DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #198

Case Study: Old Mall Adapts to Avoid Getting Lost in Yonkers

With apologies to Neil Simon, there’s a shopping center in the New York city of Yonkers that is far from lost. Even with COVID-19 ravaging the area, the Cross County Center, formerly known as Cross County Mall, shuns the glitter of other nearby malls that opt for indoor skiing, roller coasters, and carousels for stores and experiences that its largely working-class customer base prefers, and has for 60 years. According to a recent article in The Financial Times, owner Marx Realty is collecting 95 per cent of their tenant’s rent. And during the pandemic, being an open-air mall has been a major plus. “There was a time when enclosed malls were the thing and we were considering putting a roof over it. Thank God we didn’t,” said Craig Deitelzweig, owner, Marx Realty.

Target, Walmart, Amazon Shun Some Returns as too Costly

Between receipts and gift receipts, your humble e-newsletter editor stresses most when it comes to having to return something and NOT having that one receipt that’s necessary to undo the transaction. As it turns out, some of the largest real-world and online retailers dread them, some of them anyway, as much as consumers. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported they’re using artificial intelligence to figure out which returns make financial sense, and which do not. In a summary on the website TheNextWeb, it is reported that CBRE Group said returns this past holiday season could “skyrocket to $70.5 billion — 73% more than the average of the last five years.”

When the Best Use of All for a Mall Isn’t a Mall at All

For many malls, the solution for future growth is becoming a mixed-use, entertainment-slash-fooderie-slash-health center-slash-hotel-and-conference center-type facility. One former mall in North Carolina has gone a different route. Epic Games, the company behind the video game sensation, Fortnite (if you don’t know, ask your kids, or click here), recently announced the company is buying the 980,000-square-foot Cary Towne Center. The business publication, Quartz, recently reported that the original plan was for the old mall to be demolished to make way for a mixed-use development. “The mall is a good opportunity to move into space that also provides a more creative office space where you have more room per employee, which is a safety measure going forward,” said Robin Trantham, a consultant with Costar, the commercial real estate information, and analytics provider.