Tuesday, April 5, 2016

James Martin Vanities - High End Bathroom Vanities



Looking for the best bathroom vanity brands in the market? There are a few bathroom cabinet makers that would fit into that category, based on material quality, aesthetics and level of craftsmanship. James Martin Furniture brand easily makes the list. The James Martin vanities are recognized...
Read more: James Martin Vanities - High End Bathroom Vanities

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Shopping Shift: How the Internet is Changing Real-Life Retail

MODESTO — Shopping trends are changing and shopping centers are changing with them. The ubiquitous shopping mall, a staple of American consumerism form more than 50 years, is transforming in ways few could have imagined 30 years ago.

“Nationally, there is an observable trend toward more services,” said Greg Davis, vice president of Capital Markets & Investor Relations at Excel Trust, which manages Monte Vista Crossings in Turlock and the Trinity Parkway shopping center in Stockton.

Since the first enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center opened in Edina, Minnesota in 1956, the formula for success had remained largely the same. Malls would find two or three national chains that would drive foot traffic and provide stable anchor tenants for decades to come. The rest of the shops would be filled in by local vendors or regional chains that would provide sizable, albeit less stable, income for the property owner.

The malls were big, usually enclosed, suburban facilities that gave shoppers a one-stop location for a variety of retail needs.

That changed with the proliferation of the Internet. No longer did shoppers need to leave their homes to satisfy their retail needs or wants.



“Retailers in our center look to develop online channels,” said Davis. “People can order online and pick up at the store. Our retailers are working hard to get on all those mediums.”

Monte Vista Crossings has largely followed the time-honored shopping center formula with large national chains such as Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Sprint serving as anchors. It also represents some of the changes the industry has seen in the last two decades.

“There is a trend toward more services and more Internet-resistant businesses,” said Davis. “There is also a move toward lifestyle centers where you are looking to get people to come in that are able to sustain high rents.”

Monte Vista Crossings and Trinity Parkway shopping center In Stockton represent a move away from the enclosed malls of the past and into an era of open-air facilities. Both facilities have a large focus on eating establishments, moving away from the traditional food court model found in traditional malls.

Some of the changes are driven by the fact that traditional anchor tenants, once treated as the touchstone of stable incomes for any shopping center, are no longer so stable. Trinity Parkway lost national bookseller Borders in 2011 when the company went bankrupt. The Promenade in Manteca lost Best Buy in 2012 and Lowe’s Home Improvement scrapped plans to put a facility in the shopping center.

“It can take a couple of years to fill that space when a major tenant leaves,” said Davis. “We were fortunate that we were able to re-rent the place [Borders location] at a higher price.”

Replacing Borders with World Market represents a shift in the kinds of stores that shopping centers now look for. Retailers focusing on items or services, such as foods or local items which can be hard to find on the Internet, are in high demand.

The shift isn’t limited to a specific city or market. The Promenade in Manteca hopes to turn the former Best Buy into a gym. Century City in Modesto turned a former Gottschalks into an indoor  go-kart race track.

Focusing on local businesses is another strategy shopping centers use to keep spaces filled.

“For a local businessperson, that business is their livelihood,” said Patrick Dobson, leasing agent with Sims/Grupe management which manages Lincoln Center in Stockton. “A national chain might be more willing to close a store that isn’t performing up to their expectations.”

Lincoln Center has also seen the changes sweeping the industry. Many of its retailers now focus on services such as insurance, nail salons and restaurants. Dobson also said that dealing with more locally owned businesses gives centers more flexibility in rents and leases.

“With the national chains, you know what you get,” he said. “Everything is dictated at a corporate level. With locally owned businesses, you can be more mobile.”

More changes may be coming to the industry according to a recent study by Westfield Group. The company, which has shopping centers in Sacramento and San Francisco among others across the United States, recently conducted a study on the future of the industry.

The group polled more than 13,000 consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom, and conducted in-person interviews with shoppers in stores. Retail and design experts were also interviewed.

The study found that centers of the future will likely include experiences such as classes where people can learn new skills. Shoppers were also interested in being able to rent items such as clothes, electronics and home goods similar to Uber or Airbnb.

Despite the changes, the industry has seen and the potential shifts coming in the future, Dobson said the fundamentals of managing a retail facility remains unchanged.

“I think there will be no difference than when [the shopping mall] was started,” he said. “Give the people what the people want, and they will support it.”

Shopping Shift: How the Internet is Changing Real-Life Retail first appeared on http://cvbj.biz