submitted on 9-19-2012 by CBLHoliday sales should ring in a lot of good cheer and end up as one of the best seasons since the Great Recession, the head of one of America's largest shopping center companies says.
Despite the "distraction" of the presidential race, CBL & Associates Properties Inc. CEO Stephen Lebovitz said Thursday that low gas prices and joblessness coupled with economic strength in most of its markets create a solid shopping scenario.
"We're positive. We're optimistic," Lebovitz said, adding that holiday sales gains are forecast in the 3.5 percent range in 2016 over last year.
Lebovitz, in a telephone interview, also said company officials are proud of the decision to close 72 of its malls, or nearly all of its enclosed centers, for Thanksgiving.
"We feel like we're really making a difference here," he said about its mall employees and those who work for retailers in its properties. "It will make a real impact. It's such a family holiday."
Last year, CBL opened its centers at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving and stayed open until midnight. The year before the company opened them at 8 p.m.
But, the CEO said, data from the periods showed that CBL wasn't seeing a significant benefit.
"We were seeing roughly the sames sales as we had done," he said. "It was just spread out over more hours."
Also, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and typically the busiest shopping day of the year, had lost some of its luster, Lebovitz said.
"We think it will make for a better shopping experience by focusing on [Black Friday] and not be spread out over two days," he said.
Many major retailers, such as Dillard's, Burlington, hhgregg, Home Depot, Office Depot and Hobby Lobby, have announced they'll close for Thanksgiving. CBL plans to reopen its malls at 6 a.m. for Black Friday.
The National Retail Federation projects that holiday sales in November and December, excluding autos, gas and restaurants, will jump 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion.
The gain is higher than the 10-year average of 2.5 percent and above the seven-year average of 3.4 percent since the economic recovery began in 2009, the trade group said.
Matthew Shay, NRF's chief executive, said all of the fundamentals are in "a good place" and giving strength to consumers.
"This year hasn't been perfect, starting with a long summer and unseasonably warm fall, but our forecast reflects the very realistic steady momentum of the economy and industry expectations," he said in a statement.
In Chattanooga, CBL owns and operates Hamilton Place and Northgate malls. In Dalton, Ga., it runs Walnut Square Mall.
Lebovitz said Northgate, which CBL bought in 2011 for $11.5 million in cash, has become "one of the stars in our portfolio." CBL completed a multimillion-dollar renovation and attracted new retailers, such as Burlington, and has seen occupancy grow from about 50 percent to 90 percent, he said.
Sales have climbed more than 30 percent since the purchase, Lebovitz said. It had been a so-called "tier three" mall with sales under $300 per square foot, he said. Now it's solidly tier two and "hopefully headed to tier one," which would put the mall in the top 30 percent of CBL's portfolio, the CEO said.
Lebovitz, who recently finished a year as chairman of the 68,000-member International Council of Shopping Centers, said shopping like sports transcends boundaries.
"We like to think Americans love to shop and it's kind of an American thing. It's not at all. Some of the nicest malls I saw were in Asia, Europe, across the world," he said.
Lebovitz said he saw malls where there's more food, restaurants and mixed-use residential, office and hotels than in the U.S.
"There's a lot we can learn from what I saw," he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.