Target opening produces upbeat feelings about brick and mortar retailing

With the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasting that retail sales will grow between 4% and 6% this year, reaching between $5.13 trillion and $5.23 trillion, the rapid collapse of brick and mortar stores that had been predicted in some quarters has failed to materialize. While online retail sales continue to grow, not all of that growth is at the expense of brick and mortar sales.

The NRF expects non-store and online sales to grow between 10% and 12% year over year to a range of $1.41 trillion to $1.43 trillion, with online sales making up about 16% of the total volume and about 21% of the transactions.

“While many consumers continue to utilize the conveniences offered by online shopping, much of that growth is driven by multichannel sales, where the physical store still plays an important component in the fulfillment process,” NRF said. “As the role of brick-and-mortar stores has evolved in recent years, they remain the primary point of purchase for consumers.”

According to NRF, retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs, for a total of 52 million people involved in retailing.

Continued positivity toward in brick and mortar retailing was reflected in Yonkers on Oct. 17 when a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the opening of the long-awaited Target store in a building at Cross County Center that formerly had been occupied by Sears. A “soft” opening began at 6 p.m. that evening, with the store’s formal opening taking place Oct. 22. It is Target’s first store in Yonkers and encompasses approximately 132,000 square feet on two floors.

“We get constant requests for more retail here so we’re working on that right now, some really exciting names,” Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, told the Business Journal. Marx and Benenson Capital Partners own the Cross County Center.

“We do believe in mixed-use, the Hyatt House has been here as a hotel … and we also are attracting some new medical, some new school uses, so all of that continues to make it a vibrant place,” Deitelzweig said.

Cross County Center is at the intersection of the Cross County Parkway and Interstate 87. It has more than 80 stores and restaurants in its 1,150,000 square feet of retail space and attracts approximately 11 million visitors a year.

In addition to Target, SUNY Westchester Community College has space in the former Sears building. In March of 2021, at a ceremony marking the start of work on the new Target, it was revealed that Target had signed a 40-year lease, reflecting a significant commitment to the shopping center as well as to the city. Target operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and the Yonkers store is the 99th in the New York area. Target reports it is employing 290 people at the Yonkers store and nationwide counts approximately 21,145 on the payroll.

“We are going through a change in terms of retail,” Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano told the Business Journal. “A lot of people are buying online. But, at the end of the day, Yonkers proves valuable to Target. They knew that this is the place that they could employ 290 people … because this is the place that they could make their business work.”

Spano said that brick and mortar retail continues to be healthy in Yonkers and is expanding as developers of new apartment buildings incorporate ground floor retail space into their designs and the heavily-trafficked retail corridor along Central Avenue remains popular with shoppers.

“We all know some of the closings that have taken place,” Spano said, referring to Target having closed nine stores nationally due to concerns about losses due to shoplifting and the safety of shoppers and staff in those locations.

“This one opened in Yonkers and it says a lot about our city and we should be proud of it,” Spano said.

Spano said that Yonkers is really the retail capital of Westchester County. He forecast more mixed-use development to take place, especially along Central Avenue, that combines apartments, retail space and recreational opportunities.

“If you look at the total retail that takes place here, we have two major centers. And, we have all of Central Avenue and we have seven or so different business districts like McLean Avenue and Yonkers Avenue,” Spano said. “When you’re talking about retail, it is an economic engine. It’s really simple. They sell things, and we collect revenues (taxes). They employ people and when you employ people they want to live where they work and they of course want to shop where they live and eat where they live. It is a complete wraparound benefit to the residents of our city to have this type of retail.”

Deitelzweig said that the Cross County Center is now 99% leased and it seems as if people have never wanted to shop more than they do now.

“I do think that it’s being part of the community, people think of this as their second home,” Deitelzweig said. “We’re constantly trying to evolve the center to be its best self. Those who say that retail is dead should come to Cross County Center. We’re the city’s number one taxpayer. We’ve owned Cross County Center for 68 years and we just want to be a good owner and a good developer here and just make it better.”

When he spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rafael Martinez, Target’s store director in Yonkers recalled that when his parents came to the U.S. they decided to settle in Yonkers.

“When I was young and used to behave and have good grades they used to bring me to the mall (Cross County Center) specifically to this building,” Martinez said. “To everybody’s surprise, if you see my report card, I was here quite often. I have great memories in this building and it’s now my responsibility and my team’s responsibility to serve our community, to bring affordable prices and create memorable moments. This is what we do here at Target.”