Industry Headlines: July 16
Stores Take Christmas In July More Seriously
The Washington Post, US
A small display of snow-topped villages and ornaments sits nestled between the mattress and hardware departments at the Sears store in Manassas. Next week, Toys R Us stores in the area are inviting children to decorate Christmas cards and slurp away on candy canes while their parents shop Christmas sales …
Into the mall with the children of the credit revolution
Business Day, ZA
Andy Slater, a 22-year-old delivery driver in London, appears oblivious to the fact that the UK is suffering its worst recession since the Second World War. “You just gotta have new trainers, ain’t you? Nike, Adidas, Lacoste — whatever looks good,” he says, eyeing up the latest models in the Westfield shopping mall in west London. He is not alone in his opinion. In a survey conducted by the US-based Westfield group in May, 70% of its shoppers aged between 18 and 35 said they were spending the same or more on clothes and eating out …
A magical day for Harry Potter fans
Swindon Advertiser, UK
Harry Potter fans in Swindon rejoiced as a day of magic acted as the perfect build-up event to a new blockbuster movie. Scores of budding wizards gathered together at the Brunel Shopping Centre on Saturday afternoon …
Big Retail Players To Come Out on Top
GlobeSt, US
It may be as long as three years before retail real estate recovers from the Great Recession, but expect a much different ownership of shopping centers when it does, said speakers at ICSC’s New England Idea Exchange, which concludes here today …
Commercial Real Estate Is a ‘Time Bomb,’ Maloney Says
Bloomberg, US
The $3.5 trillion commercial real estate market is a ticking “time bomb” that may lead to a second wave of losses at large U.S. banks, congressional Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said. About $700 billion in commercial mortgages will need to be refinanced before the end of 2010 and “doing nothing is not an option,” Maloney, a New York Democrat, said at a committee hearing today …
Shopping mall eases ban on ‘antisocial’ labourers – report
Arabian Business
A shopping mall in Al Ain has reportedly stopped short of banning labourers from its shops but security staff have been told to monitor their appearance and behaviour …
Bright outlook for emerging markets
Inside Retailing, AU
Growth in emerging markets will gather momentum in 2010, providing retailers and suppliers with attractive long-term investment opportunities. Planet Retail’s latest report, Emerging Markets 2009, says these report findings should prove good news for investors whose initial hopes that the world’s emerging markets would keep growing were diminished in autumn 2008 …
Going the Extra Mile to Lease Retail Space in Today’s Market
CoStar Group, US
The job of retail leasing brokers has become more challenging than ever in today’s commercial real estate market. That said, deals — while much fewer and further between — are still getting done. So what does it take to lease that vacant shopping center space that’s been on the market for so long?
