Sixty percent of Macy’s value lies not in its stores, brands, or IP, but in the dirt below it: its real estate. That’s not a good bellwether for its existence as is.
Amazon and third-party delivery services have setup a “warehouse” outside the Astor Place USPS office. This is not a truck parking for five minutes. This a day-long, everyday occurrence. I’ve seen this same scene on a daily basis all around the city for the last three years.
This hurts local retailers. While the local businesses pay extra taxes to operate a store in southern Manhattan, it costs Amazon much less to park a delivery truck (permanently?), put ...
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A new trend in retail is vacant shops in urban neighborhoods being converted to small warehouses. In the East Village on 10th Street, we see on the left the new warehouse model; on the right we see a traditional retailer. For the ‘store’ on the left, the customer orders via their mobile phone and then does a pickup or gets a delivery.
I’m seeing more of these ‘zombie stores’ around the city. Just in the East Village, I’ve seen four: ...
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Did you know there is a connection between the NYC marathon and 41 Madison? 41 Madison, home of the New York Tabletop Show, is owned by the Rudin family, and the family helped start the NYC Marathon. The Times shared this history in an article recently. Excerpt:
"...In 1976 when George Spitz, a civil servant and runner, proposed a marathon through all five boroughs, the time seemed almost right — if daunting. “A race like that could cost $15,000,” Mr. Lebow ...
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Today’s Times shares some of Amazon’s steps during the pandemic to grow its empire.
I used to tell retailers that they don’t know it, but they’re now in: the software business. I missed something in that statement. They are also now in the warehouse business. Websites and warehouses go hand in hand. They’re flip sides of the same coin.
As e-commerce grew, all the major retailers should have been growing their warehouse space. For example: if ...
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, Future Bridge Spokesperson?
Today's Wall St. Journal shares that Target stores saw a 20% increase in revenue--more than the chain had seen in the last 11 years combined. How did it do it? Target converted many of its physical stores into 'mini-warehouses,' where they can ship goods or have customers do curbside pick up.
What does this mean for indie stores? Stores will have to become more efficient in receiving online orders, which make up 40% of retail these ...
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These days, ugly Amazon warehouses are beating up pretty retail stores. Many stores in 2020 had record online sales that made up 40% or more of revenue, but they are struggling because they had to bear the burden of retail stores. Retail stores cost more per square foot to rent, furnish, and maintain. They also cost more to staff. A warehouse person need not be a people person and a snazzy dresser; they can exhibit anger management issues and ...
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When we watch or read the news, we can see how important what we do is. We can see big and small retailers struggling to pivot to multi-channel Many stores had online sales that made up 40% or more of revenue, but they also had to bear the burden of retail stores. Retail stores cost more per square foot to rent, furnish, and maintain. They also cost more to staff: a warehouse person need not be a people person and a snazzy dresser; they can exhibit anger management issues and ...
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Today's NY Times shares that many businesses are decreasing their office space footprint as they let employees work from home.
We are entering a new and unusual time post-COVID. More and more people will be working from home, further encouraging companies to decrease their amount of office space. I think this is a good thing for the most part, as it will open up jobs for people who don't necessarily live near a company's office. It also allows people to work from the comfort of their own home...
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November 25, 2019
November 25, 2019
Sometimes we are critical of Macy's and the whole Federated chain. But perhaps we should take another look. They give us the legendary fireworks in July and the upcoming Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. But more recently they along with Tishman Speyer have taken on the incredibly complicated restoration of the old Abraham & Strauss cast-iron facade building in Brooklyn. Perhaps this Thanksgiving we should be more thankful.
From the NY Times:
New Yorkers are all too familiar with the wholesale ...
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November 28, 2017
November 28, 2017
This ad by a retail real estate group caught my eye.
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June 30, 2017
June 30, 2017
Do your products have the right keywords for buyers to find them? Do you need help via an SEO assistant? Today's WSJ shares how the real estate market is using SEO optimization to boost sales up to 300%.
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April 17, 2017
April 17, 2017
From Sunday's NY Times, this article highlights how retail is at a tipping point with the shift from brick & mortar to e-commerce. While it is a big concern to all, we have you covered: Bridge has helped its retailers process 32% more in sales over the last year vs the year before. Bridge's mobile retail software has seen an increase of 55% year over year. As the retail landscape continues to shift, we are moving right along with it.