7 Things You Missed During Turkey Day Weekend
Though commercial real estate news remained sparse this Thanksgiving weekend as Americans stuffed their faces and then recovered from food and family, Bisnow gathered a handful of major headlines you likely missed due to Turkey Day.
1. Physical And Online Retailers Thrive During Black Friday Mania
One thing was clear during this year’s Black Friday frenzy — consumers were swimming in online deals, with physical retailers joining the fray. Brick-and-mortar stores offered promotional deals in stores that drew consumers from behind their computer screens, as well as catered to consumers' insatiable appetite for online deals.
Market research firm Customer Growth Partners predicts Black Friday sales came in at $33B, a 4.8% jump compared to 2016. Consumers are expected to close out the year on a high note, with sales through November and December jumping 4% to $682B — the strongest season since 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal.
2. SoulCycle Co-Founder Becomes New WeWork Brand Officer
Julie Rice, one of the minds behind the almost cult-like stationary bike fitness studio chain SoulCycle (which is planning its first international expansion into London in 2019), has been tapped by co-working behemoth WeWork. Rice will serve as brand officer in hopes of spinning off some of that brand mojo to WeWork with its $20B valuation, Fast Company reports. The new addition to the team comes at a time of change and expansion for the company. WeWork has had its hands in a myriad of projects, having launched its Powered by We remodel concept in addition to its Rise by We wellness spa and WeGrow elementary school this year. Rice left SoulCycle last year.
3. Adult Website PornHub Opens Luxury Pop-Up Shop
The largest pornography website in the world, PornHub, opened a boutique pop-up store on Black Friday in New York’s SoHo. The store at 70 Wooster St. has sex toys, clothes and books, in addition to a sectioned-off bed where people can livestream onto pornhub.com directly — though no funny business is allowed. The temporary store will remain open through Dec. 20, CBS New York reports.
4. Black Friday Optimism Pushes Jeff Bezos Net Worth Past $100B
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been on a winning streak. The tech mogul briefly held the title of richest man in the world in July following Amazon’s announcement that it would acquire high-end grocer Whole Foods Market for $14.3B. Now, Black Friday enthusiasm has pushed Bezos' net worth up $2.4B to $100.3B. This puts Bezos in the running with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and marks the first billionaire to cross that 12-figure net worth mark since Gates in 1999, Bloomberg reports.
5. Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital May Give Harvard’s Endowment A Boost
Bain Capital, co-founded by former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is in talks to manage a portion of Harvard’s endowment. Should the deal go through, Bain would bring about roughly 20 people to manage Harvard’s direct real estate investment. The $37.1B endowment has struggled, producing mediocre returns during the last 10 years that have underperformed its Ivy League peers. This move would result in a major entrance into real estate for Bain, The Real Deal reports.
6. Stocks Closed Out Black Friday At A Record High
The stock market closed out the week on a high note amid excitement by retailers and consumers alike for the busiest shopping day of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 33 points, or 0.14%, and the S&P 500 gained five points to close above 2,600 — a new record, according to The Street.
7. Technical Difficulties Cause Nike, Macy’s To Strike Out On Black Friday
Shoppers hoping to grab deals on Nike’s website were swamped with error messages, while a hiccup with Macy’s credit-card system caused a slowdown during the single largest shopping holiday of the year. These technical difficulties hurt both retailers’ sales when brick-and-mortar brands are pushing to increase their online presence to get a piece of the e-commerce pie, the Wall Street Journal reports.
