Catey Hill / MarketWatch – We hate to stomp on your stiletto-fueled dreams, but Jimmy Choo shoes — which shot to popularity when they were featured on HBO’s hit show “Sex & the City,” as well as on the heels of celebs and royalty — may lose some of their cachet in the near future, […]
Archives for September 2014
Griffin: Sarasota’s UTC mall a Tampa-Orlando mashup
Justine Griffin / Herald-Tribune – I knew when I strolled down the aisleway at the Mall at University Town Center for the first time earlier this month — looking past the empty, half-completed storefronts and the plywood panels on the floor — that the mall looked and felt familiar.
So I traveled to Orlando and Tampa to get a feel for Taubman Centers’ other properties in Florida, the ones that have had the greatest influence on the look, feel and tenant mix on Southwest Florida’s newest retail hub.
Deal Analysis: Washington Prime Finds “Something Special” in Glimcher
Gail Kalinoski / Commercial Property Executive – When Washington Prime Group was spun off from Simon Property Group Inc. in May, its leaders began looking for opportunities to acquire and redevelop assets that would have strong cash flow and add franchise value. They saw many opportunities to expand the retail REIT, but CEO Mark Ordan said they were holding “out for something special.”
Apparently, Washington Prime found “something special” in Columbus, Ohio, home of Glimcher Realty Trust.
H&M plans not a single store here… but two
Justine Griffin / Herald-Tribune – H&M, a Swedish international apparel brand known for its discount prices on trendy clothing for young men and women, plans to open two stores in Sarasota County within a year, a move that baffles some retail analysts but shows that there may be enough business to support more than one mall in the region.
H&M plans to open its second store in Sarasota County, at Westfield Group’s Sarasota Square mall property.
Will Jimmy Choo’s IPO make the shoes less chic?
Catey Hills / MarketWatch – We hate to stomp on your stiletto-fueled dreams, but Jimmy Choo shoes — which shot to popularity when they were featured on HBO’s hit show “Sex & the City,” as well as on the heels of celebs and royalty — may lose some of their cachet in the near future, some analysts say.
On Tuesday, luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo announced that it would pursue an initial public offering later this year. Company owner JAB Holdings seeks a company valuation of around $1 billion and plans to sell at least 25% of Jimmy Choo at the end of October. The company, which plans to open between 10 and 15 stores a year, sees Asia as a strong growth market.
Fall-ing into the Holidays
Observant shoppers will have noticed something ominous in recent weeks: the arrival of fall and winter products and holiday marketing/promotions in many stores. As unbelievable as it might seem, considering the fact that much of the country is still experiencing 90-degree heat and a glance at the calendar shows that it is barely September as I write this edition of Retail Rap, the holiday hullabaloo is already underway. The Halloween décor you saw showing up in August in Walmart is not a figment of your imagination, and the cinnamon pinecones you smell in the bins outside the grocery store are really there.
My own personal take on the timing issue is that the holiday season phenomenon has been pushed about as far as it can reasonably go. When we go to the store and see all these signals that fall is here, even though both the weather and the calendar might say otherwise, there’s a kind of seasonal dissonance that sets in. Because who wants winter to come that quickly? How many shoppers are really ready to think about this stuff, much less actually start buying it? Ultimately, I’m not sure if this is helping to move more merchandise.
Let’s discuss the issues that the growing trend of pushing the holiday shopping “season” up earlier may cause for brick-and-mortar retailers in this edition of Retail Rap.