Labels and Lawsuits

Made-For-Outlet merchandise has sparked a challenge, but it is vital to the industry and a good deal to boot, a consumer Watchdog finds.

Conventional wisdom holds that consumers know a good bargain on the shelf when they see it, but some lawyers aim to test the concept of value in a different arena altogether: the courts. Michael Kors agreed in June to pay $4.9 Million and change the way it labels its made-for-outlet, after plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a class-action suit against the London based fashion retailer.

Read more here.

How Macy's plans to revive its American department stores

'15 years from now [the department store] business will be 50% of the size it is today.'

Last week, Macy’s announced that it will be closing up to 40 stores in the beginning of next year, a move many observers attribute to the downturn of the American mall.

But rather than blame the decline of American malls for Macy's decreased store traffic, Nick Egelanian, president of retail real estate consulting firm SiteWorks, instead blames the demise of the American mall on Macy's and its full-line department store cohorts.

Read more here.

Annapolis' SiteWorks president teaching a class this fall

The head of an Annapolis consulting firm will be teaching a class through the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Nick Egelanian, president of SiteWorks, will lead a class through ICSC’s Miami John T. Riordan School for Retail Real Estate Professionals. It begins this month.

Read more here.

Now Trending: Ins and Outlets

For many, the concept of an outlet mall is associated with not only appealing deals on name-brand products, but also with driving long distances to get to the far-flung locations where outlets have traditionally been located.
 
But that is all changing — and changing fast. Many consumers already have access to "close-in" outlet centers, and in the not-too-distant future, many more outlets may be coming closer to home. Projects like Tanger Outlets at National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C., and New England Development’s Palm Beach Outlets in Florida are already giving area residents new and convenient outlet options. Not only are outlet stores growing and the outlet and discount segment expanding into new locations, but outlet retail is beginning to make its way into shopping centers alongside traditional mall retailers. The result is a new retail paradigm in which a blend of outlet stores and traditional retail — along with other new drivers like restaurants and theaters — which creates entirely new shopping options. In a few select cases, outlets are spurring some wholesale rethinking about traditional development formats, as outlet-only malls that are more akin to fully realized mixed-use centers have hit the ground running in cities like Boston.

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Luxury Retailers Flourish, But Create Limited CRE Demand

Neiman Marcus, a retail name synonymous with luxury, is planning a $100-million IPO. The Dallas-based chain’s SEC filing points to increase of ultra-high-net-worth households in the United States and the increasing desire for luxury goods in markets like Asia and the Middle East as catalysts for its growth.

Neiman Marcus, which operates Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and MyTheresa.com, is often considered a proxy for luxury sector overall. The chain’s performance indicates strength in the luxury sector. However, that growth isn’t translating into a huge demand in retail real estate, says Nick Egelanian, president of Siteworks, a retail real estate consultant firm based in Annapolis, Md.

Read more here.

Prime Time for Pad Sites

Outparcels, once considered fringe areas, are now in high demand among restaurants and retailers.  

Outparcels are outliners no longer. Once a fringe niche in the retail leasing and investment world, these pad sites on the outskirts of shopping centers are getting snapped up at a record pace, as restaurants and retailers frantically seek in-your-face space on mall ring roads and busy streets.

Read more here.

The Importance of Design

Design has become more important to the two key audiences of shopping center owners: customers and tenants.

SCB recently interviews Roy Higgs, President of Roy Higgs International, and Nick Egelanian, President f SiteWorks International, to discuss how design impacts retailers and customers. The two often work together on retail and mixed-use projects. Both have been involved in the creation of retail properties for more than 30 years.

Read more here.

Touring RECon 2014

This past May, Nick and Charlie took Estates Gazette reporter Noella Pio Kivlehan on an audio tour of RECon - the world's biggest retail convention - in Las Vegas.  Listen to them discuss the past, present, and future of RECon and the retail industry here:  http://bit.ly/1pWo8C4.  

SiteWorks International

SiteWorks Retail Real Estate Services is proud to announce the launch of a new venture: SiteWorks International (SWI).

Founded in partnership with some of the best retail and mixed-use development consultants in the industry, SWI brings together a group of innovative and influential professionals who are set on: "provid[ing] the critical thinking and resources necessary for our clients to create the extraordinary and enduring spaces, places, and experiences that will define the next great built environments in the 21st Century."

Look for us at this year's ICSC Las Vegas RECon, and help us celebrate this exciting new chapter in SiteWorks' history.

For more information, please visit SWI-RETAIL.COM.