WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Rent Payment Tracker found that as of June 6, 80.8 percent of apartment households paid rent for the month of June. The Washington, D.C.-based organization reports that the June figure is a 0.6 percent increase over May 6, but it is a 0.7 percent decrease from this point in June 2019. Nearly 20 percent of households with at-risk wages in small multifamily apartments may have difficulty paying rent, according to a study published June 11 by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. In addition, 32 percent of renter respondents to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, conducted from May 28 to June 2, reported “no or slight confidence” in their ability to pay next month’s rent. “While our Rent Payment Tracker metric continues to show the resilience and strength of the professionally managed apartment industry, it does not necessarily tell the whole story, as it doesn’t capture rent payments for smaller landlords or for affordable and subsidized properties,” says Doug Bibby, president of NMHC. The organization surveyed apartment management companies responsible for 11.4 million units nationwide. There are 21.4 million apartments nationwide in buildings with more than five units, …
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Retailers at the Shops at CenterPoint in Grand Rapids have begun reopening this week after being closed for nearly three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Owner Stonemar Properties LLC anticipates that nearly all tenants will be open by Monday, June 15. Shops at CenterPoint is a 575,000-square-foot shopping center located at the corner of East Beltline Road and 28th Street. It is home to T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, Nordstrom Rack, Ulta, DSW, Carhartt and Lands’ End, among others. Many retailers will still offer curbside pickup in the coming months. The shopping center is approximately 93 percent occupied. Mark Ansara and Earl Clements of Colliers International handle leasing for the property.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 1.5 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment aid during the week ending June 6, the U.S. Department of Labor reports. The coronavirus has continued its grasp on the U.S. economy, but several governors have allowed their respective states to reopen certain aspects of the economy, including stores, restaurants, office buildings and amusement parks. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs in the month of May. Furthermore, for the 10th straight week, the first-time claims have been lower than the previous week, with the most recent figure showing a decrease of 355,000 claims. Additionally, the continued claims decreased by 339,000 on a week-over-week basis to 20.9 million. The four-week moving average of the initial jobless claims for this week was just over 2 million claims, down by 286,250 claims the prior week.
Five Below Reopens 90 Percent of Stores, Reports 44.9 Percent Decline in Net Sales in Latest Quarter
PHILADELPHIA — Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE), a discount retail chain headquartered in Philadelphia, has now reopened 90 percent of its stores across the United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company temporarily closed all of its 920 stores across 36 states on March 20 and began reopening them in late April. Five Below reported a net sales decrease of 44.9 percent from $364.8 million to $200.9 million between the first quarters of 2019 and 2020. The first quarter of the company’s 2020 fiscal year ended on May 2. In addition, the company reported a net loss of $50.6 million in the first quarter compared with positive net income of $25.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Five Below’s stock price closed at $113.67 per share on June 10, compared with $131.82 per share at the same time last year.
CINCINNATI — Phillips Edison & Co. Inc. (PECO), an internally managed real estate investment trust and owner of grocery-anchored shopping centers, has issued an update regarding the impact of the COVID-19 impact. Rent and recoveries collected for May totaled 80 percent of monthly billing, up from 78 percent in April. Cincinnati-based PECO says that once tenants are open and able to pay their standard monthly rent, the landlord will begin discussions about recovering missed rent payments. As of May, 91 percent of PECO’s tenants were open for business. PECO has recently launched PECO Connect, a new webpage designed to help tenants reopen as states continue to relax social distancing and stay-at-home requirements. The resources include information on curbside pickup, outdoor dining, signage, educational webinars, tenant rewards and an internal communications platform. PECO manages a portfolio of 312 properties, including 285 wholly owned properties comprising approximately 31.9 million square feet across 31 states.
SEATTLE — Starbucks Coffee plans to accelerate the transformation of its store portfolio across the United States amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next 18 months, the coffee chain will increase convenience-led formats in company-operated locations with drive-thru and curbside pickup options, as well as Starbucks Pickup location. UPDATE (June 11): In a letter to shareholders, released through an SEC filing, Starbucks announced that it plans to close approximately 400 company-operated U.S. stores over the next 18 months as part of this new focus on drive-thru and pickup. In that same letter, Starbucks notes that it plans to open 300 new stores this year, though that is down from its initial plan of 600. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, 80 percent of Starbucks transactions were “on-the-go” sales, according to the letter. Due to the shift in the retail environment because of amid the global pandemic, including store closures and decreased customer sales, Starbucks posted a $3.2 billion loss in revenue during fiscal third quarter and expects same-store sales in the United States and Canada to decline 10 percent to 20 percent for the full fiscal year, according to CNBC. The company’s U.S. store portfolio transformation includes the expansion of …
NEW YORK CITY — Restaurants and retailers on Long Island have been cleared to resume operations with some social distancing restrictions, according to a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that was issued on Tuesday, June 9. Suffolk and Nassau counties, which comprise Long Island, have met necessary requirements in terms of reduced COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations to enter Phase II of the state’s reopening plan. This phase allows outdoor restaurant dining, in-store retail, office work, real estate services and personal services including barbershops and hair salons. Long Island is the final region in the state to enter Phase II excluding New York City, which entered Phase I on Monday, June 8. As of June 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 380,000 cases of COVID-19 in the state of New York and more than 30,000 deaths.
LEAWOOD, KAN. — AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) plans to reopen almost all of its U.S. and U.K. theaters in July. The Leawood, Kan.-based movie theater chain has already reopened 10 theaters in Norway, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and expects to be fully open globally in July ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on July 17 and Disney’s Mulan on July 24. AMC is working closely with local, national and international officials to coordinate timing and requirements of reopening. It is consulting with the Harvard University School of Public Health on how to best create a safe environment for guests and associates. This includes personal protection equipment, cleaning protocols, limited theater capacity and blocked seating. AMC has also partnered with The Clorox Co. for advice on making theater environments as safe as possible. Last week, AMC said it had “substantial doubt” about staying in business if it was forced to keep theaters closed for a longer period. AMC operates 1,000 theaters and 11,000 screens across the globe. Its stock price closed at $5.98 per share on Tuesday, June 9, down from $10.94 one year ago.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — The U.S. economy officially peaked during the fourth quarter of 2019 and entered a recession in February, according to a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit group that tracks economic cycles. A recession entails two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, measured by gross domestic product. NBER analysts believe this recession was a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent business closures, layoffs and slowing of general business in the United States. As this economic shutdown was self-induced, unlike previous recession periods in the country’s history, NBER analysts predict that this recession will be comparatively brief. February marked the end of the economic expansion that began in June 2009 and which saw 128 months of consecutive job growth, the longest streak in the history of U.S. business cycles dating back to 1854, according to NBER. The previous record was held by the business expansion that lasted for 120 months from March 1991 to March 2001.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — COVID-19’s impact on U.S. retail imports is easing, beating prior forecasts, says the National Retail Federation (NRF). The NRF and partner Hackett Associates released their Global Port Tracker on Monday, which showed that ports handled just over 1.6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), beating expectations from one month ago. “Imports are erratic, with one month up and the next down,” says Ben Hackett, founder of Hackett Associates. “Getting 40 million people back to work will take time, especially with many fearful of catching the virus and staying home. That makes a rapid return to an economic boom unlikely.” Even with an immediate boom delayed, Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for NRF, points out that the April numbers show that the economy is recovering faster than what was projected just one month ago. The volume of 1.6 million TEUs in April was down 7.8 percent from April 2019, but it was up 17 percent from March 2020. NRF’s forecast for April showed 1.5 million TEUs coming through the ports. “It may still be too soon to say but we’ll take that as a sign that the situation could be slowly starting to improve,” …