Once thought to herald the demise of brick and mortar stores, online shopping is proving to be a critical element in the revival of the in-person retail shopping experience. The advent of online shopping forced a substantial...more
Foreclosing on a mall or shopping center presents unique issues for a lender. Failing to anticipate these issues could cause problems, such as a lengthier foreclosure process or a lower resale value after the foreclosure....more
Exclusive use clauses are not uncommon in shopping center leases. Tenants often request these clauses to prevent the landlord from renting space to other tenants who are competitors. Ideally, a shopping center includes a...more
Following a continued decline into pessimism, retail may be coming back from the bottom of the cycle, according to the latest Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey. The current view is...more
Last month, not only did the International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) host its 50th U.S. Law Conference, but, for the first time in its history, it did so virtually due to the impact of COVID-19! While some attendees...more
This week, the BCLP Retail team discuss the latest round of government restrictions to reduce the spread of Covid-19, and offer an updated timeline of relevant measures. We look at potential uses of empty retail space and...more
This week the BCLP Retail Team discuss the future of turnover rents following the COVID-19 crisis, reflect on the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and consider the future footprint of department stores. We also share...more
In about 1957, I went to a grocery store opening. It was in a new department store anchored mall in Cincinnati. I was allowed to “stock” the “foodomat” (where canned goods were stocked from the rear and then slid down the...more
There continues to be a lot of discussion throughout the commercial real estate industry about competition from online retailers and the holes created by failing and downsizing businesses that have traditionally focused on...more
We are an adaptation nation. Embracing change to remain relevant has long been the mantra of savvy business owners and managers. Since the dawn of dial-up internet, retailers have struggled to keep pace with the evolving...more
It may have been unthinkable ten to fifteen years ago, but the shift in consumer shopping patterns from brick-and-mortar stores to online platforms has resulted in the emergence of retail-to-industrial conversions over the...more
With the rise of e-commerce, declining foot traffic in malls and shuttering department stores,retail landlords and brick and-mortar tenants have faced a wave of challenges in recent years. As a result, both landlords and...more
Granting a tenant an exclusive use of their premises in a retail setting can be a powerful inducement to have the tenant agree to a lease. There is little doubt, however, that the use of exclusives often leads to eventual...more
Goulston & Storrs partners Nancy Davids, Matt Epstein, Karen O’Malley and David Rabinowitz recently sat down with Forbes to discuss how changes in consumer behavior continue to drive evolution in the retail real estate...more
The 48th annual US Shopping Center Law Conference was held last week from October 24-27 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando Florida. The conference saw a near-record number of attendees, where almost 1500...more
New York City, one of the world’s premier shopping destinations is about to get over one and a half million square feet of new retail space. ...more
ICSC hosted the New England Conference and Deal Making event at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center last week, from July 16-18. ...more
Retail real estate owners and operators are loathe to use the expression “retail apocalypse” in describing the current state of the market, but they cannot ignore the seismic changes affecting the industry due to a myriad of...more
ICSC is in full swing at the Las Vegas Convention Center this week. This is the world’s largest gathering of retail real estate professionals....more
Major retailers that once reigned supreme with brick and mortar stores now face unparalleled challenges. Historically, major retailers dominated the retail industry by opening stores in the most desirable locations and...more
Tenant curation, experiential retail, and social media-based marketing are thriving trends in today’s brick-and-mortar shopping center industry. Retail is not the only real estate asset class susceptible to trends, and a...more
The question of whether aging commercial properties can find new life and cash flow is one that has haunted the industry since the Great Recession began and continued through 2017 when the “wall of maturities” was expected to...more
We’ve all read about the question marks floating around the fate of brick and mortar retail in America. Factors like the strength of e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences (such as the popularity of urban centers over...more
As mall landlords continue to see substantial tenant vacancies, some landlords have begun to challenge solvent tenants who decide to go dark before the end of their lease. In two important recent cases — Simon Property Group,...more
The retail industry has faced significant challenges this year. In 2017, more than 5,000 retail stores closed their doors, many of them portfolio-wide closures by well-known department-store chains who were synonymous with...more