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Archive for the ‘International’ Category
Here comes Tesco
Tesco has secured 20 sites in Phoenix as it begins its U.S. push in earnest.
The British supermarket chain will call its stores Fresh & Easy. When it first announced it was coming to the U.S., the grocer indicated it would be building convenience stores. But it is actually opening full-scale supermarkets.
Profile of Katzman
The Miami Herald earlier this week had an interesting profile of Chaim Katzman and his ongoing quest to turn around Mills Corp.
The opportunity Katzman has his sights set on now: the struggling Mills Corp. Gazit-Globe owns 9 percent of Mills and has offered $25.50 per share for a recapitalization plan worth about $1.2 billion. It’s a move that started confrontationally with litigation but has since cooled off with Katzman signing a confidentiality agreement and agreeing not to trade any of his shares until the end of March.
The Mills situation has thrust Katzman onto the public stage he normally avoids. If successful, the move would vault him from being one of the largest owners of strip shopping centers in the Southeast into the elite circle of major national mall developers. Mills owns a combination of 39 mega-outlet malls, entertainment centers and traditional malls across the nation, including Sawgrass Mills, The Falls, Westland Mall and Broward Mall.
”There is a lot of upside in this portfolio,” said Katzman, who believes the Mills’ properties should be improved rather than the pieces of the company sold off. “I don’t claim we’re the only one who can do it, but I’m not too shy to say we can’t. We feel we can compete.”
Ramco, Riocan Call Off Partnership
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust have called off their planned $1.5 billion joint venture to co-own and develop shopping centers in the U.S.
Ramco instead has formed a $450 million joint venture with one of its previous partners, Heitman.
Wal-Mart’s International Adventures
“Wal-Mart” and “Communist Party” are not institutions you would necessarily lump together. It illustrates just how different doing business in China really is for retailers and developers.
Canada’s Largest REIT Coming to U.S.
Canada’s largest REIT RioCan REIT is expanding to the U.S. in a $1.5 billion joint venture with Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust.
Shopping as a Sport
The Asian Games a sort-of localized version of the Olympics, are taking place in Doha, Qatar right now, but one of the biggest stories coming out of the event is how impressed everyone is with Qatar’s luxurious malls. One article even goes so far as to call shopping the Games’ “40th Sport”.
A New Approach to Mall Security: Robots!
Earlier this week, Japan-based Sohgo Security Services announced a new mall approach to policing malls combining traditional personnel with new robot security guards.
The first test of the Reborg-Q system will go live at the AquaCity mall in Tokyo later this month.
American mall security firms haven’t gone quite that far, but are increasingly putting mall security personnel on Segways.
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