Levin Management Post-Holiday Survey of Northeast Retailers Indicates Optimism for 2011

Sales Figures Reflect Positive Outlook Voiced in Levin Pre-Holiday Survey. End Quote

New York, NY (1888PressRelease) January 22, 2011 - Levin Management Corporation, one of America's largest retail real estate services companies, recently surveyed its shopping center tenants, both prior to and following the 2010 holiday season.

The initial survey, conducted in early November, found that retailers were generally optimistic going into the 2010 holiday shopping period: Some two thirds of retailers projected sales at or higher than the 2009 holiday season. In the post-holiday survey, conducted in January, 61.5% of respondents expressed optimism for the coming year, even as some reported disappointing results during the recent holiday period.

"The general tone during the holidays was upbeat, mirroring the results of our pre-holiday survey," noted Matthew K. Harding, Levin Management's president and chief operating officer. "However, the overall post-holiday numbers offered a somewhat mixed picture, even though most participants indicated that their sales had increased or held steady."

Both Levin surveys canvassed store managers from a roster of 1,000 tenants located at some 90 open-air shopping centers within the company's 12.5-million-square-foot portfolio. Most of the centers are located in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and include key properties such as Paramus Place on Route 4 in Paramus, N.J., Somerset Shopping Center at the Somerville Circle in Bridgewater Township, N.J., and Post Road Plaza on US 1 in Pelham Manor, N.Y. Therefore, the surveys reflect results at open-air centers rather than enclosed malls.

In the pre-holiday survey, some 46% of respondents had projected higher sales, and 22% said sales would at least match prior year totals. In the follow-up survey, 37.5% saw the increases they had projected, and 14.7% equaled 2009 numbers. 41% of respondents experienced lower sales; almost half of this group reported a drop of 10% or less, while another third reported a drop of 11 to 20%.

Nearly one third of respondents indicated that seasonal markdowns were as much as 20% higher in 2010 than 2009. Approximately 60% kept 2010 markdowns at the 2009 level.

When asked about full-year sales, 2010 vs. 2009, 57% of respondents said their sales were equal or higher for the year, and 43% reported lower sales.

Customer Traffic and Spending Results are Mixed; Fewer Seasonal Jobs Materialized

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, 51% of respondents in the post-holiday survey indicated traffic that was higher or holding steady while nearly 49% reported lower traffic compared to 2009. Asked about transaction levels, 57.4% reported equal or higher dollars per sale. 42.6% indicated fewer dollars spent per transaction.

On the employment front, 60% of the retailers who responded did not add seasonal jobs. The remaining 40% announced increases in their seasonal job numbers, with three quarters of those adding between one and five positions. However, only 21.1% of those surveyed indicated that seasonal hires would be offered permanent jobs.

Just how important is the period from Black Friday to Christmas Eve? For 6.6% of Levin's retailers, holiday sales account for more than 40% of annual sales. Approximately one-quarter report the number between 21-40% of annual volume; about one-third indicated holiday sales account for 11-20%, and approximately one-quarter said holiday sales account for less than 10% of total annual sales.

"In the pre-holiday survey, the results indicated that while 2010 was not great for the retail community, there were enough good signs to foster optimism," said Harding. "It is interesting that based on our latest survey, retailers remained positive about 2011 even though the numbers were somewhat mixed. Perhaps they saw something during the holidays in their interaction with the shopping public that reinforced their optimism. In addition, the numbers could be interpreted as a turning point for 2011. It will be important to see whether the next several months and spring season demonstrate a continuation of the holiday trends."

Levin offers a full range of services for its clients, including leasing, property management, accounting, construction management, marketing and risk management. The firm has earned a number of achievements in the past 24 months including "Firm of the Year" by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), New Jersey Chapter No. 1; one of America's five fastest-growing real estate managers by Chain Store Age; and Top Retail Company by the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal. In November 2010, the firm was named as one of the nation's Top 10 Redevelopers by Chain Store Age and in January, was ranked 30th among Top US Real Estate Companies by Commercial Property Executive magazine.

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