Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/231459
With the baby-boomer population aging, many private owners of management-intensive properties will increasingly utilize 1031 exchanges to acquire net-lease assets. —randy Blankstein, The Boulder Group leases require minimal landlord responsibilities when compared to other real estate asset types, making them a more viable option for individuals. As the net-lease industry grows, the publicly traded investment options available to an aging demographic seeking fixed-income will continue to increase as well. Popularity for the net-lease sector should continue to grow for the foreseeable future as net lease meets with increasing acceptance by individuals and institutions alike. of Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, announced in October. In her tenure with Burberry, Ahrendts engineered a spectacular turnaround for that brand, partly by her embrace of digital innovation in both the online and store environments. Her move to Apple, the most forward-thinking technology company in terms of lifestyle, signifies the importance Apple places on continuing to develop and refine the lifestyle experience of its brand along with its advances in technology. This is also apparent in the recent iPhone releases, where the new style and colors of the iPhone 5c, the gold iPhone 5s and even the new iOS 7 operating system were probably more significant than the phones' technological advances. Prior to Ahrendts' joining Apple, former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve also defected from the world of high fashion to Apple's ranks. He is now in charge of special projects there. Whatever these special projects be- Pablo A. Torres, CMD, General Director Michael Ellis, Partner 5+Design Hollywood, Calif. One of the trends I see happening in retail now is the merging of technology and high fashion. There are signs that the relationship between these two industry forces is strengthening, and I expect this to continue in 2014. A telling example of this is Apple's hiring come, there are examples from other technology companies — the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Google Glass — in which positioning these products as highly fashionable accessories is arguably just as important as the technology itself. This is certainly why Google included among the early adopters of Google Glass a number of fashion designers. Google Glass was even featured in a Vogue centerpiece story this past September. Further examples run the gamut, from new 3-D-printed fabrics and garments being experimented with by luxury designers and manufacturers, to companies like Warby Parker (designer-frame eyeglasses) and Nasty Gal (new and vintage designer clothing), which are bringing strong fashion sensibilities and points of view to online retailing. With technology converging and competition increasing among both technology providers and fashion houses, I expect this trend to continue and intensify in 2014 and beyond. Design is making a bigger impact on culture generally — and the world of shopping centers is no exception. Design is making a bigger impact on culture generally — and the world of shopping centers is no exception. —Michael Ellis, 5+Design Triángulo Las Ánimas Puebla, Mexico Over the past year, no other region in the world has grown more than Latin America in terms of both new Internet users and the number of hours spent online. According to the latest data from research firm ComScore, sitting atop the table are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. Although the price of computers has been declining, the likely breakout factor for Internet consumption in 2014 will be the more widespread adoption of tablets and mobile phones linked to broadband networks. The main value of this behavior is its effect on communication, and J an ua ry 20 14 / SCT 41