Archive for February 17th, 2009

Innovation Luggage Files for Bankruptcy

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

Innovation Luggage Inc. is packing it up. The retailer, which touts itself as America’s largest luggage dealer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday. The Secaucus, N.J.-based company listed assets between $1 million and $10 million, along with liabilities within the same range.

The filing lists a handful of New York-based firms as some of its largest creditors, including Briggs and Riley Travel, Jack Resnick & Sons, Ogden Capital Properties and Jeffries Morris Inc.

In December, the 53-year-old company closed one location on West 57th Street and Broadway. Four other stores, in New Jersey and Connecticut, were shuttered around the same time. The retailer plans to use the filing to restructure and renegotiate the leases for its 10 remaining stores, including one at East 42nd Street and Second Avenue, according to a source within the company.

Link.

The announcements so far:

Bankruptcies and Liquidations:

Potential Bankruptcies & Liquidation Impact: 1,231 stores

Announced Closings

Total Closings: up to 679 U.S. stores

Potential Impact of All Announcements to Date: up to 1,910 U.S. stores

No Comments Related Topics: News, Retail, Trends |

Westfield Cuts Hours

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

As part of a story about broad retail trends, this St. Petersburg Times story mentions that Westfield is scaling back the hours of operation at its U.S. properties.

This story calls the decision an “unprecedented move.” That’s not exactly true. Simon announced about a month ago plans to cut hours at some of its malls. In this climate, cutting back hours seems like a responsible decision by mall management. With Simon and Westfield on board, many other companies could follow.

In an unprecedented move, Westfield Group will cut hours of operation by five hours a week in 48 of its 55 malls starting March 1. Locally that means Westfield Brandon, Citrus Park and Countryside will open a half hour later, at 10:30 a.m. weekdays, and close a half hour earlier, at 8:30 p.m. weeknights. Weekend hours are unchanged.

“We’re trying to help our tenants find ways to conserve and respond to changed traffic patterns,” said Catherine Dickey, Westfield spokeswoman.

It was Westfield’s answer to growing pressure from many chains to reduce costs. So far the cutback in hours has been resisted by the owners of International Plaza in Tampa and Simon Property Group, which owns Gulfview Square in Port Richey and Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg.

No Comments Related Topics: Management & Leasing, News, REITs, Retail Real Estate, Trends |

Microsoft to Open Stores

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

In perhaps the most interesting news of the past few days, Microsoft revealed plans to open its own line of stores. Any news of new retail concepts in this environment is welcome news. And given Apple’s success, it seems worth it for Microsoft to experiment. Still, it’s difficult to imagine people gravitating to Microsoft stores in the same way that they do with Apple Stores. There’s a whole culture around Apple that just doesn’t exist for Microsoft. On the flip side, Microsoft does have the Xbox and video game stores–at least anecdotally–seem to be faring alright so far during this recession.

PC World has a tongue-in-cheek breakdown of 10 ways Microsoft Stores will differ from Apple Stores.

1) Instead of Apple’s sheer walls of glass, Microsoft’s stores will have brushed steel walls dotted with holes — reminiscent of Windows security.

2) The store will have six different entrances: Starter, Basic, Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. While all six doors will lead into the same store, the Ultimate door requires a fee of $100 for no apparent reason.

3) Instead of a “Genius Bar” (as Apple provides) Microsoft will offer an Excuse Bar. It will be staffed by Microsofties trained in the art of evading questions, directing you to complicated and obscure fixes, and explaining it’s a problem with the hardware — not a software bug.

The full list is here.

No Comments Related Topics: Commentary, News, Quirky, Retail |

Retailers’ Loss of Revenue Hammers City and State Budgets

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

USA Today has a story exploring the implications of troubles in the retail sector. It looks at potential shortfalls on City and State Budgets, as well as exploring what could happen to shopping centers that fail during this downturn. Also, the chart in the story is adapted from the running list of closures we’ve been posting to this blog.

He predicts up to 3,000 shopping centers, mostly smaller strip centers but some larger malls, will close this year.

“If that economic activity is taken out of the community, that’s a tremendous blow,” says Bieri, president of The Bieri Co. in Detroit.

So what to do with all the empty retail space, especially the vacant so-called big boxes dotting the landscape with the liquidations of Linens ‘n Things and what’s in progress at Circuit City?

Kohl’s recently announced it will take over the space in several of the liquidated Mervyns stores. In Connecticut, Texas and elsewhere, empty big-box stores are sometimes turned into haunted houses at Halloween and other kinds of seasonal stores.

Some city officials talk of turning them into community centers, but few communities have the money to run them now that their retail and residential tax revenue is so depleted. Other areas have tried subdividing them into spaces smaller merchants would use, almost like a bazaar.

Retail brand and design expert Ken Nisch jokes that given their size, some could become “evangelical churches,” but short of that, the best hope for many may well be the seasonal store. Or they can be taken over by one of the only retailers doing well these days — Wal-Mart.

No Comments Related Topics: News, Retail, Retail Real Estate, Trends |

Radio Shack Quietly Tests New Concept

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

Here’s some potentially good news on the retail front. Radio Shack has quietly tested a new concept that, if successful, could lead to new openings or conversions of older Radio Shacks into the new stores.

RadioShack Corp. has quietly opened a new concept store in the Dallas area.

It’s called Point Mobl and it sells portable devises in an upscale decor of white fixtures and clean glass with no sign of the Fort Worth-based consumer electronics company.

The stores stock each mobile category from compact laptops and MP3 players to smart phones and GPS systems, in more depth than a RadioShack, which sells everything from hearing aid batteries to remote control cars.

Point Mobl stores are open in Uptown Dallas’ West Village, the Shops at Highland Village and in Allen’s Watters Creek.

If successful, the ubiquitous RadioShack easily could convert some of its stores in each market, analysts said.

No Comments Related Topics: News, Retail |

Stimulus For Atlantic Yards?

by David Bodamer February 17th, 2009

Does a new arena and retail complex count as infrastructure? Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz seems to think so.

The future of Atlantic Yards –Brooklyn’s biggest development project — could hinge on President Obama’s $827 billion stimulus plan.

City and state officials say they expect developer Bruce Ratner to lobby hard for a piece of the federal pork to help bail out his reeling $4 billion plan to bring an NBA arena and 16 residential and office towers to Prospect Heights, which is in jeopardy because of the economic downtown.

Borough President Marty Markowitz, the project’s biggest cheerleader, said yesterday that funds from the stimulus bill should go to offset arena construction, and especially aid Ratner in a revamp of Long Island Rail Road’s Vanderbilt rail yard.

“This project is shovel-ready, and the jobs it would create are needed now,” said Markowitz, adding Atlantic Yards would also boost businesses nearby.

No Comments Related Topics: Development, Mixed-Use, News, Retail Real Estate |