always be a market for the luxury experience in a brick and mortar environment,” they say. “In addition, the luxury sector has expanded into too many markets with too many stores, which has diluted some brands in certain respects. Regardless, though, we think luxury will always dominate against startups where the brands are less well-known and viewed as less prestigious by consumers.”

In other Cushman & Wakefield news, the firm released its inaugural North American Retail and Restaurant Expansion Guide here at ICSC RECon yesterday. Led by franchise and fast-casual restaurant chains, the report showed that North American retail growth into 2017 will be overwhelmingly driven by discount and off-price apparel, food, and service concepts.

The guide tracks the growth plans of approximately 2,000 national retail and restaurant chains across 22 categories throughout the US and Canada and includes projections for concepts experiencing negative growth that may be closing existing stores or adjusting brick-and-mortar footprints.

The report notes that restaurants will remain the strongest single category in terms of overall unit growth across all sectors, with franchise-driven and fast-casual chains like fast-fire pizza and sandwich shops leading the charge. “Explosive growth in e-commerce will continue to impact the apparel, books/media/toys, consumer electronics, department store and financial services sectors.”

Check the latest issue of Real Estate Forum for more from Cushman & Wakefield on the retail market, and check back with GlobeSt.com for all the retail coverage you need from ICSC RECon 2016.