Surviving the storm

[Editor's Note: Ian Ritter is taking a much deserved vacation over the next week, and GlobeSt.com retail reporter Debra Hazel is filling in for him on Counter Culture. Please be nice.]

“When you’re in the middle of the storm, all you can focus on is the rain around you,” Taubman Centers COO William Taubman told CNBC yesterday, referring to the uncertainty around commercial real estate.

Some specialty apparel stores stores are showing signs of life, but commercial real estate still has a long way to go, he noted. With some $300 billion to $400 billion of debt to be financed, with no liquidity in sight, he said, the hole is still pretty deep.

Wal-Mart May Finally Enter NYC

The largest retailer in the world is again looking at entering the biggest city in the country. Wal-Mart executives figure that conditions are favorable for the company to come to New York. People are now looking for a bargain more than ever, and real estate prices here might not get a whole lot lower.

The company has considered coming to New York in the past. Either way, it should expect a big fight from local labor unions, “You’re not going to get into this city unless you come forward and talk to the players, and in New York City, like it or not, the labor movement is a major player,” one union leader told Crain’s.

The Top 100 Retailers

Stores magazine just put out its list of top 100 retailers by revenue. Wal-Mart of course, is on top, followed by Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, Target, Walgreen, CVS, Lowe’s, Sears Holdings and Best Buy in descending order.

Though it’s by no means a new phenomenon, we still get blown away by Wal-Mart’s Shaq-like size. Its nearly $406 billion in revenue last year exceeds that of the next five retailers on the list COMBINED.

Wal-Mart is also making news for its support of employer-mandated health care, which is facing opposition from the National Retail Federation, which puts out Stores. We’re not going to weigh in on the health care debate (you readers are welcome to do that), but we admire that the NRF isn’t afraid to stand up to what must be one of its largest members.

Will Wal-Mart’s Luck Run Out?

Wal-Mart’s annual meeting is taking place this week, and investors have plenty of reason to celebrate, given that the retailer is prevailing while others are struggling during the recession.

But this article asks a question we hadn’t given much thought to: “Can these gains last when the economy improves and shoppers once again choose to shop elsewhere?”

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.

RECon Report: What Is Going On???

OK. Things at the International Council of Shopping Centers RECon conference in Las Vegas are getting a little confusion. One person tells us that retailers are getting rent reductions and someone else says that they’re not budging on giving concessions. Someone says the recession is going to be over by the end of the year, and someone else will say that the commercial real estate industry will feel pain through 2012.

Our head is spinning, and it’s not just the heat.

Target Proxy Battle Heats Up

William Ackman, leader of the investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management, introduced yesterday four executives he would like to see on Target’s board of directors. One of them is Jim Donald, a former Starbucks CEO who has also worked with grocer Pathmark and Wal-Mart.

“We think we can make this a better company if we improve the board,” Ackman said at a meeting in Manhattan, according to this article.

Pier 1 Continues to Hang On

Pier 1 Imports, a retailer we didn’t think would ride things out this long, is still surviving.

Sure, the company didn’t have amazing fiscal-year results, posting a net loss of $29 million, and a same-store sales decline of 9.7% during the fourth quarter. But executives are saying that they expect to close no more than 80 stores this year out of the nearly 1,100 in operation.

Will a Target Takeover Happen?

William Ackman, the head of investment group Pershing Square Capital Management, is not backing down from his proposed takeover of Target Corp.

Pershing, which controls 7.8% of the retailer’s stock, is trying to convince shareholders to vote five people on to the company’s board. Target, on the other hand, is trying to get its current board members reelected.

Can Target Compete With Wal-Mart?

One thing about this whole economic mess and its impact on retail that we haven’t gotten a strong grip on is why Target is faring so poorly while other discounters are able to keep their heads above water.

Well, now Target is planning to combat its rough results (Q4 net income fell 41%) “plans to place greater emphasis on food, health-care products, personal items and other necessities, while offering fewer discretionary items to avoid big markdowns that have hobbled its earnings,” says one article.