| A Weekly PropTech Newsletter bringing you industry updates from across the real estate spectrum |
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| Happy Monday—well, Super Sick Monday for some! If you’re in the U.S., you probably know that the Monday after the Super Bowl is infamous for a surge in sick calls, with millions of employees mysteriously under the weather (and some companies even embracing the unofficial holiday). For our international readers, this might sound surprising, but the Super Bowl is more than just a game—it’s a cultural event that keeps people up late, whether they’re watching from home, at work in Australia, or staying up into the early hours in Europe. No matter where you are, if you’re feeling a bit groggy today, you’re in good company! On to the regularly scheduled news……
Property owners: a new and unexpected member has joined your ranks. Walmart is now a mall owner. That’s right, Walmart last week purchased Monroeville Mall outside Pittsburgh, PA for $34 M from CBL Properties. I wonder if they have seen our think piece? Well, truth be told this isn’t a new tactic – in fact Amazon also owns several malls. What could be new is what Walmart plans to do with the mall; be that, keep it as is (currently home to Macy’s, Dicks Sporting Goods, and over 100 other stores), or turn it into a fulfillment center. We’ll be watching, and curious to get your take on how you’d advise Walmart if they were interested in your property – let us know over on LinkedIn.
While Amazon has indeed bought malls, they’ve mostly turned them into fulfillment centers, and an article this week discusses why that might be – they can’t seem to get physical retail quite right. Also in mall news, a major player is investing abroad in luxury, but also in lower-tiers in the U.S., while another major player is bringing in some very unique in-mall advertising. |
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| Why Content Platforms Like TikTok And Netflix Are Turning To Retail [Forbes] Companies that didn’t start in retail are now competing for shoppers’ attention and spend. Think: social networks like TikTok and YouTube; streaming services like Netflix and Roku; and gaming platforms like Roblox and Twitch.
Beyond, Inc. Acquires BuyBuy Baby, Lays Out Tech-Focused Plan for Brand’s Future [Retail Touchpoints] Beyond, Inc. — the owner of BuyBuy Baby’s former sister brand Bed Bath & Beyond — has signed an agreement to reunite the two brands with a $5 million acquisition of BuyBuy Baby. The deal includes BuyBuy Baby’s databases, domains, intellectual property (IP) and vendor relationships, currently owned by New Jersey-based baby retailer Dream on Me. |
| 1-800-Flowers.com Partners with Uber to Manage V-Day Delivery Spikes [Retail Touchpoints] 1-800-Flowers.com is collaborating with Uber Direct — Uber’s white label delivery service for merchants — to help florists meet demand during one of their busiest periods of the year (and a day when many panicked Romeos and Juliets buy flowers at the last minute) — Valentine’s Day.
Big Retailers Find Big Profits Imitating Amazon’s Ad Business [Forbes] Major bricks-and-mortar retailers have been eating Amazon’s e-commerce dust for years, but that’s been quietly changing in a big way. Walmart, Target, Instacart, eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, and Kroger are just a few of the 200 or so retailers that are building their own retail media networks on their e-commerce platforms. |
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| This New Hologram Media Network Beams Celebs and 3D Ads Into Malls [AdWeek] Hologram Media Network, an ad network founded by James Andrew Felts and David Bridgers last fall, has inked a deal with Simon Malls to install more than 30 holographic Proto Luma devices in malls across the country, ADWEEK can exclusively reveal. The goal is to expand to 50 locations by the second quarter and 150 by the end of the year. |
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| Developer Rick Caruso launches group to aid Los Angeles fire rebuilding [CoStar] Los Angeles developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso has launched a coalition of private business executives aimed at helping the rebuilding process after the most destructive wildfires in California history tore through the city.
Amazon, King of Online Retail, Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work [The Wall Street Journal] Amazon is stumbling in its efforts to compete in the bricks-and-mortar world. The company in 2018 launched the Amazon Go convenience store, where customers can grab an item and walk out without waiting in line to pay. But with the Amazon Go store in Woodland Hills, Calif., closing recently, the retailer has shrunk its Go portfolio by about half since early 2023, to 16 stores in four states
Simon Property Group turns to ‘B’ malls for growth [RetailDive] After years of focusing on investing in its A malls —with attract higher traffic, sales and rents — Simon Property Group sees opportunity for growth at B malls. |
| Walmart’s latest acquisition is a shopping mall in Pennsylvania [CNBC] Walmart has bought a mall in the Pittsburgh area. The purchase was an all-cash $34 million deal, according to CBL, a shopping mall owner that sold the property. It’s another example of the creative ways that malls have transformed, as some have become apartments, hockey rinks or even Amazon fulfillment centers.
Why Amazon and Walmart Suddenly Like Malls [PYMNTS] Not to be outdone, Amazon has repurposed struggling malls into distribution centers, breathing new life into properties. Amazon acquired several former malls, including locations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Worcester, Massachusetts, to convert them into fulfillment centers.
Simon acquires two Italian luxury outlets [Chain Store Age] Global luxury group Kering has agreed on the sale of 100% of The Mall Luxury Outlets entities to Simon. The Mall, created in 2001, operates two luxury outlet destinations in Italy, one in Leccio, nearby Florence, and the other in Sanremo, on the coast in Northwest Italy. The latter was opened in 2019. |
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