Retailers Say Rent Relief Is Working

Another interesting article appeared today on rent relief at shopping centers.

Apparently Starbucks has had success in receiving concessions from landlords, in its quest to lower rents by as much as 25% at some of its locations. Additionally, jeweler Zale Corp. earlier this week joined the ranks of retailers looking to catch breaks, and we wrote about Charming Shoppes’ strategy yesterday.

Can Retailers Really Blame the Media?

If you haven’t caught it, there was a great article yesterday in USA Today about the negative impact unfavorable media reports can have on the industry. Over here at Counter Culture, we’ve been pretty convinced of otherwise.

Our main feeling has always been: Do consumers really care that much? If anything, we’ve always thought that reports of a chain doing poorly will actually attract shoppers because they’re going to expect bargains.

Well, this article didn’t necessarily convince us otherwise (we’re not going to ignore a retailer’s announced store closings any time soo), but it did bring up a few points that we hadn’t considered.

Are Rent Reductions Really Happening?

Every day we see more and large chains releasing reports that they are seeking rent reductions with their landlords.

Recently we’ve heard from chains as diverse as Williams-Sonoma, Quiznos, Charming Shoppes and others. Macy’s is one of the few stores to come out and say it isn’t engaging in this practice, but don’t they pay way less than in-line tenants in the first place?