A month has passed since the big ICSC RECon event in Las Vegas, but GlobeSt.com still wanted to chats with four major retail execs on the future of retail, on consolidation, valuation levels, how retailers are right-sizing and more.
GlobeSt.com: Are you seeing any trends in the retail market?
Spencer Bomar, principal in Avison Young's Atlanta office: Consolidation, right-sizing, and creating an experience that you cannot order from, or replicate at, home.
Shaun Riley, senior managing director of Faris Lee Investments: I have seen values increasing for the past six to seven years with record valuation levels being achieved. The sustainability of these valuations is the key trend for investors, whether they are looking to justify new acquisitions or optimally time the market for a sale.
Tony Cho, Founder and CEO of Metro 1: With the onset of ecommerce and a vast panorama of online shopping, consumers are now looking for those unique experiences if they are going to shop in brick and mortar locations.
Dave Cheatham, president of X Team International and the president of Phoenix-based Velocity Retail Group: The economy currently is relatively strong; however, there is a transformational change with how consumers are acquiring their retail goods. This is creating some of the same challenges that retailers experienced during the recession, when there were even less retail expenditures, which exposed a weakness in the brick-and-mortar store format. The trend I can see becoming more prevalent would be downsizing of retailer's physical stores, both in number of stores, and in the size of each store. Retailers may be “right-sizing” and repositioning their stores. By doing so, a retailer could have one store serving a trade area where they currently may have two locations. The internet will continue to capture an increased retail sales percentage causing more uncertainty among retailers. This will force a transformational change in how retailers capture customers, while still maintaining their physical presence in key markets.
GlobeSt.com: What are your forecasts for the future?
Bomar: “I think that President Trump will implement his tax cuts and spending increases, and that the Fed will respond with accelerated rate increases. Money will continue to flow into existing, underperforming real estate in an effort to revamp and increase yields. There will be continued emphasis on 'the experience,” entertainment and dining.”
Cho: Retail is most definitely changing and the needs of consumers are shifting. Developers as well as retailers and landlords have the potential to profit off the new landscape, but only if they adopt new perspectives and new methods for running their businesses. The competition in retail is no longer limited to who has the lower price or better product. The competition is now who can provide the most engaging experiences and activate the most comprehensive strategy to attract buyers.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
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.
