Mike Carroll, CEO of ShopOne Centers REIT Inc., participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2018 Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Carroll said that the biggest challenge within the retail sector has been box retail, noting the added concern there of tenant dislocation.
“The opportunity sits in the grocery and anchorage space,” Carroll added. “[They have] proven to be resilient, and the shop space around it is very flexible.” That flexibility can extend to sector trends like quick service restaurants and health and wellness retail, Carroll said.
Carroll said that ShopOne is focused on market-leading grocers. While many of those stores are regional, he said it’s important for ShopOne to also understand “the Krogers and the Aholds [Delhaize] of the world” on a national level. “We have a unique understanding of that space,” he said.
Carroll added that because the REIT is a young company, he is focused on “putting the infrastructure in place around the platform systems, people, [and] the methodology of our approach and practices.”