ICSC New York Show: Heard On The Floor
Dec 12, 2003 12:00 PM
The retail market is "white hot," according to Marcus & Millichap's Bernard Haddigan. He says he's seeing more deals go down now than ever in his 20 years in the business... Mexican casual restaurant chain Chipotle is blitzing New York City with 10 new locations next year... Shopping center-level managers are the most important contributors to the success of any retailer, according to John Stec, senior vice president of real estate for Jo-Ann Fabrics... Edens & Avant is building bigger these days. The firm is opening the 450,000-square-foot South Bay Center near the Kennedy Library in Boston next month. Anchors include Super Stop & Shop, Office Max, Marshall's and Old Navy... Winn-Dixie is in trouble, and may not recover. If the Southeast grocery chain's founding family, which controls the company, decides to sell -- Safeway and Kroger are likely candidates, according to one developer. "Wal-Mart is too cheap to buy anybody," he adds. But another source indicated Wal-Mart may indeed be eying the struggling chain's real estate for its new neighborhood market concept... Chico's FAS is testing its new lingerie concept -- Soma, Italian for "body" -- with 14 new stores for a potential rollout... Though the leasing game is "all about relationships," according to one developer, grocery and big-box tenants are the least loyal, according to several landlords. While mall and lifestyle tenants often stick with the developers they have longstanding relationships with, grocers only go where the money is... And as for sales in the recent Northeast snow storms, John Orrico, managing director of retail leasing at National Realty & Development Corp., says retailers are nervous. "Last weekend creamed everybody," he said. "A lot of people are holding their breath, hoping that consumers hurry up and get out to shop soon."... Retailers found sanctuary from developers' pitches at Retail Traffic's "For Retailers Only" party last night. Executives from Wal-Mart, Family Dollar, Hallmark, Vitamin Shoppe and other companies stopped by The Warwick Hotel to share cocktails, shoot the breeze and unwind with the editors of Retail Traffic.
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