DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #201

Entertainment Rules & Making Smart Location Choices

These aren’t your father’s malls, that’s for sure. Back in the day, your humble e-mail newsletter editor would, as a teen, go to the record store to figure out the hottest bands and buy their posters for my room, spend hours at the video arcade, eat something cheap, and harass my friends who had jobs there. Never did I think I’d go there to do anything like what’s going on at Greenville, South Carolina’s Magnolia Park Shopping Center. According to WYFF NBC 4, they have a new entertainment destination called Urban Air Adventure Park, nearly 60,000 feet of attractions for everyone. “We are delighted to see Urban Air Adventure Park open its doors in the Magnolia Park Shopping Center as we continue to bring exciting entertainment options, retailers, to the Greenville community,” said John Wiechart, senior vice president at M&J Wilkow. Another place I’d never have gone as a teen while at my local mall or shopping center was to a gym, you know, to get exercise and stuff like that. That wasn’t a thing then (not when Pac-Man was king). But the folks at Planet Fitness probably know what they’re doing, opening a new facility at the Hershey Square Shopping Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania — the home of some of America’s finest sweet, chocolate, high-calorie goodies. Check out the photo gallery on PennLive.com here. My question: do they give you a Hershey Kiss like they do after the Hershey tour? Perhaps Big Rock Candy Mountain, Vermont, is next.

Casinos Look to Get Lucky at Shopping Malls

Casinos and retail have always gone hand-in-hand. Winning gamblers tend to like to spend their money on shiny expensive stuff, so why not? Nowadays malls are looking to increase their entertainment options, beyond roller coasters or go-karts. Casinos.org recently posted an article on the potential for a casino to move into a mall in upstate New York. “It will create hundreds of good-paying union jobs, generate significant revenue for New York’s public schools, and is an important step in ensuring the long-term sustainability of Resorts World Catskills,” a press release from the company noted. If it works out, it’s likely to have combined retail and restaurants in the mix, much like these eight classic casino-shopping-entertainment centers (according to Retail Insider). Do you have a favorite mall/casino combo?

Knowing the Legal Ins and Outs of Commercial Leasing

There are many things that go into choosing a site for a mall or a retail shop or any business. Location, location, location is the oft-heard mantra. Legal issues guide everything single decision (or should, as lawyers will tell you) in the business process. The folks at Commercial Lease Law Insider tackled several thorny legal situations in their March 2021 edition. Their feature article this month is “Do Government COVID Business Closure Orders Frustrate the Purpose of a Commercial Lease?” It examines recent cases that demonstrate when tenants can and can’t use the pandemic-related orders as an excuse for not paying rent. The issue also takes a look at a recent court ruling in which a shopping center was told to pay damages for violating a tenant’s noncompete clause. Check out the articles here (subscription required).