It's jarring to see long-standing retail brands file for bankruptcy and hundreds of stores close amid the pandemic. But if we are honest, these companies have been teetering for years, said Amy Fingerhut, first vice president for retail services at CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) in Atlanta.
“In the U.S., we are extremely over-retailed compared to anywhere else in the world,” Fingerhut said. “Covid has become the big accelerator.”
Companies that were in the process of reorganizing prior to the Covid-19 pandemic are now forced to make a move.
In this week’s podcast, we see how the novel coronavirus is affecting the commercial real estate retail sector.
Atlanta is in a better position than some other major cities, according to Fingerhut. She credits the long recovery period following the Great Recession.
“Luckily we had a very low vacancy rate in the top markets in Atlanta for retail, and I will say that there are many retailers and restaurants that view this as [an opportunity],” she said.
Other topics in this episode of “It’s Complicated: Doing Business During Coronavirus”:
- Top business headlines for the week of Aug. 14;
- Measuring the Black consumer market;
- Atlanta Business Chronicle’s upcoming virtual events.
To listen to past episodes click here. Also, you can subscribe on iTunes and Spotify.
2019 Atlanta gross residential sales volume from closed transactions
| Rank | Prior Rank | Organization |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Keller Williams Realty,<br>Southeast Region |
2 | 2 | BHHS Georgia Properties |
3 | 3 | RE/MAX LLC |
