Finance & Capital Management

Amazon had a very good holiday, but wasn’t quite as stellar as the Street predicted.   The retail giant’s net sales increased 22% to $43.74 billion in the fourth quarter, lower than analysts had expected. The company’s outlook for the fourth quarter also fell short of expectations.   Net income, however, surpassed analysts’ estimates, and jumped to $749 million, compared to $482 million in fourth quarter 2015.  

Kristin Grove, most recently director of leasing for GGP, has joined JLL as VP of National Retail Leasing. Grove will be based in Los Angeles and oversee leasing efforts and merchandising strategy for retail space on the West Coast.  

Retailers, trade organizations and business leaders are teaming up and taking steps to stop the border adjustable tax proposal.   The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) joined more than 120 other trade associations and businesses to launch “Americans for Affordable Products,” a national campaign aimed at ending the border adjustable tax. The tariff, which is a component of the tax reform proposal under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, would impose a 20% tax on all imported goods.  

In a strategic move to bolster its logistics network, Amazon will build an air cargo hub in Kentucky.   The online retailer agreed to a 50-year lease for approximately 900 acres of property from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The project site, which rivals the size of global hubs of top cargo airlines — is estimated to cost $1.49 billion, ReCode said.  

Consumer confidence slipped slightly in January after reaching a 15-year high in December, though outlook for the present overrode the outlook for the future.   The index now stands at 111.8 (less than an expected 113), down from 113.3 the previous month.  

Eighty retail real estate executives from CBRE recently gained the distinction of being the first class to graduate from a course designed to give field professionals a deeper knowledge of rapidly evolving retail business models and how they influence site selection.  

Alan Young has been named senior VP of Property Management in Minnesota by Mid-America Real Estate. He joined the company’s third-party management operation in 2011.   Young spent nearly six years at GGP earlier in his career, managing a portfolio of 10 regional shopping centers generating more than $100 million in net income. He rose to VP and group director at the company before joining Mid-America as a senior property manager.   Young was named a partner in Mid-America last year.

---