PODCAST: Scott Malkin On Why The 'Retail War Is Over,' Bringing A New Designer Outlet Mall To The U.S.
Bisnow's audio series, Bisnow Reports, examines every facet of the international commercial real estate industry — from the murky future of retail and office to real estate’s reckoning with diversity to the effects of climate change on the built world, and so much more. You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music, or scroll down to listen in your browser.
On this episode, Bisnow sits down with the founder and chairman of Value Retail, Scott Malkin. His company operates Bicester Village Collection, a group of designer shopping centers in the UK, Europe and Asia.
The 12th and latest village in the collection — Belmont Park Village in Long Island, next to UBS Arena, where the National Hockey League's New York Islanders play and which Harry Styles opened with a concert last year — will be Malkin’s first retail operation in the United States since the early 1990s. He said it will provide the kind of shopping experience that doesn't exist anywhere in the country.
Malkin, who is a part owner of the Islanders and the brother of Empire State Realty Trust CEO Anthony Malkin, spoke on the podcast about the thesis behind marrying sport, entertainment and retail, as well as why fashion will never be controlled by algorithms or e-commerce giants.
"If you think about the future of retail, the war is over. Amazon won, Alibaba won — the future of retail is digital, but the future of brands is physical," he said. "And as tech and AI accelerate, which they are doing, and as they go towards ever-more-effective velocity ... experience has to raise the bar as well.”
CORRECTION, June 6, 12:30 ET: A previous version of this story mistakenly quoted Malkin saying “ever-more-effective philosophy” when he said “velocity.” This story has been updated.
