Today is an exciting day my friends!!!! It is the annual Ohio/ Kentucky ICSC conference – YYYEEESSSS! For all of you recently "tuning in" – ICSC stands for the "International Council of Shopping Centers".
The reason this specific conference is so exciting (ICSC has a conference every time some farts) is the obvious, all the retailers at this conference WANT to be in Ohio. Hallelujah! Moreso – hopefully AKRON!!!
So – I am off to give my best effort to bring all you sweet things some additional places to spend your hard earned cashola as well as bring you the latest RE gossip!
For more information about ICSC click here!
According to the VOV News out of Vietnam, The country's retail sales in the first seven months of this year grew by 26.4 percent year over year to VND877.5 trillion (U.S.$45 billion), according to the country's General Statistics Office. (We should all be so lucky)
Not currently BUT Gap Inc. is said to be exploring the idea of entering India. A business development team representing the U.S. apparel giant, which recently announced plans to enter China later this year, held meetings with major Indian retail players on a recent visit to the country, according to reports. "Gap puts a lot of emphasis on the quality of management when they decide to move into a new market, and this one will be fairly long process," said an anonymous source.
Fascinating! On a side note – I found this picture of the first Gap Inc Store, per the caption, it is from 1969 and the store was located on Ocean Ave in San Francisco baby!
I'm not sure how excited I would be about my pension fund being invested into a Parisian Mall. Malls in general are typically a gamble – do I need to point out Rolling Acres…….(Paris is similar) BUT – some soul out there disagreed with me and made "the call" Bernaman Reports;
South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's fourth-largest pension manager, will pay Hammerson €231.4 million for a 51 percent-stake in the 90,400-square-metre O'Parinor mall in Paris. Tenants at the centre, which was built in 1974 and renovated in 2008, include Carrefour, Toys 'R' Us, H&M and Zara.
Well – lets hope for those retirees it is a strong return on their money. I am undecided on if this decision is fab or miz! The mall has been around since 1974 and it is Paris BUT if it were me I am not sure that I would want Toys R Us, Zara, and H&M carrying me to retirement…..
On a side note – this was the only picture I could find of O'Parinor - sorry ya'll.
H&M has been a funny but amazing phenomenon but who knew the weather played a roll?!. (Sort of) This chain has managed to take trendy clothes and make them cheap. I was once told that H&M can take a clothing sketch and have it on their sales floor within two weeks – UNHEARD OF! They know their target market and their demographic well, it is no wonder this chain is kicking A$$ (thankyouverymuchRick) all over the place! (On a bad story funny note - my first encounter with H&M was in NY almost 8 years ago. My girlfriend and I were there for the weekend looking for fun wedding things for my "special day" (ha) so we decided to take a break and enjoy some cheap and chic treats. As we explored the store, we simultaneously stopped and left. H&M had a DJ playing on the second floor and his music was SO LOUD we left. I can't explain it other than to say it was awful. Other than that – all my other H&M experiences have been lovely including trips back to that very same store. Well – If that didn't melt your cold retails hearts – I don't know what will!!!!) Back to Biznass -
According to Bloomberg Businessweek; H&M's same-store sales grew by 10 percent from a year earlier in July, the retailer said. Total sales climbed 21 percent from a year earlier as Europe's second-largest clothing retailer increased its number of stores from 1,828 to to 2,066. “A continuous optimistic consumer, easier comparables and warmer weather after some cold months in April and May are the best explanations for the strong same-store sales,” said Soeren Hansen, an analyst with Sydbank in Aabenraa, Denmark. “I expect H&M to post modest but positive same-store sales for the whole year.”
Well – Cheers to the weather and lets hope this brand continues dominating its place in the market!
I have to admit when I think of Romania I DO NOT think of pizza. But – I don't think of Greeks and pizza either and they can't seem to get enough of the stuff SO it should come as no surprise that Domino's is entering the Romanian market. Bloomberg Business Weekly reports;
Domino's Pizza said it plans to grow rapidly in Romania, where it recently opened its first store in Bucharest through a joint venture with Romanian automotive distributor the Radacini Group. The pizza chain now operates in more than 60 markets.
Yum!
On a nothingtodowithanything side note – we had a pizza tasting contest at my parents the other night. We chose between Marco's pepperoni and green pepper pizza (pick up) (Cost: $7.00) and Romeo's sausage and green pepper with marinara sauce pizza (delivery – that arrived before the Mr picked up the Marco's pizza) (Cost: $17.00) – Romeo's won our taste contest by a landslide. It was 4 to 1 (My Dad did like the Marco's pizza better) We all did think that Romeo's was expensive but darn good.
What is more fun than being in "the know" – spewing out those bits of meaningless but interesting info – here is a little for the rolodex!
More fun news from the ICSC Newsletter;
Costco announced plans to open stores at Westfield Group centers in Los Angelesand in Sarasota, Fla., and Wheaton, Md.
Saks Inc. says it will close its Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Plano, Texas, and inMission Viejo, Calif.
American Apparel says it could go out of business this year because of poor sales and high debt. The chain’s same-store sales fell 16 percent in the second quarter from a year ago. (This is very sad news – AA seemed to have a good product. Sad news)
Potbelly Sandwich Shop has begun franchising. The Chicago-based chain, which operates 200 company-owned restaurants in 12 states, says its first franchised unit will open in El Paso, Texas, by year-end. (Potbelly is so good!! They are basically a Jimmy John's though with a pig)
A&P says it will close 25 stores across five states by the end of the third quarter.
All I have to say is that Saks better not be closing in Beachwood – I plan to spread my asses there when the time comes!
Oh oh. Fingers crossed that we are not part of the 110 Ambercrombie & Fitch Stores closing in the US! The ICSC newsletter is reporting,
Abercrombie & Fitch announced plans to close 110 of its 1,067 U.S. stores. Sixty of those marked for closure are Abercrombie & Fitch or Abercrombie Kids stores nearing their lease end this year, and an additional 50 will be closed next year, said CFO Jonathan Ramsden on a conference call. “The total number of closures could increase if we are able to negotiate additional buyouts on underperforming stores with later lease expirations,” Ramsden said.
These closings come despite a slight turnaround in the chain’s fortunes. Abercrombie’s second-quarter net sales climbed 17 percent year on year, to $745.8 million, while same-store sales rose 5 percent.
Still, the company continues to expand. Abercrombie says it will open three Abercrombie & Fitch units, three Abercrombie Kids stores, three Hollister units, twoGilly Hicks stores and five outlet stores, all in the U.S. The company also says it plans to open namesake units in Denmark and Japan. Plus it aims to open 20 Hollister stores in overseas malls. The company says it will open during the fourth quarter anAbercrombie & Fitch in Canada and a Gilly Hicks in the U.K.
Not that I wear anything from AF – I am too old and decrepit BUT for all of you that do and might be worried, I personally think we will be ok. I don't see them shutting any of the stores in our area. Keep you posted.
New owner emerges for Max & Erma's (the Columbus based restaurant chain), According to a document filed Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, Fidelity Newport Holdings LLC was the winning bidder in the competition for the Columbus-based restaurant chain.
Details of the bid were not revealed, but according to a sale notice, the offers had to begin at $25.7 million, a level that topped the opening bid of $24.8 million proposed July 9 by Concept Development Partners LLC, an investment partnership of Malibu, Calif.-based CDP Management Partners LLC and private equity investor CIC Partners LP of Dallas.
Village Inn had $272 million in sales in 2009, according to trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News. The company runs four Bakers Square restaurants in the Cleveland area.
I thought the Bakers Square restaurants had all closed?!.
Read more: New owner emerges for Max & Erma’s – Business Courier of Cincinnati
I feel like I have been laying in my own sweat this summer, the humidity has been ridic. (LOVE THE HEAT though) The only thing I would change (I think) about my summer would be to have the ability to walk out of my back door and sashay into a pool. There is just something nice about having swanky patio furniture and a serene setting to relax BUT does the pool fantasy translate to a good investment?
How much is your pool really costing you? Does it offer any return?
"It's definitely not an investment," argues Jim Holtzman, financial planner at Legend Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh. "It's a big liability, if anything." (A Yahoo! Finance Analyst)
Elaine Scoggins, a financial adviser with Merriman investment advisers in Seattle, agrees and thinks people tend to underestimate the long-term costs. "They think about a house as a potential money pit, but they may not think about the pool," she says. "I'm not saying don't own a pool, but go into it with your eyes open." (same with our friend Elaine – she also gave a quote to Yahoo! Finance)
Cost to build and maintain an in ground pool:
- Cost to build: $20,000 – $50,000 (depends on size)
- Chemicals to keep pool sanitary: $500/ Year (if you are using saline – this figure is different)
- Open and Close Pool: $500
- Basic maintenance (pumps, equipment, etc): $200-$1500/ Year
Total costs are estimated to be approx 10 – 15% of the initial cost (depending on if you use a pool company, the costs get more expensive)
You may figure that you'll make a lot of this back when you come to sell your home. Advisers and most importantly ME doubt it. "I question whether it adds anything to the [sale price]," says Ed Rose, a financial planner at Bayside Wealth Management in Pensacola, Fla. "It may contribute something, but you'll never get your money out of it on the resale." One of his clients recently bought a home with a pool and paid extra to have it filled in. "Many people don't want to buy a house with a pool because they don't want the responsibility," says Jim Miller at Woodward. In our area – that number is worse.
You tell me! Fab or Miz? For me - FAB! I would love to have a pool – there is just something nice about bathing in private…..just don't expect to get anything back!
ps – Per the gorg photo above – OBVIOUSLY nothing electrical should ever go near water – especially a pool!
