“From axe-throwing to solving murder mysteries to playing video games, new leisure concepts are making their way into the mainstream. While some people still want to trot out the tired retail apocalypse trope, the reality is that new and exciting concepts from once online-only retailers to this new wave of leisure concepts are changing the tenant-mix of malls and shopping centers for the better. "


While some people still want to trot out the tired retail apocalypse trope, the reality is that new and exciting concepts from once online-only retailers to this new wave of leisure concepts are changing the tenant-mix of malls and shopping centers for the better. These concepts, especially, have the ability to draw in foot traffic with significant dwell times – leaving landlords cautiously optimistic about this new crop of potential tenants.


JLL recently identified five distinct types of these new leisure tenants by looking at 84 concepts that currently have over 600 locations across the U.S.


Competitive Socializing: Single game activities like axe throwing, mini golf, darts or ping-pong with food and adult beverage service—because every group of friends has that one person that is annoyingly good at all skill games and


theinvestor.jll 21


beer evens out the playing field. Examples include Punch Bowl Social, SPiN, AceBounce, and Bad Axe, which is now in over 20 urban markets. The average size of these tenants is about 15,700 square feet.


Entertainment: This is the OG concept when it comes to leisure tenants. Multiple games and experiences under a single roof with food and drinks that can cater to all ages—locations often adjust their offerings throughout the day to appeal to different audiences. Examples include GameWorks, PinStripes, FTW, and Dave & Busters, which has maintained a national presence for over 30 years with more than 100 locations across the country. The biggest of all the categories, these concepts average roughly 37,500 square feet.


VR Arcade: Spaces with virtual reality headsets and gaming stations for people to experience, well, virtually simulated worlds. With VR technology being slow to take off for in-home use due to its high-priced headsets and need for space to have a fully immersive experience, people are instead opting to enjoy it in specially crafted spaces. While more space is needed than the average living room, the requirements are quite small from a commercial real estate perspective, averaging just over 2,100 square feet. Examples include VR Junkies, Digital Reality Games, Head Games VR, and Lucid VR.


Esports Lounge: A community space for gamers to play online games like League of Legends, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. This is one of the fastest growing concepts with 149 existing locations and another 15 in the pipeline for 2019. These approximately 10,100 square foot on average spaces include PLAYlive Nation, Meltdown Bar, and Ignite Gaming.


Escape Room: Dedicated rooms where players must solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints, and strategy to escape. This concept was first established in 2010 and their highly “Instagramable” staging has propelled them to significant growth, with some even signing large sponsorship deals with films such as Jack Reacher, Tomb Raider, and Jumanji for the movies’ launch. On average, these concepts run about 10,400 square feet and include examples like Escape Reality, Boda Borg, and Breakout, which is completely different from the breakout you might find at one of the Beercades.


As the evolution of malls and shopping centers continues, I fully expect that these types of leisure tenants will stake their claim to a piece of the shopping center of the future. We’ve already seen an influx of dining and entertainment make its way into shopping centers in the post-Great Recession years and concepts like these are the next stage of that progression. Of course, we too had competitive socializing back in my day— except it usually ended with someone getting pinned in the forehead with a donkey’s tail.


This story originally appeared in Forbes by Greg Maloney, CEO of JLL Retail


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24