Mall developers have to keep up with retail development locally and nationally to remain competitive. The prices and options offered by shopping center developers should be followed closely so that you can make the best presentations to your own clients and know what your competitors are doing. City, state and federal building regulations and financial options change regularly and must be monitored.

Follow trends affecting shopping center development by reading retail center development publications, white papers written by industry analysts and shopping mall development newsletters. Look for retail and shopping center developers news and trends in mainstream business publications and through a variety of sources to work with a complete picture of the retail development landscape.

1. Get news alerts and mall development newsletters to stay in tune with the news of the day.

2. Subscribe to resources for retail developers that deliver analysis and investigative reporting features.

3. Participate in associations for shopping center developers to build a strong source of industry information.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Receive news on retail development companies that keeps you in the loop

Check on daily sources that you know provide pertinent headlines. Get industry newsletters and other electronic communications delivered to you and your staff so that all corners of the market can be covered.

I recommend: RetailWire provides news reports, blogs and tips and research for readers on hot industry topics. Sign up for the newsletter and important trend papers put out by SmartBrief. Major publications covering shopping center news include Chain Store Age, Commercial Property News and Shopping Center Digest.

Read articles that deliver details about shopping center development

Find in-depth reports and shopping center development reports that cover the industry further than the headlines. Often the best information that can help drive your own business decisions comes from investigative reporting and research articles that take a deeper look into mall development issues, management changes and municipal problems that are showing up on the development landscape.

I recommend: Keep up with the news that’s important to your business by regularly checking out the headlines posted at Plain Vanilla Shell. Retail Traffic brings in news that is important to both Realtors and developers.

Join retail development groups that provide members with additional sources of information

Associating with other retail developers will provide you with an inside track to news, often before it hits the press. Get involved with your trade association and take advantage of the networking opportunities to develop relationships that could lead to investment partnerships, deals from vendors or tips on potential sites that are coming available for development.

I recommend: Shopping Centers Today covers the global retail development market keeping subscribers informed and updated on all the latest news. The magazine is the publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Industry professionals keep in touch with each other the emerging issues affecting the industry through the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep up with the news that comes out of city councils and county governing boards with regard to retail shopping center developers, as those are the bodies that directly affect each project.

If you own land and want to build a shopping mall on it, or if you have a store and want to maximize profits with a better location, mall developers are in the business of purchasing and/or developing land and adding stores and restaurants to malls under construction. A mall can range from a 5-store strip mall to a huge shopping kingdom like the Mall of America. Whatever you envision, a shopping center development company can make it happen.

The first shopping malls in America appeared in the early ‘50s, with the Town and Country Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Southdale Mall in Minnesota leading the pack. Today, shopping malls are commonplace, and local developers and huge conglomerates that specialize in shopping mall development are always looking to land and stores to in include in those malls. When looking for retail developers, keep the following points in mind:

1. Some retail development companies specialize in outlet malls.

2. Local shopping center developers may also deal with other property and types of construction.

3. National realtor companies, like Kimco, which double as commercial shopping center developers, are always looking for new properties.

Action Steps
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Use national or international mall developers to make the most of your business venture

You see their signs on vacant lots and retail properties all across the country They're the largest shopping center development companies in the states, and they buy and build shopping malls and centers in all kinds of communities, from rural areas to downtown business districts.

I recommend: Check out Cushman & Wakefield, a global realty group that counsels tenants and landlords on retail center development. They have experience with different real estate transactions, from office space to investments, and this expertise can be very helpful if you have a store or property in a major market. Look at the capabilities of GGP (General Growth Properties), a leader in retail development with hundreds of malls from Pennsylvania to Oregon, for expansion, renovation and retail leasing services. Locate your local Kimco Developers, Inc. broker for development of open-air retail development of your property.

Choose retail developers that focus on outlet malls

Outlet malls are becoming more popular every year. Some of them contain dozens of clothing, shoe and housewares stores with overstock and last year's models at bargain prices. Certain retail developers specialize in this increasingly lucrative type of mall.

I recommend: Call the realtors at Tanger Outlet to look for space for your store or to develop property. Tanger operates some of the largest outlet malls in the states. Familiarize yourself with Prime Retail, another one of the leading retail developers specializing in outlet malls. They offer a free merchant login on their site for tenants to stay up to date on company news and get advertising and marketing tips.

Consult specialized shopping center developers in your local area

If you don't have the money or time to deal with national realtors, use a shopping mall developer in your own city or region for service geared to your area's history and demographics.

I recommend: Visit Halpern Enterprises, Inc. if you're in the Atlanta area, for properties with high profile local and national tenants located in well-traveled areas. There's a link on the website that indicates space for lease in each mall. Check out Lewis Retail Centers if you’re in the market to develop property in California or Nevada. One of the major shopping center developers on the West Coast, their offer a mix of tenants, including Borders, Starbucks, Target and Safeway, along with distinctive stucco buildings.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Compare shopping center developers to see which company offers your store or area the best use of property and selection of tenants. In some areas, a mixed-use property caters to clients' needs; in others, a retail store only mall works best.

Shopping center development is not a one-horse operation. Mall developers need anchor stores, construction contractors, city planners, architects and urban designers to name some of the professions involved in retail development. Everything about the geographic area is heavily analyzed for demographics, traffic patterns, social class and consumer research.

Retail and shopping center developers education and training includes courses in real estate management, architecture or urban design and other professions involved in shopping center development. Many books are published on the subject and are informative.

1. Education and training for mall developers includes analytical skills to determine the feasibility of building malls.

2. Although there is a lot of analysis, design matters, construction and retail knowledge involved, it is necessary to work with the city and the community and abide by their laws.

3. Shopping center associations are good resources for finding the education and training you need for retail center development.

Action Steps
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Get acquainted with the basics of retail development

One of the best ways to get an overview of the educational requirements for retail developers is to look at the profession's association website.

I recommend: The International Council of Shopping Centers is a global trade association dedicated to serving the interests of shopping center developers. It provides information on emerging trends, players and new developments. Educational and career advice are provided, too. It also provides student memberships at lower prices than business prices. For a list of shopping center terminology and types of shopping centers, Eastern State Connecticut College lists terms and definitions.

Consider the importance of design for retail developers

Design is hugely important in mall development. Urban design programs are available in undergraduate, graduate and certification programs. Urban designers might also collaborate with architects to create the best space possible for a shopping center.

I recommend: UC Berkeley Department of Urban Design is a well-regarded, state of the art program dedicated to creating environmentally sound, integrated spaces in cities. The University of Pennsylvania is another school with an excellent urban design program.

Getting an education in real estate management is key for retail developers

Developers of shopping centers wear many hats but most importantly they are real estate managers. Real estate management is a real subject, with undergrad and graduate programs to prove it.

I recommend: The Kellogg School of Management's Real Estate Management program covers everything about working with commercial real estate. Harvard Business School offers executive level programs in real estate management.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Shopping center development companies work with different professions in order to make a shopping center happen. One of the most important features of building a shopping center are the 'anchors.' Those are the big name retail stores that are situated in three or four strategic points in the mall, ergo, they anchor the mall. The anchors have a lot of weight in the process of building a shopping mall.