Welcome to Retail Traffic
May 1, 2004 12:00 PM
OK, I admit it. I love retail. It may be genetic — my great grandfather owned a pawnshop on a corner in Pittsburgh in the early part of the last century. If there were a dream job other than being publisher of Retail Traffic, it would be being publisher of Cargo, the new magazine for men that's all about shopping. But, alas, my former colleague, Alan Katz, got that job.
Part of the great fun of being at Retail Traffic and not at one of the dozens of magazines that are really focused on merchandise is that our magazine gets to explore space. We get to work with the developers, retailers, architects, designers and financiers who are plotting spaces that require durability and forethought. What strategy will accommodate the purchasing needs of a generation still in diapers? What are we going to do to reconfigure bricks-and-mortar to bring baby boomers back to the mall? How do we effectively use financial strategies to collaborate with the sociological and economic needs of communities? What will be the next catchall to join the lexicon of big box, grocery-anchored, open-air or _______? Your guess is as good as mine.
At Retail Traffic, we are spotting the trends and closing the gaps. With a unique readership base that is almost evenly split between retailers on one side, and developers, brokers, architects, contractors and lenders on the other, we are always looking for the next innovation or theme. And right now, as I talk with companies, there is one great theme that seems to continually come through. That theme is speed.
I'm learning that there is good speed and there is bad speed. On the good side is the technology that cuts time out of planning. There's also the speed at which our developers and retailers can enter non-U.S. markets. On the bad side might be the speed at which some deals are done — a feeding frenzy, if you will, that, in order to take advantage of a hot market or good interest rates, leads to careless due diligence. We'll be examining speed a lot in the coming months.
But the most fun part of working on Retail Traffic is that I get to work with an amazing team of professionals. On the editorial side are Beth Karlin and Brannon Boswell, who craft the ideas and words, and Melissa Coscarelli, whose creativity makes the words and images dance on the page. On the business side is Amie Leibovitz, whose experience in our industry and sales savvy helps us bring new solutions to clients every day. Thank you, team, for the words and music and cash.
And, thank you, readers, for your support throughout the year.
Warren M. Bimblick
Senior Vice President and Publisher
wbimblick@primediabusiness.com
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