24A – Venture Concept No. 1

The Development of more Lifestyle Shopping Centers where current "Dead" Traditional malls stand. 

United States Online Shoppers and Consumers are continuing to shop online in an ever-growing commerce world. This being said, the retail industry in the United States is slowly declining in outdated and slowly dying shopping malls of the past. As a result of this Amazon and other online retailers are slowly taking a larger and larger market share of overall retail consumption.  

As online retailers grow people find less of a reason to go to traditional shopping malls. As the large anchors leave, it creates a “dead mall.” These leave gaps in what once was a town square and more than just a shopping mall, but an activity and common ground for all people within the city or town they are located in. 

There are many people in the United States that are in areas where their malls and common shopping areas are closing due to online retailers. Many people in these areas are affected and share the need of areas needed for development. 

However, Not all areas are affected, some areas are not currently experiencing as many closures as others. Although as malls close, people are seeing less areas of common leisure in their areas. In middle class areas retailers that heavily make up the malls such as boutiques, large department stores, toy stores, etc.. are closing causing the entire mall complex to close. 

People in areas that are still using their malls may not find the need because they still are using old malls and centers. In new areas of development surrounding the malls that are closing this cause is affected the most. As although there are online retailers to get the good they need, there are not as many common places to go and visit. Many retailers may be blaming the ever growing online market but don’t see the opportunity of innovating their business in a better center of shopping and lifestyle. I believe that this opportunity exists as long as commerce continues to grow, inevitably killing old and outdated shopping areas and “Traditional malls” As this continues the scope of how large the opportunity will continue to grow to essentially every city in the United States. 

The lifestyle centers serve to offer things online cannot such as movie theaters, gyms, hotels, etc… These centers are mixed use commercial developments that combine the traditional functions of malls today with leisure amenities to suit todays society. Rather than being anchored by dying department stores such as Sears and Macy’s that most products can be found online from retailer such as Amazon, these centers are anchored by things that can not be found online. These include tenants such as Restaurants, Gyms, Apartment building where people will live, and in larger centers can include Hotels and resorts. Many retailers are not evolving to suit the people of today’s needs. The Lifestyle Centers serve to create a new area of retail that is not currently all over the United States yet. These drive consumers to come to the centers to live work and play. 

Although there are other real estate development companies creating similar concepts, I believe that my young age will differentiate with helping to know exactly what consumers and millennials really want. Young minds crafting the experiences of the future will help to maintain the center to be everlasting and relevant for years to come. 

I believe that having grown up in a real estate family and having many connections to the industry this creates my unfair advantage, to differentiate myself from the general public. Although the lifestyle center concept won’t kill amazon and force people to once again buy their everyday needs from in person retail stores, they will create a gap that offers something that e commerce cannot, real life experiences. As e-commerce continues to grow, I believe this will create more retailers who want to have in person stores as this is currently starting to happen now with retailers such as Warby Parker who started completely online. As this continues this will begin to create a more diverse group of tenants for these centers in the future. Within five years these centers will begin to open in areas that are found to require them taking place in what once stood traditional malls. Filled with diverse retailer stores and enthusiastic patrons to experience the centers. 

Going forward with lifestyle centers the concept would continue to grow across states across the country. Replicating what Simon Mall group did the country over the past 80 years, only with a young and new brand serving for what people want. Creation and development of the brand would be a long process, but as the innovative Lifestyle centers continue to pop up around the country people would develop an awareness for our company to realize that the company has an innovation alike Apple’s to iPhones and technology  only with Development to the Real Estate Industry. As the company would grow this would set need for more employees. These employees would consist of a broad range of people from accountants, to designated real estate agents to creating relationships with tenants to have at all properties. The company would employee hundred and eventually thousands holding offices within the lifestyle centers themself to further create more use of them in general. 

In conclusion, the development and creation of these centers would help grow our country to a new and innovative future of retail across the country and eventually internationally. AS the internet and online retail continues to grow the vertical of Lifestyle Centers will as well continue to grow in areas that become dominated by complete e-commerce.