The Great Clips Development and Real Estate departments were represented at a recent event hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The event networked Great Clips with developers, landlords and retailers. Those in attendance talked about industry trends, the real estate market, internal processes and more. Here are a few takeaways from the event:
Redevelopment vs. new construction
Some landlords are finding a higher return on redevelopment projects and are placing an emphasis on that, while others are being pressured by retailers for new development—even though property prices are higher than they have been since 2007.
Grocery industry moving toward smaller stores
Experts in the grocery industry say that stores will continue to get more fragmented—stores are splitting into categories, such as: ethnic, specialty meat, organic and more. Pressure is being added on the industry by dollar stores and convenience stores that now carrying a fair amount of traditional grocery items. Comments were made that the traditional big box or super grocery store is “dead,” and that we’ll see smaller stores (<40k square feet) that market to customers in a more intelligent fashion.
Long-term impact of the Internet on physical retail locations
Some in the industry are concerned about the long-term impact the internet is going to have on brick and mortar sales, but the majority thinks the additional branding online can help physical locations. At Great Clips, with Online Check-In, we are ahead of the curve.
U.S. retail vacancy drop bodes well for landlords
U.S. retail real estate sectors continue to progress, with an improving economic and jobs picture driving the absorption of space, according to the National Association of Realtors. The group predicts that vacancy rates at U.S. retail properties will ease from 10.7 percent in the first quarter of this year to 10.4 percent in next year’s comparable quarter. The association is forecasting that retail rents will rise by about 1.5 percent this year, on average, and by 2.1 percent next year.