Last week we spoke about how many businesses don’t want to own their own real estate, but that some do. We then spoke about Prada’s recent acquisition of 720 and 724 Fifth Avenue for $835 million. However, they’re not the only ones. According to New… Read More
The momentum around wanting mixed-use laneways in Toronto continues, or the algorithms just know what gets me going. Either way, I continue to be both impressed and surprised by the number of “hidden” laneway-based businesses that exist in this city and that keep surfacing online.… Read More
When you buy commercial real estate, you are buying a stream of future cash flows. Sometimes these cash flows are already in place and sometimes these cash flows are based on future expectations. Either way, as a general rule, it is better to have more… Read More
Back in 2006, online shopping in the UK represented about 3% of total retail sales. As of March 2020, right before the pandemic, this number had increased to about 22%. Online shopping then spiked during the pandemic, as we all know, but it has since… Read More
Here is an example of retail signage on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. The interior signage (behind the glass above the doors) is specific to the brand Osklen (which is a great sustainable fashion company from Brazil). And the exterior soffit signage is specific to… Read More
Each year, tech analyst Benedict Evans publishes a “big presentation” on the macro trends in the tech industry. This year’s presentation is now out (link here) and it’s called “Three Steps to the Future.” Not surprisingly, crypto, web3 and the metaverse feature prominently in his… Read More
It was recently announced that Amazon plans to start opening large brick-and-mortar retail stores that are akin to department stores. They won’t be quite as big. Supposedly they will be around 30,000 square feet. But this is still a meaningful commitment to physical retailing. The… Read More
Earlier this month Snapchat announced the acquisition of Vertebrae, which is a 50-person company that allows brands to create and manage 3D versions of their products. Why does this potentially matter? Because Snapchat is already doing stuff like this: (If you can’t see the embedded… Read More
Benedict Evans asks some great questions in this recent post about ecommerce penetration. Instead of just looking at the product itself and/or the way in which we buy it (online versus offline, for example), he focuses on the logistics model that accompanies the transaction. What… Read More
Blair Welch, co-founding partner of Slate Asset Management, was recently interviewed by Don Wilcox of RENX about the company’s recent acquisition of the Commercial Real Estate Business of New York-based Annaly Capital Management. As part of the deal, we also acquired $0.4 billion of grocery-anchored… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 