High Level of Retail Activity Expected

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Ron Goldstone, EVP of Farbman Group, is excited about the upcoming ICSC RECon show later this month in Las Vegas. The reason is based on the enthusiasm and energy at the conference as well as the level of optimism not only there, but for him and the Farbman Group as well.

GlobeSt.com: What are your expectations for this year’s show?

Ron Goldstone: With the overall economic outlook continuing to be reasonably positive, I believe we’ll see some momentum with transactions being structured. Retailers are expanding strategically and carefully, but they are closing new deals. I think it’s largely going to be a business-as-usual type of a conference, with the caveat that the overall quantity of transactions nationally is down a tick—and prime locations and opportunities are, if anything, even more desirable than ever.

GlobeSt.com: What are you looking forward to while you’re there?

Goldstone: I always love catching up with friends and peers that I haven’t seen in some time and hearing about what they’ve been working on. But one thing I find especially interesting about RECon is how I’ve always been able to get a pretty good feel for what the development climate and economic activity will look like in the year ahead, just based on the level of optimism, enthusiasm and energy (or lack thereof) at the conference. You get this many informed professionals together in one place, and, in my experience, you can really get a feel for the pulse of the industry. I always look forward to trying to gauge that metric and to get a macro overview of what might be in store in the real estate sector over the next 12 months.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the trends you are seeing in the retail market?

Goldstone: The prevailing trend is continuing enthusiasm for the creative reuse of mid- and big-box space integrated into retail environments. Clearly we’ve experienced a significant shift in consumer spending habits, and, consequently, a surplus of space in secondary retail locations both regionally and locally. Owners of those assets have generally been open to creative reuse opportunities to reconfigure and refill those vacant units with brands and concepts—from self-storage, to office—that we previously haven’t seen in “typical” retail settings.

GlobeSt.com: What are your forecasts for the future?

Goldstone: Here at Farbman, we remain very busy. We’ve seen lots of transactions, from ground-up deals, to creative reuses for mid- and big-boxes, to small-shop leasing. We’re also seeing a growing number of entrepreneurs jumping into vacancies in shopping centers that were previously occupied by national brands. Changing consumer spending habits and downsizing/consolidation of a lot of national retailers creates new opportunities for local retailers. So I’m cautiously optimistic that, for the next 12-18 months at least, we’re going to continue to move in the same direction, with a reasonably high level of activity and transactions.