Lisa Fickenscher / New York Post – Expect a little less ho-ho-ho in the holidays this year. US consumers will likely reel in spending in November and December, dialing down to a 3.7 percent rise in retail sales, according to a new report. Sales gained 4.0 percent in 2014. “We are in a deflationary retail environment,” […]
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‘Fast-fashion’ takes toll on retailers for women
Justine Griffin / Herald-Tribune – Is it just a strange coincidence we are seeing so many women’s retail brands going under one after another in 2015?
It started with Wet Seal, a discount apparel brand I remember well from my high school days, which filed for bankruptcy in January.
It shuttered its Sarasota Square Mall store on Jan 5. Next came Delia’s, a fashion apparel chain for girls and teens, which liquidated its Sarasota Square store (and all others) in January when the brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Fresh Produce, a Colorado-based apparel chain with a store on St. Armands Circle, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month. The Sarasota store is still open, though its future is uncertain.
The retailer, which sells tropical and vibrant every-day wear and sportswear for women, listed several outstanding debts, including a $3.9 million loan with Wells Fargo and an “unknown” debt for commercial rent to a Sarasota-based company, Great Lakes Developments.
Fresh Produce celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.
The most recent casualty was Cache, known for its evening gowns popular at high school proms, which is closing all of its more than 200 stores nationwide, including its store in the Mall at University Town Center, which opened in October. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month.
The growing line of failing women’s apparel chains paints a dreary picture for the brick-and-mortar retail industry. More people are shopping online, where the competition for consumers’ loyalty is fierce.
But who is responsible for the shrinking number of moderately priced women’s clothing companies? “Fast-fashion” brands, industry jargon for up-and-comers such as H&M, Charlotte Russe and Forever 21.
“H&M is cheap and hip. It’s taking a chunk of business from these brands that have been around a while longer,” said Jeff Green, retail analyst. “They have this cutting edge about them.”
H&M, a Swedish international apparel brand known for its discount prices on trendy clothing for young men and women, is easily one of the most popular stores to open at the Mall at University Town Center. It’s expansive display of men’s and women’s styles is constantly changing — and the prices are some of the cheapest in the mall.
Charlotte Russe and Forever 21, which have been staples in malls nationwide for teens and young women, are constantly reinventing themselves to stay relevant.
H&M and the others are known for having a strong online presence, both on social media and in their shopping websites, too.
More moderate brands, like Cache — whose overall look and feel has been the same for more than a decade — can’t compete with that.
“People will shop upscale or they’ll shop fast fashion,” Green said. “It’s that middle market that’s suffering.”
DRA to Seek Proposals for Main St. Tower
Liviu Oltean / Commercial Property Executive – The Downtown Redevelopment Authority (DRA) of Houston has issued a request for qualifications for the acquisition, clearing and development of a 35,579-square-foot site at 1111 Main St. The RFQ calls for the development of a multifamily project and/or a mid- or high-rise hotel tower with an extensive retail component.
Younan Properties Inc., owner of the neighboring 19-story office tower at 1010 Lamar St., entered into a memorandum of understanding with the DRA to lease two or three levels in the tower. Those levels will be converted to retail space and will connect to the retail component of the future tower. Younan will also provide 587 parking spaces.
DRA stipulated an extensive retail component for the project on the basis of a 2014 study by Jeff Green Partners, which showed that there is tremendous retail potential in the Downtown Houston market. Responses to the RFQ are due May 26th and execution of an agreement has been slated for February 15, 2016.
“Retail in the Downtown Houston area would serve a base of 33,492 employees within a quarter-mile radius, growing to 176,636 within one-half mile and 215,185 within a one-mile radius of the Downtown Shopping District,” the RFQ states. “Using the average expenditures per worker reported by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in their March 2012 report Office Retail Spending in a Digital Age(,) total (current-year) retail sales potential generated by the daytime employment base is projected to be $957 million.”
Florida icon Bealls is turning 100
Justine Griffin / Sarasota Herald – Tribune – BRADENTON, Fla. One hundred years ago, a man named Robert M. Beall opened a little establishment on Old Main Street in downtown “Bradentown.”
That small general store, which debuted in April 1915, would be the first of hundreds to open across the country under the name of that young entrepreneur.
Bealls, a retail company known for selling apparel and home goods in department and outlet stores in Florida and across the country, is celebrating its 100th year in business this year.
Staying in business for a century — and continuing to grow — has been no small feat. But the Bradenton-based retailer has managed to reinvent itself through the years without sacrificing its core image.
“Bealls really has an understanding of the marketplace and a good idea of what the consumer wants,” said Rick McAllister, CEO of the trade group the Florida Retail Federation, in which Bealls has been an active member since the 1950s. “They listen to their customers and know what Floridians are interested in, which has served them well over the years.”
Black Friday shopping frenzy creeps early and stays late this year
Bethany Clough / The Fresno Bee – Black Friday is different this year.
Not only is it really Black Thursday — also known as Thanksgiving — because so many stores are opening earlier than ever but the debate over it is louder than ever.
And Black Friday is not the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season anymore, with deals coming early and continuing well past the one day.
“Black Friday isn’t what Black Friday used to be. It’s bled into Thanksgiving,” says Phoenix-based retail consultant Jeff Green of Jeff Green Partners.
An estimated 140 million people will shop between Thursday and Sunday, about 61% of all people surveyed in a National Retail Federation/Prosper Insights & Analytics survey.
Lower gasoline prices fail to spur consumer spending
David Conti / TribLIVE Business – The sight of Western Pennsylvania stations selling gasoline for less than $3 a gallon five weeks before Christmas should bring joy to the holiday.
For some people, it’s not enough to fuel a shopping binge.
“It’s meant I can put more gas in my truck because it was so expensive for so long,” Erick Williams, 43, of Brighton Heights said as he filled up at an Exxon station in the North Side. “In the next couple weeks, if it stays this way, maybe we’ll have some extra left over.”
