Mall operators are taking a page from the playbook of their office counterparts and setting up retail incubators in some of the space left vacant by departed department and apparel store retailers.

Offering retail and technology startups a shared space to test their concepts in the U.S. commercial real estate market, including Philly retail space, before live shoppers, the new retail incubators also provide mall operators with an opportunity to find tenants with the potential for growth – and a diverse variety of new retailers giving shoppers a new reason to visit the mall.

This report on U.S. and Philadelphia commercial properties is being made through Philadelphia commercial real estate broker Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing on Philly retail properties.

This November, several small, startup retail and e-commerce companies dealing in national and Philadelphia commercial real estate markets plan to occupy 11,000 square feet of vacant space in a retail incubation arena at New Jersey’s Cherry Hill Mall near anchor tenant Nordstrom.

Earlier this year, a 15,000-square-foot innovation center known as “Cowork at the Mall” opened in one of the many vacant national and Philadelphia commercial real estate properties, this one at a former Sports Authority store in Chicago’s Water Tower Place.

In addition, one of the nation’s largest mall operators is in the early stages of developing a retail incubation program for several of its properties among its U.S. and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings.

Beyond just space, incubators dealing in the U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – are offering fledgling new retailers additional access to experienced operators, coaching, and networking opportunities to help them get their companies off the ground.

For more information about Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space or other Philadelphia commercial properties, please call 215-799-6900 to speak with Jason Wolf (jason.wolf@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a leading Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that specializes in Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate is a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker with expertise in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings, provides unparalleled expertise in matching companies and individuals seeking new Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space with the Philadelphia commercial properties that best meets their needs.

As experts in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, the team at our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm provides ongoing detailed information about Philadelphia commercial properties to our clients and prospects to help them achieve their real estate goals.  If you are looking for Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space for sale or lease, Wolf Commercial Real Estate is the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker you need — a strategic partner who is fully invested in your long-term growth and success.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Demand for mall and shopping center space by retailers fell to its lowest level in six years in the first quarter of 2018 as retailers continued to focus on their top-performing locations and shed marginal stores, with announced store closures totaling nearly 100 million square feet so far this year alone.

The balancing act was reflected in the first quarter 2018 retail vacancy rate for the U.S. commercial real estate market, including Philly retail space, which at 4.6 percent was unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2017 and just a tenth of a percentage point lower than a year ago.

Net absorption of U.S. retail space fell to 11 million square feet in national and Philadelphia commercial real estate markets, the lowest quarter for mall and shopping center demand since 2012, according to data presented in CoStar’s First-Quarter 2018 State of the U.S. Retail Market report.

This report on U.S. and Philadelphia commercial properties is being made through Philadelphia commercial real estate broker Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing on Philly retail properties.

“As the national retail vacancy rate has begun to flatten, the pace of the recovery has slowed. In fact, we can call an end to the recovery,” said Ryan McCullough, senior managing consultant for CoStar Portfolio Strategy, who co-presented the report with Director of Research Suzanne Mulvee.

While retailer demand for store space has slowed among national and Philadelphia commercial real estate properties, it has not stopped, contrary to perceptions in the broader market fueled by headlines of closures and bankruptcies of big-box tenants like Kmart and Toys R Us.

Expansions by restaurants, grocery stores and other food-focused retail tenants, as well as health-care and other service providers and smaller local shopping center tenants dealing in U.S. and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings, continues to drive leasing and net demand growth for the retail sector, McCullough said.

The U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – is performing differently in different parts of the country. In recovering housing markets and other high-growth Sunbelt metros, retail vacancy has continued to decline and post strong leasing momentum.

Meanwhile, demand has softened in core coastal markets among national and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings with high quality, new space becoming tougher to find, McCullough said.

“The most damaged markets are healing the fastest, with demand growth growing fastest in higher vacancy markets and markets with the healthiest fundamentals seeing the least expansion,” McCullough added.

For more information about Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space or other Philadelphia commercial properties, please call 215-799-6900 to speak with Jason Wolf (jason.wolf@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a leading Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that specializes in Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate is a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker with expertise in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings, provides unparalleled expertise in matching companies and individuals seeking new Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space with the Philadelphia commercial properties that best meets their needs.

As experts in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, the team at our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm provides ongoing detailed information about Philadelphia commercial properties to our clients and prospects to help them achieve their real estate goals.  If you are looking for Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space for sale or lease, Wolf Commercial Real Estate is the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker you need — a strategic partner who is fully invested in your long-term growth and success.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing of shoe and apparel wholesaler Nine West Holdings Inc. focused the retail spotlight on the outlet center segment of the commercial real estate industry.

Despite the bad news for the U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – that Nine West is closing all 70 of its stores, the good news is that leasing demand for outlet store space has been outpacing availabilities.

This report on U.S. and Philadelphia commercial properties is being made through Philadelphia commercial real estate broker Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing on Philly retail properties.

Privately held Nine West’s filing seeks to restructure about $1.6 billion in debt, much of it racked up in the national and Philadelphia commercial real estate markets when private equity firm Sycamore Partners Management acquired the company and affiliated brands in the 2014 for $2.2 billion.

While 80 percent of Nine West’s sales come from wholesale operations, it also operates 70 brick-and-mortar retail stores – all of which it has now closed and is asking the court to cancel the leases on those locations. Sixty-seven of those locations were in outlet centers included among national and Philadelphia commercial real estate properties.

The store closures hit two publicly traded retail landlords and their U.S. and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings the hardest. Simon Property Group will lose 35 stores. Simon owns and operates a portfolio of 91 centers through Simon Premium Outlets and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers will see 19 stores closed out of its portfolio of 44 upscale outlet shopping centers.

The stores typically ranged about 3,000 square feet in size on average, which means about 105,000 square feet of newly vacant space in the U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – for Simon and 57,000 square feet for Tanger.

That is a bigger chunk of space comparatively for Tanger. During 2017, Tanger recaptured 201,000 square feet within its portfolio. The 2017 amount is nearly double the amount it took back a year earlier. Overall occupancy declined from 98 percent in 2016 to 97 percent last year.

For more information about Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space or other Philadelphia commercial properties, please call 215-799-6900 to speak with Jason Wolf (jason.wolf@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a leading Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that specializes in Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker with expertise in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings, provides unparalleled expertise in matching companies and individuals seeking new Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space with the Philadelphia commercial properties that best meets their needs.

As experts in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, the team at our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm provides ongoing detailed information about Philadelphia commercial properties to our clients and prospects to help them achieve their real estate goals.  If you are looking for Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space for sale or lease, Wolf Commercial Real Estate is the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker you need — a strategic partner who is fully invested in your long-term growth and success.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

The U.S. retail vacancy rate increased by 10 basis points for the second-straight quarter to hit 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2017 as retail leasing and net absorption slowed despite continuing improvement in the broader economy and growing consumer spending power, according to CoStar analysts.

A slowdown in third-quarter leasing performance for the U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – reflects the ongoing store closures announced by several major retailers. In total, retailers have announced a record 101 million square feet of store closings this year, on top of 83 million square feet of store space that went dark in 2016.

However, despite signs of decelerating leasing demand for the national and Philadelphia commercial real estate markets, some analysts speculate that record levels of store closures will eventually have a ‘healing effect’ on the market as the weakest shopping centers shut down or are repurposed.

This report on U.S. and Philadelphia commercial properties is being made through Philadelphia commercial real estate broker Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing on Philly retail properties.

Analysts argue that recent weakening of fundamentals does not necessarily justify the doomsday scenario suggested by gloomy headlines warning of a “retail apocalypse” or “Armageddon, and the focus on the ongoing purge among national and Philadelphia commercial real estate properties masks the best-performing centers, many of which are adding stores and maintaining occupancy.

“Store closures have become a headline risk, and I think it is impacting the capital markets and pricing of retail property. But for shopping center owners and investors, these closures may be a necessary means to healing the market,” observed CoStar director of U.S. retail research Suzanne Mulvee in presenting the latest quarterly data during CoStar’s State of the Retail Market Q3 2017 Review and Outlook.

“Consumer spending (at the closed stores) needs to go somewhere, usually to another physical retailer, so we look at this trend as somewhat positive for the overall market,” Mulvee said. Surviving stores in the right locations “will ultimately come through this period even stronger than before,” added CoStar managing consultant Ryan McCullough.

One major issue contributing to concerns on Wall Street about U.S. and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings is the staggering amount of debt held by retail chains, incurred in part during the wave of leveraged buyouts by private-equity firms in recent years.

The best-performing malls and shopping centers operating in the U.S. commercial real estate market – including Philly retail space – will continue to attract tenants and retain value. Average and lower-performing properties will continue lose value and eventually close or be repurposed, according to the report.

U.S. retailers dealing with national and Philadelphia commercial real estate listings expect to open nearly 4,100 more stores than they will close in 2017, a conveniently overlooked fact in many news headlines focused chiefly on the number of store closings, according to “Decluttering the Retail Landscape,” a recent report by TH Real Estate.

Competition from online sales is pushing weaker retailers out of business faster than ever before, but the report posits that should ultimately result in a financially healthier and more adaptable set of retailers and shopping centers that provide more appealing experiences and a compelling product mix for shoppers.

For more information about Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space or other Philadelphia commercial properties, please call 215-799-6900 to speak with Jason Wolf (jason.wolf@wolfcre.com) at Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a leading Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that specializes in Philly office space, Philly retail space and Philly industrial space.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate is a Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a Philadelphia commercial real estate broker with expertise in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings, provides unparalleled expertise in matching companies and individuals seeking new Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space with the Philadelphia commercial properties that best meets their needs.

As experts in Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, the team at our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm provides ongoing detailed information about Philadelphia commercial properties to our clients and prospects to help them achieve their real estate goals.  If you are looking for Philly office space, Philly retail space or Philly industrial space for sale or lease, Wolf Commercial Real Estate is the Philadelphia commercial real estate broker you need — a strategic partner who is fully invested in your long-term growth and success.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of South Jersey and Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.