Industry Upbeat as Show Starts
May 23, 2005, By David Bodamer
Increasing talk of a real estate bubble is not fazing industry executives heading into this year’s ICSC Spring Convention. In fact, most think the mood is the most upbeat it’s ever been. ...
Another Week, Two More Deals
May 5, 2005
The rapid makeover of the retail industry continued unabated last week. Private equity investors Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus LLC agreed to buy Neiman Marcus for $5.1 billion and the Saks has agreed to sell two department store divisions -- McRae's and Proffitt's -- to Belk for $622 million. Texas Pacific and Warburg are continuing the trend of private equity firms to pour money into retail. ...
Hungry for New Restaurants
May 1, 2005, By James Murdock
Parlez vous Franais? Oui? Good, because it could be the new language of shopping center restaurant cuisine. French bashing, so popular just a short time...
Merger Madness
May 1, 2005
The flood of retail mergers has spiked in 2004 and into 2005. The number of hefty deals completed in the past 18 months (worth $300 million or more) has...
REITS GET THRIFT PUSH
May 1, 2005, Patricia Kirk
Federal employees may soon have the option of adding real estate stock to their retirement fund portfolios, thanks to legislation being considered by...
Consolidation Talk is in the Air
Apr 7, 2005
With Saks, Neiman Marcus and J.C. Penney the subjects of takeover rumors, who would buy excess property? Belk, Kohl's and Target could be the big winners if Saks Inc. decides to sell its department store group, say analysts. Saks went to the top of the list of potential buy-outs last week on news reports that the company is courting buyers for both its mid-level department store group and high-end Saks Fifth Avenue. ...
The Mall Is Dead
Apr 1, 2005, David Bodamer
In March, the retail real estate business faced a new reality: The proposed $17 billion (including debt) Federated/May merger, following the $11.6 billion...
The Mall is Dead, Long Live the Mall
Mar 3, 2005
This week the retail real estate business faces a new reality: The proposed $17 billion (including debt) Federated/May merger, following the $11.6 billion deal to combine Kmart and Sears, makes it clear that 40 years of conventional wisdom is under revision. This, of course, isn't the first inkling -- the changes in retailing that have made department stores so vulnerable have been obvious for at least a decade. But it is still a stunning moment. ...
MERGERS MAY MAUL MALLS
Feb 1, 2005, David Bodamer
It didn't take long for the pending, $11.8 billion Kmart/Sears merger to spawn a sequel. As the numbers rolled in from the lackluster holiday shopping...
