Wouldn't it be convenient if someone had clear, intelligent answers to most of your CRE-related questions? Problem solved. Nina J. Gruen, a.k.a. Ms. Real Estate, a.k.a. the principal sociologist overseeing market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates, is here to answer readers' questions. Have a question for Ms. Real Estate? Ask anonymously by clicking here. Dear Ms. Real Estate, I am well aware that shopping malls in the burbs—particularly those malls that are located at a distance from activity centers—are going out of business at a rapid rate. On the other hand, specialty malls providing luxury goods to tourists and high income residents continue to do well. My question is, will luxury malls continue to do well, given the fact that the younger generation makes most of their purchases on the internet? —Swimming in the Alphabet Soup.
Dear Alphabet Soup, The younger generation purchases a high percentage of all their goods on the internet. However, they too often want to view major products like furniture before purchasing the product on the net. This is why retailers like Restoration Hardware are improving their website and shifting out of traditional mall stores and into new flagship stores in high income locations. Wouldn't it be convenient if someone had clear, intelligent answers to most of your CRE-related questions? Problem solved. Nina J. Gruen, a.k.a. Ms. Real Estate, a.k.a. the principal sociologist overseeing market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates, is here to answer readers' questions. Have a question for Ms. Real Estate? Ask anonymously by clicking here. Dear Ms. Real Estate, I am well aware that shopping malls in the burbs—particularly those malls that are located at a distance from activity centers—are going out of business at a rapid rate. On the other hand, specialty malls providing luxury goods to tourists and high income residents continue to do well. My question is, will luxury malls continue to do well, given the fact that the younger generation makes most of their purchases on the internet? —Swimming in the Alphabet Soup.
Dear Alphabet Soup, The younger generation purchases a high percentage of all their goods on the internet. However, they too often want to view major products like furniture before purchasing the product on the net. This is why retailers like Restoration Hardware are improving their website and shifting out of traditional mall stores and into new flagship stores in high income locations.Want to continue reading?
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Nina J. Gruen
Nina J.Gruen has been the Principal Sociologist in charge of market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates (GG+A) since co-founding the firm in 1970. Ms. Gruen applies the analytical techniques of the social sciences to estimating the demand for real estate and to understanding the culture of the groups who determine the success of development, planning, and public policy decisions. She is a pioneer in synthesizing the results of behavioral research with quantitative time-series data to forecast market reactions. Market and community attitude evaluations and programming studies led by Nina Gruen have resulted in the development and redevelopment of many retail, office, industrial, visitor, and residential projects, varying in scale from a single building to large single- and mixed-use projects.
