Shopping Centers Today

JAN 2014

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/231459

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 36 of 59

and entertainment and service are, mainly Brazil and North tenants as owners and managers Africa, we expect to continue strive to set their shopping cento grow, consolidating our ters apart from the competition, presence by developing new online or otherwise. projects, with a focus in On the transaction side, interBrazil, and increasing our serest rates are another wild card: vices business. Early in 2013 low interest rates We believe that this diversity buoyed the spirits of buyers and of geographies between Europe sellers alike, Dykstra notes, but and the emerging markets gives when rates crept up over the us a unique competitive advansummer, uncertainty set in. "You tage and enables us to secure the saw a lot of question marks as to right balance between growth how long rates would continue to and financial strength. Adding stay low," he said. "Buyers were to the economic environment, asking: 'Should we buy now, or we believe that in today's world, should we wait until next year shopping centers are increasingly or even a year after?' Sellers were positioned as main destinations scratching their heads and wonto meet socially, given their leidering: 'Is this my last chance to sure, entertainment, services, sell at a premium?' " comfort and safety aspects, all Shopping centers are increasingly And so 2014 is likely to be beyond the retail sales. As such, a contest between improved lifestyle perspectives and people's positioned as main destinations to operations and income on aspirations must be met and conmeet socially, given their leisure, one side, and rising cap and sidered within a framework that interest rates on the other, acincludes the digital world and a entertainment, services, comfort and cording to Randy Banchik, a sustainable approach to the busisafety aspects, all beyond retail sales. Westwood Financial executive ness. As a company, we need to vice president. "Those are the evaluate the actual and future —Fernando de Guedes Oliveira, Sonae Sierra variables that we find very hard business standards, consumption to predict," he said. Meanwhile, habits and unmet needs of our longer-term shifts, such as the agcustomers. This is the only way ing of the boomer generation and the growing demand for to offer more and more unique experiences to our customers space among medical users will continue to play out. "We each time they visit our centers. definitely see a greater number of medical-service providers — urgent care and the like — being very interested in leasing space," Banchik said. David Poline, Principal On the pages that follow, experts across a range of shopping Poline Associates center disciplines make their predictions about the trends to Atlanta watch this year. Both anecdotally and in looking at data, retail has been slower to make a comeback than other real estate asset classes. However, a recent Fernando de Guedes Oliveira, CEO ULI survey shows that Sonae Sierra 2014 is expected to be Lisbon, Portugal the first time in a numWe have a positive outlook for the geographies where ber of years that a critiwe operate, for different reasons. In Europe we expect to cal mass of retailers see a recovery of the fundamentals of the economy that will be expanding. As will allow stabilization on yields, and a slow but positive a result, our clients say increase in retail sales. In the emergent markets where we that sustained opportuniJ an uar y 201 4 / SC T 37

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Shopping Centers Today - JAN 2014