Mr. Kenneth Leonard

GLG News by Mr. Kenneth Leonard, Principal

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Is Trump For Real?

February 6, 2012

Analysis of:Trump suspends retail leasing effort: "I'm in no rush" | www.chicagorealestatedaily.com

Three years ago Donald Trump finally opened his troubled,but beautiful, riverfront skyscraper in downtown Chicago. He has issued many press releases about its success but a new article exposes most of his bluster as false advertising.

Are Macy's closures a leading indicator of mall REIT values?

January 18, 2012

Analysis of:Macy's Closures | thecrereview.blogspot

The recent announced closings of 5 Macy’s and 4 Bloomingdales stores may have created a bigger threat to Mall REIT values then the announced closings of 120 Sears and Kmart stores.

Three things you should know about Sears store closings

December 29, 2011

The WSJ carried an article indicating that Sears would close “100 to 120 stores” in an effort to “try to fix the problem of falling sales”. The article was based on an internal memo in which Sears also announced “that the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash from inventory sales and that they expect the sale or sublease of real estate holdings to add more cash”.

The Death Spiral Begins for SHLD

August 19, 2011

Analysis of:Sears Holdings 2Q loss widens, misses expectations | finance.yahoo.com

After many, many quarters of declining sales and profits, it now appears that the market is finally recognizing the inevitability of the continued decline in the value of SHLD as a going company. Its' stock is finally heading towards a value consistent with its' relative position in the marketplace and soon will no longer be valued at a multiple that would indicate it is a better company than Nordstroms or Macy.

No Retailers Allowed @ SHLD

August 16, 2011

Analysis of:Sears Holdings names new CFO | www.chicagobusiness.com

This latest announcement from Mr. Lampert introducing his fifth CFO in the past six years, once again shows his disdain for, or inability to attract, senior executives with solid experience from top retail companies. It should be noted that every other top retailer tries to recruit talented people from other top retailers. Mr. Lampert either won't or can't follow the tried an proven method of turning around a troubled retailer.

General Growth Dumps Its' Troubled Properties

August 2, 2011

Analysis of:General Growth to spin off 30 shopping centers | www.chicagorealestatedaily.com

The recent announcement of General Growth's plans to sell 30 of its' worse performing and lowest growth potential shopping centers raised a very important question in my mind--------"who the heck thinks they are better than General Growth at turning around a bunch of really bad malls?"

Dish Network's Blockbuster Strategy Is Seriously Flawed

July 29, 2011

In my previous analysis of Dish Network Corp's $320 million acquisition of 1,500 retail stores, I strongly hinted at the likelihood that this might turn out to be one of the dumbest moves in the history of retailing. After giving the matter considerably more thought I wish to revise my earlier characterization and state more explicitly that I am now totally convinced that it definitely will be the dumbest retail real estate play in the history of retail real estate!

Is Dish Network An Apple Coppycat?

July 27, 2011

Analysis of:Blockbuster Decision Illustrates Quality of Retail Chain | retailtrafficmag.com

Dish Network's decision to buy Blockbuster's 1500 stores for $320 million is either one of the most brilliant or stupid moves I have ever seen in my 40+ years in the retail real estate industry. My sense is that it seems destined to be judged as being closer to the latter than to the former characterization.

Another Xanadu In the Making

July 21, 2011

Analysis of:Skyscrapers and Retail Part of Massive Old Post Office Plan | www.chicagorealestatedaily.com

For those of you GLG News readers who are fascinated by the new breed of reality show that carries with it a good chance to watch a real disaster unfold in slow motion before your eyes, let me be the first to recommend you start paying attention to today's announcement about a massive new development on the site of Chicago's historic Old Post Office. It rivals Xanadu in its' grandiosity and chutzpah and is headed for the same ill fated ending.

Brazil In The News

July 21, 2011

A friend who runs a retail consulting organization I am affiliated with has just begun publishing a newsletter focused entirely on retailing in Brazil. I wanted to let the readers of GLG News who follow retailing around the world to know about this new and well informed source of information.

The Best Get Better While the Bad Get Worse

June 27, 2011

Analysis of:Prime Retail Rents See a Spike as Consumers Return to Luxury Shopping | www.nationmultimedia.com

This article in The Nation's 6/27/11 issue reports on a survey by Colliers International showing that as of March 2011, the rents for prime luxury retail locations has risen across the entire world.

Sears Credit Approaching Junk Status

June 23, 2011

Analysis of:Fitch Downgrades Sears | www.chicagotribune.com

In a highly under reported move, Fitch Ratings downgraded Sears Holdings Corp. credit rating to "B" (with a negative outlook) from "B+". The new rating is five steps below investment grade. The only comment coming from Sears since this announcement is a PR piece about how smart Mr. Lampert has been with his investment in Auto Zone.

Best Buy is on a Fool's Errand

June 23, 2011

Analysis of:Best Buy To Downsize Brick-and-Mortar Footprint | www.latimes.com

I could not resist commenting on the problems associated with the recent article in the LA Times about Best Buy's announcement to start an aggressive program of subleasing a portion of their stores to others. I was amazed that so few business analyst chose to comment on what is one of the most massive downsizing effort yet announced.

Westfield Wants To Dump Everything Below $380 PSF

June 10, 2011

Analysis of:Bidders Eye Mall Portfolio | www.morningstar.co.uk

I love this article from the June 8 WSJ because it confirms what I have been saying since the CRE bubble burst. For the first time we are beginning to see the market wake up to the fact that good malls are going to remain good or get better while poor malls will continue in their death spiral.

A Hidden Threat To Municipal Bonds

June 10, 2011

Analysis of:Faded Malls Leave Cities In the Lurch | online.wsj.com

This WSJ article should serve as a reminder of some of the overlooked impacts that are yet to be felt as the result of the real estate bubble. It details some of the problems facing many smaller city's budgets as the tax revenue from failing malls disappears.

Groupon- A Soupcon of Woe

June 7, 2011

Analysis of:Behind dazzling growth story, Groupon struggles to keep ustomers clicking | www.chicagobusiness.com

Groupon's long awaited IPO filing has revealed some very disturbing details about the growing decline in sales per customer and the increase in cost to get those customers. GLG News readers should be warned to look at this IPO beyond its' quadruple-digit growth rates.

Another Misleading Article About Retailing From Folks Who Should Know Better

May 27, 2011

Analysis of:The Great Retail Shrikage: Will Smaller Stores=Higher Profits? | www.thestreet.com

A reporter from "The Street" who presumably is knowledgeable about the retailing industry, has written a very misleading article about what is happening to store sizes and the possible repercussions it will have on the retailing industry. As a service to GLG News readers who follow the retail industry, I felt compelled to correct the numerous misconceptions and outright exaggerations.

Whatever Happened To The Dillard's REIT?

May 24, 2011

I recently got a call from a reporter in Arkansas who was writing an article about their hometown department store icon, Dillard's. The reporter asked me about the much publicized REIT that was announced early in 2011. He caught me off guard and I had to admit I really did not have any news to report on the current status. After the call I got busy and researched the matter and wanted to share my findings with GLG News readers.

American Dream Meadowlands Will Be A Nightmare

May 4, 2011

Analysis of:Triple Five Looks to Find American Dream in Xanadu | retailtrafficmag.com

Sorry, but I could not resist the title and making one last comment about what I believe to be the biggest shopping center disaster in the country and the second biggest in the world!

Lampert Cult Supports Sears' Stock Price

May 4, 2011

After announcing yet another decline in profits, market share and sales at their annual meeting, and watched their stock price drop by 9.9% to the still highly inflated price of $75.88, the media swallowed Mr. Lampert's cool-aid once again and focused on management's hope for the future.

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