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INTRODUCTION
The U.S. retail sector is in a period of
retrenchment and reinvention. Throughout
2016, retail headlines have been dominated
by news of closures, bankruptcies and
articles about struggling shopping centers.
There has been no shortage of hype as the
sector has fallen prey to a negative news
cycle. Yet, for every retail category in flat
or contraction mode, there has been
another in growth mode. This latter crop of
retailers is driving occupancy growth in an
otherwise challenging environment. It is
also driving the next wave of adaptation in
the world of retail real estate as properties
evolve; formats change and traditional
tenant mixes are reinvented. While there
are a number of these growth-mode
sectors, no other retail category has
generated as much aggressive expansion
in the past few years as food-related retail.
And arguably, there is no hotter trend
within that category as food halls.
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CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD