by David Bodamer February 4th, 2009
This looks to be an interesting tactic. Pier 1 is shooting to lower its rents and it’s sending a strong signal to landlords that if its rents aren’t lowered, it will seek to terminate leases on up to 125 stores. For now, I’m not going to add Pier 1 to the growing list of closures since none of this is official. But this is something to keep tabs on.
The retailer said it may execute early termination agreements for up to 125 underperforming stores if rental reduction negotiations on those locations are unsuccessful. The negotiations with landlords is expected to be completed by the end of May. The company has more than 1,100 stores.
The recession and weak housing market have forced home-goods chains to drastically cut costs. Last month, rival Williams-Sonoma Inc announced it would cut 18 percent of its full-time work force and reduce occupancy expenses.
Related Topics: Management & Leasing, News, Retail, Trends |
by David Bodamer February 4th, 2009
There’s been a flurry of stories in the past couple of days painting a grim picture of New York City’s retail scene. Yesterday, the New York Times wrote of local landlords offering retail tenants deep discounts to keep them in spaces.
“Everyone is afraid of losing revenue stream,” said Faith Hope Consolo, the chairwoman of retail leasing and sales for Prudential Douglas Elliman, who is representing retailers and landlords on six lease renewals. At least two of the landlords have been fearful enough about losing tenants that they agreed to rent cuts of more than 10 percent.
Ms. Consolo added that “2009 is going to be the year leases were negotiated more than ever before.”
Jeff Gural, who owns 40 Manhattan buildings, said that he has been reworking lease agreements with struggling shop owners to help them stay in business. He typically asks for their financial statements as evidence, then tries to cut deals that can include deferring rent payments.
“If someone can show us that they’re in trouble and they’ve been a good tenant over the years, we try to help,” he said.
Read the rest of this entry »
Related Topics: Management & Leasing, News, Retail, Retail Real Estate, Trends |
The Future of Enclosed Malls in Secondary and Tertiary Locations
by David Bodamer February 4th, 2009
Eric Kaufman, David Kopp and Howard Ervin at Symphony Property Group in Bedford, N.Y., submitted some thoughts to me on what enclosed malls might need to do to stay user-friendly in the 21st Century. They were inspired by an article that appeared in Sunday’s New York Times about America’s love affair with malls being on the rocks.
I thought I would post it here to see what others thought. I’m becoming a big fan of Scribd. It seems like a great way to share longer pieces like this. So if other readers out there would care to submit pieces like this, I’d be glad to consider sharing them on Traffic Court.
Keeping Ahead of the Curve
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