On the Brink
Sep 1, 2007, Riccardo A. Davis
After more than two years of consecutive quarterly losses and hemorrhaging cash, Pier 1 Imports is ditching some of its business, cutting jobs and ratcheting...
Are Rising Vacancies A Concern?
Aug 22, 2007
When the housing market began to seriously falter in 2006, analysts raised concerns that retail real estate would be next. It was no secret, after all, that millions of Americans had pulled equity from their homes for years to finance cars, vacations and shopping trips to the mall. ...
Fun Out of the Sun
Aug 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
With little over a month left in the summer vacation season, outlet center owners particularly those with properties with high seasonal sales seem unfazed...
The Basket Runneth Over
Aug 1, 2007, By Jennifer Popovec
When you walk into the Kroger store at Dublin Plaza in Dublin, Ohio, you don't find your typical staid, antiseptic supermarket. There's no harsh fluorescent...
Shifting Tides Shopping by the Seashore
Jul 18, 2007
With summer temperatures heating up, tis the season for vacationers to head to the seashores. The throngs of sun worshippers can be gold for developers – particularly developers of outlet malls – as shopping for bargains has become as much a part of the season as searching for seashells....
Smoldering Wicker
May 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
After reporting eight consecutive quarterly losses, Pier 1 Imports is running on fumes. On April 12, the Ft. Worth, Texas-based furniture retailer announced it will close 60 stores as part of a turnaround strategy...
Eddie Bauer Redux
May 1, 2007, Marc Hequet
Eddie Bauer has returned to its roots as it continues to plow ahead with its turnaround strategy. The specialty retailer has refocused on its casual sportswear and accessories that embrace the great outdoors....
What If?
May 1, 2007
The deals assume 70 percent debt, 30 percent equity and a 25 percent buyout premium. ($ in millions, except per share data) ...
Hanging by a Thread
May 1, 2007, By Jennifer Popovec
In early April, Gap Inc. released what, for it, qualified as the best news in a long time. The chain's same-store sales were up 2 percent during the first quarter 2007 compared with a 12 percent decrease for the same period last year...
Housing Blues
Apr 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
The outlook for retail just got a little cloudier. The one-two punch of the meltdown in the sub-prime mortgage market coupled with slower-than-expected retail sales growth has some economists wondering where the retail sector is going....
No Sweat
Apr 1, 2007, David Bodamer
You'd think that Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.'s proposed $7.3-billion acquisition of Dollar General Corp. the second largest leveraged buyout in retail since 2004 would have a potentially huge impact on strip center REITs...
Stores Open For Business
Apr 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
After the holiday sales are over and year-end earnings tallied, veterans of retail real estate brace for the first-quarter fallout. This is the time of year when retailers that didn't hit their targets announce bankruptcies and store closings....
Sub-prime Meltdown Could be Worrisome for Retail Sector
Mar 21, 2007
The outlook for retail just got a little cloudier. The one-two punch of the meltdown in the sub-prime mortgage market coupled with slower-than expected retail sales growth has some economists wondering where the retail sector is going...
Dollar General Buyout not a Big REIT Event
Mar 14, 2007
You’d think that Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.’s proposed $7.3 billion acquisition of Dollar General Corp would have a potentially huge impact on strip center REITs...
Gap: Deal or No Deal?
Mar 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
The ouster of CEO Paul Pressler at Gap Inc. earlier this year, after another lackluster holiday shopping season, has sparked new speculation among industry observers and analysts about whether the company will be the next retailer to fall to private equity....
LBOS To IPOS
Mar 1, 2007, Elaine Misonzhnik
Round and round we go. As the most recent wave of retailer privatizations continues, one of the first companies bought out Burger King Holdings, Inc. is taking the next step in becoming public again...
A Positive Postscript to Christmas 2006
Feb 28, 2007
After the holiday sales are over and year-end earnings tallied, veterans of retail real estate brace for the first-quarter fallout. This is the time of year when retailers that didn’t hit their targets announce bankruptcies and store closings...
Gap: Deal or No Deal?
Jan 25, 2007
The ouster of CEO Paul Pressler at Gap Inc. earlier this week, after another lackluster holiday shopping season, has sparked new speculation among industry observers and analysts about whether the company will be the next retailer to fall in the private equity takeover wave. ...
2007 Forecasts More of the Same
Jan 3, 2007
The 2006 holiday sales numbers, which posted the weakest growth in four years last week, are a sign of what’s ahead for the United States’ retail market in 2007 ...
Facing the Music
Jan 1, 2007
When Tower Records declared bankruptcy, the move caused some extra pain in New Orleans. ...
Retailers Look to Gift Cards, Post-Christmas Sales to Save the Season
Dec 28, 2006
The holiday shopping season limped across the finish line last week. When the final numbers are tallied, it looks like retailers will rack up about a 2.75 percent gain in same-store sales—far off the 3 to 7.5 percent many experts predicted ...
Housing Bubble Taking Toll on Home Improvement Chains
Dec 20, 2006, Riccardo A. Davis
The aisles at home improvement giants Home Depot and Lowe’s are featuring a lot of items you probably wouldn’t expect. This year, they’re stocking shelves with plasma televisions, digital cameras, and even Christmas CDs...
Theater Traffic
Dec 1, 2006, Riccardo A. Davis
Movie theaters are returning to regional malls. Movie theaters are making a big comeback at malls. A few years ago the industry got hit with problems in overbuilding and lackluster seasons for summer blockbusters....
Lagging Behind
Dec 1, 2006, By Elaine Misonzhnik
For years, the Northeast seemed to be immune to the transformation of the grocery industry where dominant regional players across the country have been giving way to national chains, wholesale players, Wal-Mart and Target supercenter concepts and, more recently, upscale operators like Whole Foods and Wild Oats...
The Day the Music Died
Dec 1, 2006, By Elaine Misonzhnik
When 46-year-old Tower Records opted to close its doors in October, it marked the end of an era. More significantly, it marked another blow to traditional record store chains, which are dropping off the map one by one...
