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Blame it on the weatherman

Get ready for more hurricane “hot air” in 2006, says Paul Walsh, a senior vice president at weather forecasting firm Planalytics. The high ratings and intense audience interest generated by the 24/7 coverage of hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year ensure a similar media frenzy will occur over the storms that will inevitably threaten U.S. shores this year, Walsh says. “It’s going to be an active and well-broadcast season,” he told a meeting of investors in New York City last month. This year’s U.S. hurricane season could begin as early as May and will peak in September and October, with the East Coast at greatest risk, Walsh says. Amplified media coverage will guarantee an impact on retail sales whether these storms strike or not, asserts Walsh. For 72 hours before a storm hits or moves away from land, a “cone of consumer uncertainty” created by media will blanket large geographical areas, he says. “The consumers in this cone are thinking more about plywood than khakis,” Walsh said. These media-created sales surges are net positives for home improvement retailers, grocery stores and convenience stores that can stay fully stocked, he says, but they negatively affect traffic at malls.

 

Lane Bryant plus one

Lane Bryant's new lingerie concept, Cacique, will be a big growth engine for the plus-size women’s apparel chain. Parent company Charming Shoppes says same-store sales at its 500 mall-based Lane Bryant stores are not as strong as those of its 260 stores at newer, open-air centers. So the company is looking at converting the mall units, which measure about 7,800 square feet on average, into pairs of side-by-side stores. One of each pair will be a traditional, 5,500-square-foot Lane Bryant, with the unit next door being a 2,000-square-foot Cacique. The dividing wall between the paired stores will extend a few feet inside and then drop away to form a common space. The stores will share a common cash stand and dressing rooms, says Steven R. Wishner, senior vice president of finance at Charming Shoppes. The Lane Bryant-Cacique concept is being tested at six properties, including units in Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Garland, Texas. A few months into the test, the results are “very encouraging — we’re delighted,” Wishner said. A large number of the 50 to 60 Lane Bryants slated to open this year are to be the double-door concept, Wishner says, and all of them will be located in open-air centers. “A lot of our mall leases are coming up for renewal,” he said, noting that the company will try to use the opportunity to turn many of those stores into double-door Lane Bryant-Cacique stores.

 

‘Food court’ for eagles

THF Realty plans to introduce a food court, of sorts, for eagles near its Prairie Center, a mixed-use center under construction in Brighton, Colo., some 20 miles northeast of Denver. THF is exploring locations for a prairie dog colony to provide a sustainable food supply for a pair of nesting eagles nearby. THF says it will spend $75,000 to make sure its development does not interfere with the birds. “Since we view ourselves as long-term stakeholders in the community, we are committed to taking every feasible action to ensure that the economic development benefits of Prairie Center coexist with our desire to see the Barr Lake [State Park] eagles soar,” said THF President Michael Staenberg. THF has tried not to disturb the creatures while moving some 2.5 million cubic yards of soil, razing structures, installing 36-inch water lines and laying 25 miles of road. A 140,000-square-foot Home Depot was completed without bothering the eagles. The first phase of the 5 million-square-foot, $500 million Prairie Center will be completed next year.

 

Growing grassroots

One out of five American families has opposed a new development project in their neighborhood, according to a survey of 1,000 consumers conducted in November by The Saint Consulting Group, which specializes in the politics of real estate development. Among the survey’s findings: 81 percent of the respondents oppose the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision regarding eminent domain, 60 percent believe their local government does a fair-to-poor job on planning and zoning issues, and 93 percent say they take a political candidate’s position on new development into account when deciding who to vote for. “If all politics is local … all land use has become political,” said Patrick Fox, president of the firm. “What this means to developers is that traditionally business-oriented political leaders may no longer favor all development projects.”

 

High-tech cheesecake

The Cheesecake Factory has never had to close one of its restaurants, and “all of our units are profitable,” said David Overton, chairman and CEO, at an investor conference. To protect that record, the chain is going high-tech in its site-selection methods, he said. The Calabasas, Calif.-based company recently completed 90,000 customer surveys it will feed into a new third-party site-selection computer program. The software will allow Cheesecake Factory to predict sales for a new store with a 10 percent margin of error. It will also help the company decide how many units a market can sustain, he says. The software will be rolled out this year and will influence all new store decisions. “One question we asked is, ‘Where would you eat if you didn’t eat at Cheesecake?’” Overton said. “Ninety-five percent said they’d go to an independent restaurant, not another chain.”

 

Survivor

Ruth Marie Milliman has survived days spent in the scorching Sahara Desert, not to mention an 11-year career in the competitive real estate industry, so her friends and colleagues are betting she has what it takes to win $1 million on the 12th edition of the popular television reality-game show, Survivor. An accomplished sportswoman, she almost won the Marathon Des Sables race in the Sahara Desert in 2003. The 48-year-old Milliman is also the director of leasing for Greenville, S.C.-based shopping center developer Centennial American Properties. By contractual agreement with CBS, Milliman cannot speak to media or reveal whether she won the contest, which was filmed on an island off the coast of Panama. On Survivor 16 contestants must live like castaways for 16 weeks.

 

Super Bowl

Taubman Centers helped Detroit celebrate its love of the Super Bowl in January with a monthlong display of more than 120 footballs decorated by NFL celebrities. These pigskins were to be auctioned off for charity in connection with Super Bowl Sunday this month. The footballs were on display at three Taubman centers in Michigan: Fairlane Town Center, in Dearborn; Great Lakes Crossing, in Auburn Hills; and Twelve Oaks Mall, in Novi.

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