Michael Fickes

Articles by this author:

  • Next Steps For Retail Real Estate (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:58pm

    Now, as the recession finally begins to lift, brick-and-mortar retailers are studying their real estate concepts and pondering what comes next.

    Some will pare store counts, partially in response to online competition. Some will cut store square footage. Others are expanding store numbers and square footage. Some are expanding fulfillment center square footage. Some are not changing. Careful about that.

    What are you doing? Is it what you should be doing?

    What are retail real estate advisers and technology providers recommending?

  • New Conference Series Pushes Networking (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:58pm

    In the retail real estate landscape, there aren't as many networking options as one might think. Even fewer if you narrow it down to those events that put landlords and tenants in the same room, along with entertainment, face-to-face meet and greets, and mutually beneficial educational sessions.

  • Chefs On Fire (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:57pm

    In New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver — and other major cities across the country — creative young chefs are opening their own restaurants.

    "In New York, the trend isn't all that new. Think of Andre Soltner, Jean-Georges, David Chang and others," said Faith Hope Consolo, noted trend-watcher and chairman of Douglas Elliman's Retail Group in New York City.

    Indeed, we probably shouldn't call it a trend any more. In a growing number of cities, chef-owned restaurants are a mainstay of rising urban neighborhoods.

  • Retail Magnet (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:55pm

    A guest approaches the concierge desk and asks for help finding a gift. The concierge knows the retail selection and can help. If the product is unavailable here, the concierge will, if necessary, send her to another store across town.

    That sounds like Nordstrom service.

    But this isn't Nordstrom. It is the concierge desk at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif., a mixed-use development from Los Angeles-based Caruso Affiliated. It's what happens at every center in the Caruso Affiliated portfolio of 2.1 million sq. ft. of retail and residential properties.

  • Just What Madison Ordered (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:55pm

    Madison, Ala., city officials didn't want just any development for its last available commercial tract, a 28-acre property along a major thoroughfare. They wanted to bring in retailers currently unavailable in the area.

    They approached Target and Brentwood, Tenn.-based GBT Realty Corp., a developer known for its Target-anchored developments.

    "Madison told us they wanted Target," explained George B. Tomlin, president and CEO of GBT Realty. "If you help us, they said, we'll participate financially in the development of the property."

  • That's Entertainment (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:55pm

    Entertainment retail isn't what it used to be. Today, it really is entertaining.

    Take Delray Marketplace in Delray Beach, Fla., a 258,000-sq.-ft. Main Street development filled with entertainment offerings, restaurants and retailers that give you something fun to do and something fun to buy.

    "Our goal was to create an entertainment, dining and shopping experience," said Jason Samreny, VP leasing with Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group Trust, the project's developer.

  • Return on Experience (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:55pm

    Invest in the right experience for a shopping center's customers, and you will earn a return on experience. That is the business model driving Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co., which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

    "Do customers love being at the center? Do they come back and drive sales? That is return on experience," said Terry Montesi, Trademark chairman, CEO and founder. Experience is indispensable today when most goods and services are available online, often at a lower price.

  • A Place for Everything (In This Issue)
    Tue, 05/07/2013 - 2:55pm

    Irvine Co.'s The Market Place is too big for one city. It sprawls across two. Split in two by Jamboree Road, the southern half of the 120-store, 165-acre center resides in Irvine, Calif. The northern half is in Tustin.

    The huge regional destination center combines open-air lifestyle retail with big-box retail. Nationally known value- and quality-driven store names offer apparel, books, electronics, fitness, groceries, home furnishings and decor, movie theaters, restaurants, various services, sporting goods, toys, and on and on.

  • Timing appears right to bid on projects (Real Estate)
    Mon, 04/20/2009 - 8:00pm

    Right now might be a good time for developers and owners to bid and start...

  • Waiting for the next big thing (Real Estate)
    Mon, 04/20/2009 - 8:00pm

    Desperate economic times produce hardship, but they also give rein to creative and innovative thinkers....

© 2013