San Fran Mall Offers Work, Play and Shopping, all in One Place
Amid the Abercrombie & Fitch, Footlocker, Mrs. Fields and other familiar retailers there's an interesting use of space now open at the Westfield San Francisco Centre. Bespoke is a 37,000-square-foot co-working, event and demo space that not only brings more people to the mall, but takes advantage of the mall's foot traffic for its new tenants. Bespoke, which opened last month, targets companies that might not be able to otherwise afford San Francisco rents, and gives them a unique environment in which to run, promote and market their businesses. According to the San Francisco Business Times, the Bespoke format is expected to appear in other Westfield malls around the world, with the next ones coming to London and Milan.
Baristas Can Take Your Order Before You Arrive-Retail Tech at Work (video)
Microsoft is behind-the-scenes of almost everything we do… probably what you're doing right now. In some way, Microsoft was involved in getting this newsletter and article to you. Their technology is also working to change the way in-store retail gets done and the company recently lifted the hood to show a Washington TV news crew just how much could be going on when people shop. The Microsoft Retail Experience Center in Redmond demonstrated for KING 5 News how things like beacon technologies, advanced vending machines, a futuristic dressing room and more.
A Sign of Good Health? Fund Managers Like High-End Malls
Simon and other publicly-held mall operators are getting boosts of confidence from real estate fund managers who are looking to the wealthy to help keep malls going and going. It may come as a surprise that, according to a recent article by Reuters, that while “the average real estate fund devotes 8.8 percent of its portfolio to Simon, a bigger average bet than the 7.6 percent that tech funds invest in Apple.” In the article, portfolio manager Rick Romano with Prudential Global Real Estate fund, noted that malls with unique restaurants and attractions, the ones that are more than just a place to shop, become destinations and have a unique advantage over the internet.
We love happy customers! Revisiting RECon 2015
We can't help but boast a little… three very pleased DMM subscribers came to us in the first few hours of last month's ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas, just to tell us just how useful we are in their everyday lives. Each was from a different industry segment: one is a national food retailer with 500+ locations, another was a veteran retail research and shopping center consultant, and the third is a national retail shopping center construction supplier. We had, in our own unique way, helped them all and it brought us back to the old days. It seems like we have been for-ev-ah helping retailers with site selection, financial investors with market research, service and suppliers with sales prospecting, insurance and permitting companies with analysis and even shopping center furniture manufacturers with expanding their business and locating new customers. If you’re not already a DMM data user, we're sure we can help you, too. Take us for a test drive today!
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Spotlight Listing: Greeley Mall, Greeley CO
