Business View Magazine | February 2018

2 3 M From the Editor According to a recent report fromCredit Suisse,the global financial services company, between 20 and 25 percent of shoppingmalls inAmericawill closewithin five years.In 2017, more than 8,600 retail stores have closed–far more than the record 6,200 stores that closed in 2008,the first year of the Great Recession. Here is a partial list of some of last year’smajor closures: Payless ShoeSource-400 stores; JC Penney-138 stores; Macy’s-68 stores; Sears and KMart-150 stores; HHGregg-88 stores; Abercrombie&Fitch-60 stores; Guess-60 stores; The Limited-250 stores;Wet Seal-171 stores; AmericanApparel-110 stores; BCBG- 120 stores; GameStop-150 stores; Radio Shack -550 stores; Staples-70 stores; CVS-70 stores; Gander Mountain-32 stores; FamilyChristian- 240 stores. And this year began with the news that Toys R Us will be closing 182 stores as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy organization plan. The reasons are apparent.As smartphone penetration and internet use has increased, the importance of retail stores has declined. Online sales today account for 17percent of all retail purchases and are estimated to reach 35 percent by 2030. In addition, the new generations of shoppers-GenXers,and Millennials-have different buying habits and proclivities than their BabyBoomer parents. Boomers wanted products that were global, mass-produced,and generic; younger con- sumers prefer the locally-sourced,ethically made,and artisanal.So,newconsumer product companies that are digitally and generation- ally focused have an advantage over legacy retailers. Finally, city populations have grown faster from 2010 to 2016 than those in the suburbs,reversing a 60-year trend that started in 1950.Most malls are in located in suburban settings.As peoplemoved back into citycores, they took their buying dollars with them. Meanwhile, the urban American economic renaissance has bolstered the creation of downtown,mixed-use developments,which, in many cases, are centered around new, or already extant, stadiums and sports arenas. In Sacramento, for example, the $1 billion, 1-million-square-foot,Downtown Commons recently replaced a nearly empty downtown mall, and the new area now bustles with life. 27new stores have already opened and 23 more are scheduled to open this year. It’s no coincidence that the mega-project sits across the street from the Golden 1 Center, home of the N.B.A.’s Sacramento Kings. And Sacramento is not alone.Across the country,inmore than a dozen cities,downtowns are being remade as developers abandon the suburbs to combine newsports arenas with mixed-used,residential,retail,and office space. In San Francisco, the Giants baseball team is preparing to build a $1.6 billion mixed-use development on a waterfront parcel just south of AT&T Park,where the team has played since 2000.The development will have housing for 1,600 residents, and feature nearly 1 million square feet of retail and office space. Just blocks away, the privately financed Chase Center, the new home of the NBAGolden State Warriors, is under construc- tion.And like in Sacramento, the 18,000-seat arena,which opens next year,anchors a $1 billion,11-acre,680,000 square foot mixed-use development of office and retail space,and a nearly6-acre San Francisco Bayfront park. In Columbus,Ohio, there’s the 75-acre, $1 billion Arena District,with an N.H.L. arena (home to the Blue Jackets), surrounded by 1,030 apartments, 2 million square feet of commercial space for 80 businesses, a minor-league baseball stadium, restaurants, and stores. In Cincinnati, the Banks, a new $1 billion mixed-used district, has emerged on the Ohio River shoreline between the city’s baseball and football stadiums. In Inglewood, California, a $3.8 billion, 298-acre mixed-use development, currently under construction, will include a privately financed N.F.L. sta- dium to be shared by the Los Angeles Rams and the newly-located Los Angeles Chargers. And in Detroit, the $863-million, 19,500-seat Little Caesar’s Arena, home to both the Pis- tons and the RedWings, opened last summer amid the 50-block District Detroit, a $1.2 billion mixed-use neighborhood. Finally,this year’s Super Bowl was just played at the U.S.BankStadium inMinneapolis,which opened in 2016,replacing the oldMetrodome that had formerlydominated the area,known as East Town,from1982 to 2014.The new, $1.1 billion edifice is surrounded bymore than $2 billion in private and public investments in newoffices,apartments,hotels,restaurants,and a 4.2-acre parkknown as the Commons.And more residential andmixed-use projects are scheduled to open in the next fewyears. If the trend continues as expected,a trip to the store might soon include a ticket to the game. Al Krulick Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Al Krulick Associate Editor Lorie Steiner Director of Advertising Lauren Blackwell Research Directors Paul Payne Brendan McElroy Josh Conklin Lisa Curry Joanna Whitney Digital Strategist Scott Mosquera Alyson Casey Director of Administration Creative Director Dana Long Vice President of Business Development Erin O’Donoghue Vice President of Publishing Andre Barefield CGO Alexander Wynne-Jones COO Brian Andersen Executive Publisher / CEO Marcus VandenBrink USA Canada Caribbean Oceania Email for all inquiries: info@businessviewmagazine.com WWW.BUSINESSVIEWMAGAZINE.COM 12559 New Brittany Blvd Fort Myers, 33907 239.220.5554 CONTACT US