COVID-19

— By Danny Koontz —   Advantages of having worked on both sides of the same coin: on the facilities management side and the vendor side.   Ever wondered when ordering something, buying something or taking a sales call, why did the person on the other side choose that particular job? Maybe they didn’t choose it; maybe circumstances did — or maybe they enjoy that job as their passion. After almost 4 decades in the restaurant facilities management side of the business, I now find myself on the vendor side, …

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— By Jon Dommisse — 5 ways COVID-19 changed Americans’ impressions of public restrooms and facilities.   Upon entering the third year of the pandemic, Americans are not only more sensitive to germs in public restrooms, they now hold higher standards for the cleanliness, condition and technology used in these shared spaces, according to the annual Healthy Handwashing Survey™ we conducted in January. Despite ongoing COVID outbreaks, most Americans have not been deterred from using public bathrooms. In fact, 41% of Americans report using public restrooms as often as they …

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— By Linda Bommarito —   How to make UVC light work for you in retail or restaurant settings.     UVC light can be an excellent addition to your sanitizing protocols — it is quick, effective and chemical-free. UVC light has been studied and used successfully for sanitization for many decades, from water to air to surfaces. The science is sound, and the technology is widely accepted. UVC destroys or mutates the DNA/RNA of viruses, pathogens, bacteria and molds. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown all of us, we …

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— Interview with Matthew K. Harding —   Retail Outlook: In changeable times, tenants focus on customer service and convenience.   North Plainfield, N.J. — Within a changeable environment impacted by ongoing COVID-19 concerns, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and rising inflation, brick-and-mortar retail tenants are cutting through the noise to focus on what they can control: providing top-notch service and convenience for customers. And coming off a strong year, they are optimistic about what 2022 will bring, according to Levin Management Corporation (LMC), which recently released the findings of …

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— By James King —   How one Mid-Atlantic restaurant group is navigating supply chain, inflation, COVID and staffing challenges.     Losing a generation of crab pickers, hurricanes in South America, and a COVID outbreak shutting down a plant in Mexico… You would think, how do some of these events affect my five restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region? Like so many other businesses trying to stay afloat during these times, supply chain, inflation, COVID and staffing challenges affect the day-to-day operations, which can come with the possibility of compromising …

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— By Greg Houck — How emerging mixed-use trends can translate to long term success.   Mixed-use projects have a retail problem. Too often, incorporating retail spaces into a mixed-use project is straightforward and static: a single complimentary demand driver, such as a high-rise multifamily with convenient ground-floor grocer. With this approach, the residential component may subsidize a portion of revenues for the tenant, but most often it isn’t sufficient enough and local demand has not been fully understood. Over the past several years there has been many exciting innovations …

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— By Steven Duffy — Retail formats — grocery formats especially — must adapt quickly.   The future of retail changed forever as the pandemic exposed the inadequacies of e-grocery. Consumers seek convenience at a fair price, and they want a frictionless experience. Grocers and retailers must adapt, and quickly. Retail and grocery formats and their supporting technologies have remained static for decades, unable to respond to shoppers’ demands, new technologies and have failed to meet today’s consumer’s shifting paradigm. Retail of the Future is at an Inflection Point Today …

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Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS Health Corp. plans to close about 900 stores over the next 3 years, or about 300 stores a year, starting in spring 2022. The pharmacy retailer says the decision to close its stores was in order to focus more on its digital strategy. The store closures equal about 9% of the approximately 10,000 locations that the retailer currently operates. CVS says it will help those who lose their jobs as a result of the store closures to find a different role at another one of the …

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— By Cedar Blazek — Two major businesses effectively meet and exceed energy-efficiency goals despite COVID-19 challenges.   It’s no secret that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020 brought everything to a screeching halt. Nearly overnight the world was in lockdown, businesses shuttering — some temporarily, some for good — as the overarching “What do we do now?” question blanketed the economic landscape. The pandemic forced widespread shutdowns across sectors and challenged essential businesses to adapt quickly as consumer traffic changed and public health protocols tightened. …

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— By James “Gino” Ginopoulos — As a result of the pandemic, retailers and restaurants are getting a new look.   Even prior to the pandemic, many industries were looking for ways to adapt to changes in their markets to maintain a competitive edge. However, like many things, the pandemic accelerated that need to adapt and evolve in order to overcome the challenges stemming from the virus. While certain positive advancements have been made since the onset of the pandemic, like the creation of various vaccines, developers and owners are …

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