The Dirt Lawyer's Blog Archive

The headline of the story is gloomy: retail sales growth is slowing because of housing and unemployment concerns. But in addition to saying that he thinks things are fundamentally sound here, Peter Lowy's interview goes beyond mere sales numbers in the retail sector. Check out the vacancy rate at Westfield's US properties: 6.5%. The article intimates that this is apparently high compared to the UK or Australia, but that is pretty low, if you ask me. Come to where I live and check out the Simon-owned mall here. I can guarantee the vacancy rate is above 6.5%, and at least one other store is in its death throes according to newspaper ads. (I never go to the mall anymore so I haven't confirmed this.)

Sorry, all you folks in the Show Me State, but Westfield made a great move in my opinion by dumping four malls in St. Louis and buying two in Florida . I am personally not the biggest fan of Florida (the humidity just kills me), but it is the fourth largest state now and poised to grow even more. St. Louis? As Borat says, not so much. (Don't get me wrong, it is a nice town, the presence of the Cardinals notwithstanding.) Westfield appears to trying to consolidate its holdings in certain growth markets, perhaps with an emphasis on the Sun Belt. So what about Chicago, which is definitely not Sun Belt? One could point to the fact the the Shops at North Bridge is on the market , but let's not forget that (a) Westfield only owns one-third of it together with John Buck Co. and Morgan Stanley and may or may not be selling its stake (my guess is that it will try to stay put), and (b) Westfield owns five other malls in the area: Hawthorn, Old Orchard, Fox Valley, Chicago Ridge and...