Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook

Ryan Raffaelli is with Harvard Business School and studies how innovation transforms industries.   He talks about how retailers can engage the public by:      - creating local connections with the community       - curating a tailored set of products to suit the local culture      - building places for neighborhoods and interest groups to convene   Dwight Angelini is with Longpoint Realty Partners, which invests in commercial real estate.   He talks about how his team has created value by buying retail centers where local needs aren't being met. His team builds a community destination with new retailers and property managers that know how to build community.   For more on this topic, check out Longpoint's paper, Know Thy Community.   Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Leave a message on the Where We Buy hotline. We may use it on an upcoming show. (602) 633-4061   Read more JLL retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Kevin Imboden is a global commercial real estate researcher with over ten years of experience. He gives his practical strategies for digging up retail property data in regions including China, India and Latin America.    

Kevin describes his step-by-step process for discovering and collecting retail property market data; who owns and developed the shopping centers in a market, who are the key real estate players in a market and how much did a property to sell for.

There is no silver bullet here! The secret weapon is hard work and persistence.

More about Kevin: http://bit.ly/kevinimboden 

Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook 

Got a retail question or comment? Leave a message on the Where We Buy hotline. We may use it on an upcoming show. (602) 633-4061

Read more retail research here.

James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.

Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Listen in as James Cook talks to clients about the retailers that will be adding new stores today and tomorrow.

Shoppers make decisions based on how quickly they need and item, how much education or experience they want from the shopping process and how much they're willing to spend. These three categories of time, touch and money can be used to explain how and where the shoppers of the future will be spending their money.

Thanks to Carrie Trongone, Taylor Coyne and Katie Sershon.

Got a retail question? Tweet at: @JamesDCook

Read more retail research here.

Leave a message on the Where We Buy hotline. We may use it on an upcoming show. Call (602) 633-4061

James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.

Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Chicago retail insider Peter Caruso talks about the many new food concepts that are now looking to make Chicago home, including Sweetgreen, Mojo, Dos Toros and Taylor Gourmet.  He also talks about how Michigan Avenue, also known as the Magnificent Mile is in a time of transition. On the apparel front, Canada Goose has leased a space at the Park Hyatt Chicago.

James joins Arielle Einhorn, Katie Sershon, Brittney Dear and David Barnett as they dive into the crowds of tourists on Michigan Avenue.  A newly opened Nutella Café is the brand's first café in the U.S. and it's proved to be a popular tourist destination.  The team also visits the site of the future Apple store, now under construction.  They stop in at Sephora and then on to a the long-standing Crate and Barrel store that will soon be transformed into a Starbuck's Roastery,  the Willy Wonka of coffee.   

Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook  

Read more retail research here.

James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.

Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

In the style of Shark Tank, three challengers vie to have their chosen neighborhood crowned as the #KingOfSummer in the Summer City Challenge.   James Cook, Arielle Einhorn and Taylor Coyne each compete for the favor of judge Julia Georgules.   The three pretenders to the throne:

• 798 Arts District in Beijing, China is a collection of art galleries, boutiques  bars, cafes and restaurants in a former factory complex designed by East German architects in the 1950s
• Downtown LA's Arts District is a formerly industrial neighborhood which now is home to many artists and galleries
• Chicago's Fulton Market district is the center of gravity for the city's explosive foodie scene

  Mentioned on the show:

• #JLLSummerCityTour on Instagram

  Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Read more retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

This is a crossover episode with the JLL Chicago Industrial Realtime podcast.  Listen to part 2 of this conversation: http://chicagoblog.jll.com/2017/08/24/hidden-world-retail-shipping-delivery/    James joins Aaron Ahlburn, George Cutro and Chad Buch to learn more about how retailers use warehouses both in the Midwest and across the nation.     Chicago is one of the nation's largest industrial markets. The city is within a one-day drive of 26% of the U.S. population. Many major retailers have millions of square feet of industrial space there.  In addition, third party logistics companies (3PL's) handle outsourced logistics for many more retailers.    Expensive and seasonal goods fly into the city at O'Hare airport.  Intermodal, the transportation of goods along multiple modes of transportations through the use of shipping containers, has started to move out of the city to places like Joliet to avoid the congestion of the city proper.      Ecommerce warehouses, as opposed to traditional ones, require higher ceilings, more AC, more power, more car parking - all the more to handle the many workers required to pick and pack the high volume of online orders.   Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Read more retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Sea levels are rising faster than they have in 28 centuries.  Temperatures and annual precipitation is also growing. We can expect more extreme and dangerous weather in the future. How should retail business leaders prepare for this change?  How can retailers help lessen the impacts of climate change?   Retailers like Starbucks have made a business case for sustainability, by showing that it will also lessen operating costs. Being greener also aligns with the values of many of its customers.  This creates a halo around the brand that keeps shoppers loyal.   Research analyst David Barnett dug into climate change in the Retailer's Guide to the Galaxy report. He wrote that retail property owners are now seeing more property damages from severe weather like flooding and violent storms.     A drought in California can affect food prices around the world.  Disruptions to supply chains delay goods from getting to stores and warehouses.   Consumer behavior has also shifted in response to new weather patterns. In the near term, this will mean a shift in timing of the sales of warm and cold-weather clothing.   Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Read more retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

James visits Beijing to learn more about China retail.   He meets up with the JLL Beijing Retail Research team: Steven McCord, Sam Zheng, Lesley Chai, Ming Ji and Linda Yu.   They check out a smart-phone-operated vending machine.   Sam Zheng says that most of his meals are ordered online through O2O, but he doesn't buy luxury items online for fear of counterfit goods.  He also gets his laundry done on O2O, which delivers haircuts, food delivery, nail polishing and more.     Steven McCord says that Beijing online sales account for 20% of retail sales.  In the past year that percentage has plateaued   All the people who will shop online are doing it now.  We may be on the cusp of a backlash away from online. People want to get back to shopping malls for the social elements that they offer.  Labor costs are rising in China and last-mile delivery of ecommerce is going to get more expensive.       Ming Ji goes to shopping centers for fun, food and desserts. She buys most of her daily goods, even fresh fruit, online.  Older generations still want to go to shopping centers and outlet stores to buy cloths.  Shopping centers are very family oriented and full of kids. Price matters, so Ming would likely not shop as much online if delivery costs became more expensive.   Linda Yu pays for most things with her phone.  She jokes that if you forget your wallet, it's no problem if you still have your phone. Alipay and Wechat pay are two of the most popular digital wallet apps in China.     Lesley Chai has seen a popularity in VR kiosks in China.  Players pay less then ten dollars to play VR video games for 30 minutes. This is popular for people waiting for movies or restaurants.   Beijing SKP is the mall with the highest sales in the country: $1.4 billion USD annually. Wanfujing is China's most famous shopping street.    Links mentioned in the show:

• Photo of Sam buying something at the vending machine
• Picture of scorpions at Wangfujing
• Picture of Sanlitun
• Photo of James with the Beijing retail research team
• JLL's China research

  Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Read more retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

The multimedia experiences that studios create at San Diego Comic-Con are an example of the kinds of interactive experiences that could be slotted into shopping centers across the nation. Some like Kidzania, Dreamworks and the Void are already doing it.   Taylor Coyne digs into how Artificial Intelligence can help retailers better serve the customer with apps that can both help and engage the shopper.  IBM's Watson works with Macy's customers, telling them what they might want to buy and where in the store they can find it.  KFC in Beijing uses face recognition technology to suggest menu options that diners could be in the mood for. The Internet of things (IoT) will connect all appliances and other devices, which will be enabled with AI.  James relates a hot pursuit situation with a robot security guard in Boston. The future of AI promises 24/7 customer service that is both intelligent and cheerful.   Damon Marx explains that Augmented Reality is having the biggest immediate impact on retail. Retailers can overlay a digital reality on top of our real world. The most famous example is Pokémon Go. Home goods retailers can use AR to show you how a couch would look inside your actual living room. The Shinola store uses VR to give a guided tour of the Shinola factory. For now, VR seems to be most successful as a marketing tool, with retail sales within VR environments still not yet common.   Links mentioned in the show:  

• WSJ article about Comic-con activations 
• The Retailer's Guide to the Galaxy
• James' instagram video of a robot security guard
• Shinola's 360 degree factory tour with Luke Wilson

  Got a retail question?  Tweet at: @JamesDCook     Read more retail research here.   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.

This is the first in a series of episodes based on topics from the Retailer's Guide to the Galaxy report. It's a map into the future of retail.    First, James uses a popular creative outsourcing website called Fiverr to create an audio intro to the series with professional voice talent for twenty bucks in two hours!   Then, James talks with analyst Ebere Anokute about autonomous vehicles. They will change how people organize themselves around city centers. With cheap and easy transportation, people will live further out from the city center. Driverless cars will allow for faster safer trips and reduced traffic jams. They will reduce the cost of car sharing services significantly. There could be more suburban shopping centers focused on daily needs shopping. Driverless cars may also be a boon for ecommerce, offering cost effective last-mile delivery for exurban and rural residents.  Driverless cars could allow up to 61 billion square feet of parking space to be used for better purposes like retail, offices or apartments.    Finally, James watches an episode of the Disneyland TV show from 1958 called Magic Highways USA. Many of the predictions it makes are similar to those that we are making today.    Got a retail question?  Tweet @JamesDCook    Read our retail research: jllretail.com/retail-intelligence   James Cook is the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL.   Our theme music is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon under Creative Commons 4.0 license.