Strategy

Photo: ColorTek - Studio C, St. Louis

Consumer confidence rose in December amid lower gas prices and a stronger job market.

The index of consumer confidence rose to 96.5 in December from a revised 92.6 in November, the Conference Board said Tuesday. (The November reading originally was put at 90.4, the lowest level in more than a year.) Economists expected a rise to 93.6, according to Bloomberg.

How will retailers fare in 2016? Very well, according to experienced market watchers.

“We expect core retail sales to grow 5.3% in 2016,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody’s Analytics, a research firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (Core retail sales exclude volatile revenues from auto sales and gas stations.)

That is notably faster than the 4.2% rate anticipated when 2015 sales are finally tallied. The 2015 experience was, again, slightly better than that the 3.9% growth of 2014.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The Sembler Company’s latest listing is nearly 3,250 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail space in The Salvador, new luxury condominiums, located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The 74-unit, green-certified condo tower is located just 300 ft. from the University of South Florida, and walking distance from The Dali Museum, The Mahaffey Theater and the Central Avenue arts/entertainment district among other attractions.

Venice, Fla. -- Main Street Ranchlands and The Sembler Company announced the companies have formed a joint venture to develop the Marketplace at Coastamar in West Villages located in Venice, Florida. This is the first commercial opportunity in the rapidly growing master-planned community in south Sarasota County.

Sidecar, an early pioneer in the ridesharing and delivery app space, shut down as of Dec. 31.

Saks Fifth Avenue has another store to its lineup at Brookfield Place in downtown Manhattan.

The retailer, a division of Hudson’s Bay Company, said it will open a 16,750-sq.-ft. dedicated men’s store at the center, in spring 2017. As previously announced, Saks will open an 85,000-sq.-ft. full line store at Brookfield Place.

Activist investor Carl Icahn has prevailed in his fight to buy the Pep Boys – Manny, Mo & Jack.

Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises will buy the auto parts retailer for $18.50 per share. The all-cash deal is valued at approximately $1.03 billion.