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— Retail Properties Quarterly — February 2018

www.crej.com

Contents

Letter from the Editor

A

few themes run throughout

this issue of Retail Proper-

ties Quarterly and, for the

most part, these observa-

tions are positive for the

retail market.

For example, I learned in an arti-

cle authored by experts from HFF,

on Page 16, that for every company

closing one store,

2.7 companies are

opening one. Also,

in 2017, there was

a net gain of more

than 4,000 stores

opening, the arti-

cle states.

Further, holiday

sales were up locally and nation-

ally. According to a market update

on Page 6 from Marcus & Millichap,

95 percent of all holiday shop-

pers bought some merchandise

from brick-and-mortar stores, and

spent a total average of $842 on

gifts this season. But that’s not all

– these shoppers also splurged on

nongift-related items during the

same period, spending an average

additional $261 on entertainment,

personal services and food-related

purchases.

While these statistics bode well,

one negative statistic also caught

my attention while researching this

issue. The retail industry lost the

most jobs from November 2016 to

November 2017 in the 15 industries

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

tracks. However, this statistic alone

isn’t news – retail lost the most jobs

the previous year as well. What is

new is the gender disparity. Despite

overall job loss in the retail indus-

try, men gained retail jobs, accord-

ing to a study by the Institute for

Women’s Policy Research. Women’s

share of all retail trade jobs fell

from 50.4 to 49.6 percent, the study

found.

“We’ve seen many news reports

of the decline in retail jobs, but

few have noted that the picture in

retail is much different for women

and men,” said a statement from

Heidi Hartmann, IWPR president.

“The majority of the losses in retail

comes from general merchandising

stores, where men have actually

gained jobs.”

She goes on to acknowledge that

there is very little known about

what’s driving this trend – for

example, could it be women are

exiting retail jobs to enter higher-

paying industries or could it be

because men sell durables and

families are finally catching up on

delayed purchases on cars, furni-

ture and household appliances? If

this is the reason, Hartmann won-

ders if durables are the future of

general merchandise stores.

I’m curious to follow employment

numbers in the next few months

as retailers realign after the holi-

day season. In addition to watching

the gender component, I’ll also be

keeping my eye on how the mini-

mum wage increase continues to

impact retailers. As of January, the

new minimum wage in Colorado is

$10.20.

Michelle Z. Askeland maskeland@crej.com

303-623-1148, Ext. 104

Tracking employment 2018 will bring nimble retailers opportunities Raymond Cirz and Carolyn Martinez Strong holiday sales propel healthy expectations Ryan Bowlby and Drew Isaac Retail growth on deck for Colorado Springs Whitney Johnson New rooftops energize Colorado Springs retail Jay Carlson Investors’ herd mentality is beginning to shift Peter Keepper and Michael J. Salzman As retail landscape changes, look to positive trends Jason Schmidt A collection of investor sentiments and trends Chad Murray, Mark Williford and Andrew Yaroma 4 ways to make a national owner hyperlocal Rick Turner Are we witnessing an apocalypse or resurrection? Allen Ginsborg Industrial space can support new retailer needs Ryan Good Space activation key to create successful centers Bryan McFarland A new retail rises as consumer lifestyles change Matt Writt From click to cha-ching: Enticing online shoppers Ilene Vivinetto-Suter Small businesses thrive in Cherry Creek North Brian Phetteplace 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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