|
Observations & Conversations: And who says there’s not enough “new blood” in the retail arena?
|
|
Observations & Conversations And who says there’s not enough “new blood” in the retail arena? The ICSC show in Philadelphia was extremely upbeat, as was the ICSC’s Western States Dealmaking in Palm Springs. At both events, attendees meandered around the booths all the way until closing time, so it was impressive that a lot of the folks stayed after lunch. The ICSC’s cocktail parties were also well attended and the Palm Springs cocktail party was jamming to a Caribbean band poolside, so not much to complain about there. In Philly, Fameco and Legend Properties put on some great parties. Michael Epsteen of Epsteen & Associates threw a spectacular bash in Palm Springs, unfortunately I got sidelined with a bad tooth so I didn’t make it, (my apologies, Michael) but my friends that did said I missed a really good time! A lot of existing space was being pitched at the Philly show, and at the Palm Springs convention there were hundreds of new projects being proposed. Tons of brokers were present in Palm Springs, where as in Philly, the developers/owners were in full force. I didn’t meet too many retailers at either show but when I did, they had a brokers rep in tow. However at the Palm Springs show, I did hear about an interesting tenant that’s opening at a Jordon Perlmutter project in Thornton, CO. They did a deal for about 100,000 sq.ft. of new construction on two levels with Daveco for a liquor store. The Daveco store is owned by the brother of the owner of Davidson’s Liquors in Highlands Ranch, CO. Davidson’s uses about 50,000 sq.ft. and boasts itself as the largest liquor store in Colorado, with an inventory of wine, beer, hard liquor, bar accessories and cigars, plus they’ll deliver in the metro Denver market. I read the following review about Davidson’s - “It’s the Holy Grail of liquor stores for south Denver” - can’t get much more complimentary than that! Good news is that they have another brother looking to open another store in the Colorado market of 50,000 sq.ft. to 100,000 sq.ft. Since my last column, I’ve come across a few more retailers that might be of interest to you. The first one, a lifestyle-type concept, Boutique Sia, a Paris-based company with about 250 stores in Europe, has been testing a store-within-a-store concept at 80 Macy’s stores and has just opened a pilot unit at CitiPlace, across from Cheesecake Factory in West Palm Beach, FL. The operator of the Palm Beach Sia has the rights to open more locations in Florida with an initial focus on Naples and Miami, in addition to future roll outs in CA, MA, NY and nine other states. The product lines carried at Sia include high-end artificial floral arrangements, vases, candles and picture frames, stemware and baskets, in addition to home decor and tabletop accessories. Sia’s price points range from $3 to $4,500, with the average being between $30 and $135 across all product categories. Also, Finish Line is testing the waters with a high-end concept catering to women in the 25 to 40 age bracket with average household incomes of $80,000 and up. The company expects the new concept to use about 4,000 sq.ft. in upscale malls, lifestyle centers and urban street fronts. Plans call for five openings next year and potentially 200 units operating nationwide. Whole Foods is opening a “lifestyle store” this month on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, CA. The 2,000 sq.ft. store is adjacent to the existing Whole Foods on Santa Monica Boulevard and will exclusively carry non-food items, with the merchandise mix including organic blue jeans, recycled handbags, music, books and less-toxic paint. Neiman Marcus is also trying new ideas with a rumored 10,000 sq.ft. store concept to open in Los Angeles and Mclean, VA, but since they were recently bought, we’ll see how quickly they roll out a new concept. I also heard about the expansion of Let’s Dish!, a three-unit company-owned chain operating in MN with two licensed/ franchised-units in MD and one licensee/franchisee operating in WA. The concept displays in a work station format all the necessary ingredients for a meal, including eight to 12 varying entrees, that are to be brought home and cooked at a later date. Next month, the company will debut its national prototype in Apple Valley, MN. The company recently secured $4 million in private funding for expansion. By the end of next year, the chain is expected to have 50 units open. Growth will take place in the Twin Cities, MN market, in addition to licensing agreements signed for a seven-store development deal in the St. Louis area and 16 units in Boston, MA. The typical footprint uses 2,300 sq.ft. and generates annual sales on average in excess of $600 psf. Another interesting concept is a licensing agreement between ALC Education Group and The LEGO Group to open LEGO Education Centers. Yep, The LEGO Group is the maker of those infamous plastic bricks that kids press together and build whatever comes to their imagination. The concept will offer educational enrichment programs for children ages three through 16 with a mix of daytime, afterschool, weekend and summer offerings. Currently, LEGO Education Centers operates 150 locations throughout Korea, Japan, Singapore, China and Australia. The centers in the U.S. are expected to offer six flexible classroom settings, a LEGO themed gym for children’s parties and a small retail area selling LEGO educational products. The first U.S. location is expected to open next year in a suburb of metro New York, NY. Future locations most likely will open in NY and Washington, D.C., while ultimately the company plans to open LEGO Education Centers in all major metropolitan markets across the US and Canada. And who says there’s not enough “new blood” in the retail arena? In this issue we have two feature articles. One is on Frank Theatres and their plans to open entertainment centers in the 75,000 sq.ft. to 120,000 sq.ft. range, in addition to expanding its chain of movie theaters. The other feature gives some insight to McKinley, a midwestern-based real estate concern that’s rapidly growing. You should check out both of these articles. Be sure to stop and see us this month at the ICSC Southeastern States Dealmaking in Atlanta and at the Midwestern States Convention in Chicago. Next month, we’re off to San Antonio for the ICSC’s Texas Dealmaking. Don’t forget to send us your press releases and info to get press coverage for the upcoming ICSC Eastern States Dealmaking during December in New York, NY. You can email me at ann@dealmakers.net or send a fax to 609-587-3511. The NY show is always huge, but this year it’s expected to break an all-time high record attendence. Until next month, Ann O’Neal, Publisher |