Hap Stein, chairman and CEO of Regency Centers Corp. (NASDAQ: REG), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2018 Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Stein said that increased competition, growth of e-commerce, and technology are all impacting retail and retail real estate.
“What it’s causing is this bifurcation among retailers between the winners—the survivors—and the losers,” Stein said. He added that companies like Sears and Toys“R”Us have been burdened by weak merchandising, service, and balance sheets.
“There are other companies that are going to continue to survive,” he said. “They’re really good operators, but they may have too much debt and may be in very competitive categories.”
Stein said that Regency has had conversations with many of its retail customers that are expanding their footprints, noting that a physical retail presence will continue to be critical for future success.
After 25 years of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Regency recently transferred its stock exchange listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Stein said the company considered the decision carefully and decided that Nasdaq will better support Regency’s strategic objectives in several ways.