Publix Super Markets Inc. is adding more real estate to its shopping cart.
“Publix has owned Publix-anchored shopping centers for years, so the concept is not new. Having said that, the number of centers that the company has purchased in the last 24 months has increased significantly,” said John Crossman, president of Crossman & Co., a retail-focused real estate firm that handles leasing for Publix.
Having a shopping center owner that is also a tenant is generally good for the upkeep and value of commercial real estate, though as the landlord Publix also gets to determine the tenant mix.
“We look for tenants that are reflective of the demographics of the trade area and that are quality credit tenants that have multiple locations and are in good standing, similar to Publix,” company spokeswoman Maria Brous said.
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Publix owns about 200 of the 1,073 stores it operates in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, but more than half are stand alone buildings that are not in shopping centers. Of approximately 80 shopping centers in the company’s portfolio, 27 have been purchased since 2011, or about a third of the properties.
“We have the capital to invest and we have a vested interest in the success of those centers, so it just makes good business sense,” Brous said.
She said purchase decisions are based on location, store sales and lease terms, in addition to other proprietary factors. The company would not disclose what it has spent on recent shopping center purchases.
“When selling shopping centers, brokers prefer buyers that have experience and provide a certainty of close,” Crossman said. “Publix provides both and makes them one of the best, if not the best, buyer of centers in the Southeast.”
Date: Nov 8, 2013