Francois Mouclier’s Post

A NIGHT IN NEW YORK In 2024, New York City is looking forward to a repeat performance of last year’s holiday season. The city attracted 4.4 million visitors in 2023 who spent over $500 million and created 14,000 jobs. New York City is back, as said Arnold… Holidays are a time when millions of people come to our shopping districts from around the world and we can’t wait to welcome them. Our local economy benefits from thousands of jobs and businesses. There were 4.4 million people in town on the weekend before Christmas last year. The most popular retail hubs in Manhattan were Fifth Avenue, Bryant Park, Times Square, and SoHo, as well as downtown Flushing in Queens and MetroTech in Brooklyn. It’s clear that the tourism sector is not only back it’s thriving, “Thnak Donald ” With approximately 7.5 million travelers expected to visit New York City between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, we’re seeing the energy of the big Apple. FM https://lnkd.in/eAgsq9Hs

New York City Economic Development Corporation's Economic Research & Policy team just released a new report "Festive Spending: The Impact of the Holiday Season in NYC" where we find that holiday shopping in New York City creates 14,000 jobs and $500 million in economic impact each year. From the iconic Fifth Avenue window displays to bustling outer borough shopping districts, we see the holiday season bringing increased foot traffic and spending to our retail businesses. During the 2023 holiday season, an average of 3.2 million people per day visited New York City shopping districts, up 14% compared to the rest of the year, and consumer spending during December weekends increased 20% compared to non-holiday periods. Midtown hubs like Bryant Park and SoHo were the most popular, particularly among tourists, but 26 outer borough shopping districts also show increased activity around the holidays, including neighborhoods like Flushing and Downtown Brooklyn. New York City retail is vibrant, and is another sign of strength for our economy, where in 2024 we have hit all-time highs in jobs and labor force participation. Check out our report to learn more!

Saw this on Indeed and thought this was the absolutebest locationdescription I've seen. Let me know your thoughts. "Time to invest in some new footwear because if you’re San Antonio-bound, you’d better show up in boots! The Alamo City is one of the military’s most envied postings and is often referred to as “Military City USA”. Low cost of living, affordable homes, and the lack of state tax on retirement income are a few financial perks to living and retiring in this Texas city. A robust job market that seems partial to government and defense/security contracting ensures employment opportunities for spouses or transitioning service members. San Antonio is the country’s seventh fastest growing city yet has somehow managed to retain a “small town feel.” Quality schools and friendly locals (most with military ties) are additional perks to living in San Antonio. Some things you should know before you get here: trucks are the norm (the bigger, the better), love for The Spurs (NBA) runs deep, the H-E-B obsession is real (it’s a grocery store), rodeos are life, and don’t call it “San Antone”—that’s just wrong. The community boasts a vibrant Hispanic population, and enhances everything from the food, to the music, to community events. You don’t necessarily need to speak Spanish to get around, but you’d better know how to say barbacoa, tamales, and cascarones. Name brand shopping (IKEA is the latest arrival of note), restaurants, and all variety of entertainment all add to San Antonio’s quality of life. SeaWorld, the San Antonio Zoo, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and downtown museums are all fun outings for kids and families. Tube or kayak down a river, play or fish in the lakes, or relax by San Antonio’s famous downtown River Walk. Museums, art galleries, and historical landmarks— remember The Alamo?—round out San Antonio’s cultural offerings. Tex-mex cuisine arguably originated here, and some up and coming culinary trendsetters are making a name for themselves in the Pearl District downtown, alongside several notable breweries. San Antonio has over 300 days of sunshine with some hot summers, mild winters and pleasant spring and fall seasons. San Antonio is in Bexar County (it’s pronounced “BEAR”) in south central Texas, and is just south of the gorgeous Hill Country. It’s only about two hours from Austin, the beach, or the desert.?"

When embarking on The Dead Rabbit's expansion, our initial choice, as many are aware, was New Orleans. However, our planned debut in NOLA failed to materialize due to a confluence of challenges. Yet, we leveraged this setback, a method I consistently apply to every obstacle, to thoroughly analyze its root causes and extract invaluable lessons to improve our decision-making process moving forward—or, to echo Samuel Beckett—“fail better.” This introspective phase prompted us to clearly define and articulate the essential requirements for The Dead Rabbit, both at the store and market levels, to maximize our chances of success. At the store level, we require operational footprints ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet to accommodate our extensive back-of-house requirements and sufficient front-of-house spaces essential for revenue generation. After the New Orleans experience, our focus has shifted exclusively to second-generation stores to mitigate capital intensity or first-generation locations with adequate provisions for tenant improvements. Furthermore, every Dead Rabbit store must resonate with the architectural identity of its host market, exuding distinctive character and offering substantial street-level presence to effectively cater to our customer base and primarily situated in central business districts teeming with commuters, residents, and tourists. At the market level, our strategy centers on major American metropolitan areas, which I classify as 'Eater Cities'—prominently featured on Eater's platform and characterized by dense concentrations of our core customer demographics. These cities boast vibrant bar and restaurant scenes indicative of an appreciation for well-executed concepts. Additionally, we target markets with a robust Irish expatriate community and a thriving Irish pub culture, which, fortunately, with the strength of the Irish diaspora in America coupled with the ubiquity of Irish pubs, affords ample room for growth for our company. Tomorrow, I will delve into how Austin emerged as our preferred choice for The Dead Rabbit's inaugural location outside of New York, detailing the factors that led to this decision.

In recent years, cities like Austin, Miami, and Los Angeles have been catching up to their New York contemporary. Anjee Solanki of #ColliersRetail explores five emerging retail destinations in this guide to the new U.S. shopping hotspots. Read it here: https://ow.ly/HPGY50S0BYO

Miami is one of the best U.S. cities to move to after college graduation, thanks to factors like a bustling nightlife and restaurant scene. Apartment Advisor analyzed 98 major cities in the United States based on cost of living, entertainment availability, mobility and overall opportunities for residents. Seattle ranked No. 1, followed by Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. On the other end of the spectrum, Newark, N.J., Detroit and Jackson, Mississippi, were the three lowest-scorers. Miami placed No. 7 overall among the 98 cities surveyed, earning high scores for nightlife venues (No. 1 in the United States), density of restaurants and dining options (No. 2), entertainment options (No. 3) and population growth (No. 8).

Shopping local isn't just about convenience—it's about community.  This study dives into how local shopping and businesses drive downtown revitalization, empowering communities socially and economically. By embracing unique, community-focused retail experiences, both shoppers and owners are playing a vital role in urban renewal. Click the link in my comments to learn more. #WeChooseLocal

Shopping local isn't just about convenience—it's about community.  This study dives into how local shopping and businesses drive downtown revitalization, empowering communities socially and economically. By embracing unique, community-focused retail experiences, both shoppers and owners are playing a vital role in urban renewal. Click the link in my comments to learn more. #WeChooseLocal

A Revolution is Coming! (I Hope) Over the last couple of weeks I have spoken to a number of businesses based on high streets across the country and they all have a number of common concerns. 1: Will the festive season measure up to expectations. A huge number of businesses need the festive season spending to make it through a big proportion of the rest of the year. Hopefully providing a buffer to use as investment to change and modernise their businesses for the coming years. 2: Rising costs, all areas of business are under pressure and recent political events have only added to the concerns of many of the businesses i speak to on a daily basis. 3: Reduced footfall, Over the years many factors have contributed to the number of people in town during their leisure time. Shops pubs and restaurants are all generally quieter than in previous years. These are just a few of the numerous concerns high street businesses have. Whilst they all compete for customer spend they mostly operate in a isolation without any backing or additional support any of the people who are dependent on the success of the Highstreet. The right technical and operational solutions should allow a new form of co-operatition. All of the benefactors of the current day Highstreet should be working together to develop new and engaging offerings to ensure the Highstreet thrives and gives the customers and engaging experience. Retail and hospitality need competition to ensure that there is enough to bring customers back again. I am working to bring together offerings that benefit the Highstreet as w hole by ensures customers of all of those businesses feel valued and have a pleasurable experience that they want to repeat. At TestQuest we think differently to deliver solutions to real world problems. Helping business to smooth out the feast and famine of seasonal shopping. Helping to business to share many of the costs of operating on the Highstreet And bringing innovation that will keep customers coming back to their local high streets / shopping centres.

In our latest article, "Three Cautions When Measuring Lifestyle For Retail Assets," our CEO and Founding Director, Jessica Christiansen-Franks, highlights three missteps within the property industry when measuring lifestyle, presents alternative considerations, and introduces a solution. Here's a sneak peek at what Jess covers: 1️⃣ Don't Over Emphasise Spend Are you relying too heavily on spend as an indicator of experience? 2️⃣ Don't Only Look Inside Your Centre Discover why assuming your shopping centre is the neighbourhood's primary attraction is a mistake. 3️⃣ Don't Look at Your Centre in Isolation Think it's challenging or costly to benchmark your centre against others? Think again! Read the full article on our website: https://bit.ly/4cEIL0K