ICSC Preview: The Future Is Food Retail and Technology

Jedd Nero, principal and executive managing director of Avison Young

NEW YORK CITY—With the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) New York Deal Making conference starting on Dec. 5, amidst the holiday season, the CRE buzz is—what’s next for retail?

“The days of the snooty salespeople with attitude is over,” says Jedd Nero, principal and executive managing director at Avison Young, in a GlobeSt.com interview. Today retailers need to be at the top of their game. “It’s all about the customer,” he adds.

The woes of retail have been highly documented in the news. On April 10, The Atlantic article “What in the World Is Causing the Retail Meltdown of 2017?” points to nine retail bankruptcies that occurred this year. It recaps how J.C. Penney, RadioShack, Macy’s, and Sears each closed more than 100 stores.

Nero further points to the Sept. bankruptcy of Toys R Us as just the beginning of what’s happening in the landscape of international and national retailers. “Toys R Us was $5 billion in debt,” says Nero. “They had declining sales. They had bad customer service. They paid no attention to e-commerce. Their experience was nothing.”