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The biggest shopping mall owners in the United States say retailers are still forging ahead with their plans to open new stores in spite of growing recession fears.
Simon Property Group reported an occupancy rate at its U.S. malls and outlet centers of 93.9% as of June 30, up from 91.8% a year earlier.
Retailers in the U.S. have announced 4,432 store openings so far this year, compared with 1,954 store closings, according to data from Coresight Research.

The biggest shopping mall owners in the United States say retailers are still forging ahead with plans to open new stores in spite of growing recession fears and decades-high inflation that’s squeezing shoppers’ budgets.
Simon Property Group, the country’s largest mall owner, said the pipeline of businesses slated to open up at its properties remains strong. The company reported an occupancy rate at its U.S. malls and outlet centers of 93.9% as of June 30, up from 91.8% a year earlier.

“Even with with what’s going on in the world, we really haven’t seen anyone back out of deals,” Simon Property Chief Executive Officer David Simon said on an earnings conference call Monday.
“We’re seeing a big rebound in Vegas, Florida is on fire … California is finding its legs,” he added.
Fueling the openings are a mix of factors, including retailers pushing to snap up limited space and popular online brands looking to expand by opening up brick-and-mortar locations. Some retailers are eyeing real estate in markets outside of major cities as they follow people who uprooted to find bigger spaces during the Covid pandemic. And companies including Macy’s that shuttered stores in recent years are now testing different formats, often with smaller footprints.
So far this year, retailers in the U.S. have announced 4,432 store openings, compared with 1,954 closings, according to data from Coresight Research, resulting in a net of 2,478 openings.
Before the pandemic, the industry was seeing net closures of thousands of stores every year as consumers increasingly moved their spending online. In 2019, Coresight tracked 9,832 closures, compared with 4,689 openings. Last year, the retail industry eked out a net addition of 68 stores.

“Retailers are not going to pull back on store growth,” said Naveen Jaggi, president of the retail advisory team at JLL, a commercial real estate services firm. “They’re going to continue to grow because that’s one of the ways that they can send a message to the market that, ‘We’re healthy and safe.'”
The optimism from retail real estate owners comes amid warning signs from across the industry. In recent weeks, retailers including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Gap and Adidas slashed their sales or profit outlooks as consumers squeezed by higher gas and grocery bills rein in spending on other items. At the same time, though, luxury retailers including Birkin bag maker Hermes and Louis Vuitton parent LVMH say profits are strong and sales are growing as higher-income consumers continue to splurge on pricey fashion and accessories.
At its malls, Simon Property also said it’s noticing a split in behavior. Consumers who shop at value-oriented retailers are more likely to be pulling back, Simon said, as are younger shoppers who don’t earn as much money. Among those seeing softening sales are the company’s teen and fast-fashion retailers Aeropostale and Forever 21, as well as its J.C. Penney department store chain, he said.
But he said businesses like men’s suit retailer Brooks Brothers, which Simon Property also owns, continues to ring up sales.
“The higher-income consumer is still spending money,” Simon said.
Macerich, which operates malls including Tysons Corner Center in Virginia and Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona, noted that distress in the retail industry has slowed dramatically after a pandemic-spurred wave of closures in 2020.
“Clearly, there are economic uncertainties due to inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine,” Macerich CEO Thomas O’Hern said on a conference call last Thursday. “However, we continue to expect gains in occupancy, net operating income and cash flow from operations through the remainder of this year and into next year.”
Macerich said its leasing activity in the second quarter reflected retailer demand at levels not seen since 2015. The company also said it recently polled around 30 of its biggest national tenants and found that roughly 90% have not changed their plans to open new locations this year and next.
Also fueling store openings are retailers that started online and are now looking to expand with physical locations, said Douglas Healey, senior executive vice president of leasing at Macerich. Those include athletic apparel brands Fabletics, Alo Yoga and Vuori, shoe maker Allbirds and furniture chain Interior Define, he said.
Macerich said it signed 274 leases in the quarter ended in June, up 27% from a year earlier and up 42% from pre-Covid 2019 levels.
Conor Flynn, CEO of shopping center owner Kimco, said he has “cautious optimism” about the state of business, given the pressures on consumers. Some retailers are taking advantage of tough times to snag vacant storefronts they will want in years to come, he said on a conference call last Thursday.
Construction of new retail space has also hit the brakes for the most part during the pandemic, according to David Jamieson, Kimco’s chief operating officer. He said that has put more pressure on businesses to compete for the best available spaces.
The availability of retail space at all types of properties including malls in the U.S. hit a 10-year low in the second quarter, according to CBRE, a real estate services and investment firm.
The plans for new openings come even as visits to malls and shopping centers appear to be slowing this summer amid inflationary pressures, though analysts and executives say those who do visit are more likely to buy something.
Simon said it reported record sales of $746 per square foot at its malls and outlets combined, in the second quarter.
Visits to indoor U.S. malls in June rose 1.5% compared with the prior year, marking the smallest gain so far this year, according to Placer.ai, a retail analytics firm. Visits to outlet centers dropped 6.7%. The distance that it takes many consumers to drive to outlet centers has resulted in a falloff in visits as gas prices remain inflated, Placer.ai said.

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Mexican Pizza will be returning as a permanent menu item on September 15, according to Taco Bell.
The chain, owned by Yum Brands, pulled the item in 2020, before a failed comeback this May.

Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza
Source: Taco Bell

Mexican Pizza will be returning as a permanent menu item at Taco Bell on September 15, according to the fast-food chain.
The chain, owned by Yum Brands, had pulled the item in 2020 to simplify its menu before bringing it back this May. But Taco Bell said ingredient shortages could not keep up with demand, which was boosted in part by TikTok marketing efforts from rapper Doja Cat.

After its May return, Taco Bell said the demand was seven times higher than when the item was previously available, outpacing its supply capabilities. It said one restaurant in California sold more than 1,000 of the pizzas made with beef and refried beans in one day.
The supply issues have been addressed, according to a statement from the company. “Taco Bell worked diligently to resolve depleted ingredients and supply chain challenges,” it said.
Shortages of other fast-food menu items in the past have also helped drum up buzz, including Popeyes first nationwide chicken sandwich in 2019.
Taco Bell customers awaiting the return of the pizza might also be anticipating the release of “Mexican Pizza: The Musical,” starring Doja Cat and Dolly Parton, which was delayed along with the dish. Taco Bell told those diehard fans to “stay tuned.”

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The airline suspended the sale of short-haul flights departing from Heathrow until Aug. 8.
The move comes after Heathrow asked airlines to limit new bookings amid staff shortages.

British Airways said the move — which will run until Aug. 8 — was taken in response to Heathrow’s request.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

LONDON — British Airways suspended the sale of short-haul flight tickets departing from London’s Heathrow after the airport asked airlines to limit new bookings.
In a statement Tuesday, the airline said the move — which will run until Aug. 8 — was taken in response to Heathrow’s request.

“We’ve decided to take responsible action and limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximise rebooking options for existing customers, given the restrictions imposed on us and the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry,” the statement read.
Heathrow Airport said it was happy its biggest airline followed the request: “We are pleased to see action from British Airways, acting responsibly and also putting passengers first.”
Europe’s biggest airport by passenger numbers announced it would impose a cap of 100,000 daily departing passengers on July 12 as the airline industry continues to struggle with staff shortages.
The airport said its decision to restrict numbers was taken “in the best interests of passengers” to provide “better, more reliable journeys this summer.”

The capacity cap will be in place until Sep. 11.

Heathrow had between 110,000 and 125,000 daily passenger departures in July and August 2019.
Similar scenes in mainland Europe
Europe’s third-biggest airport, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, has also announced a number of passenger caps through the summer.
“The purpose of setting a maximum is to ensure the safety of passengers and employees and to create a reliable process at the airport,” the airport said in a statement.
“All efforts are focused on keeping the consequences for travellers to a minimum.”
Currently a maximum of 73,000 passengers are able to depart from the Dutch airport, but that number will drop to 67,500 in September. This will then increase to 69,500 in October.

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Ferrari increased its guidance for 2022 after a record quarterly result.
Ferrari said its second-quarter revenue, shipments and profit were all up more than 20% from the year-ago period.
Ferrari’s CEO said the company’s net order intake also hit a record in the quarter.

The Ferrari SP38 seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2022 on June 23rd in Chichester, England.
Martyn Lucy | Getty Images

Ferrari raised its guidance for 2022 after reporting record results for the second quarter amid unprecedented demand for its high-priced sports and grand touring cars.
The Italian supercar maker has been largely immune from the supply-chain disruptions that have forced larger automakers to reduce production over the last several quarters, thanks to its small production volumes. Ferrari’s wealthy clientele are also shielded to some extent from the economic concerns that have begun to appear in consumer data.

On the strength of its first-half results and robust order book, Ferrari said that it now expects to report earnings per share between 4.80 euros and 4.90 euros for the full year, on revenue of roughly 4.9 billion euros. It had previously told investors to expect full-year earnings per share to fall between 4.55 euros and 4.75 euros, on revenue of about 4.8 billion euros.
Ferrari’s second-quarter profit, revenue and shipments all rose more than 20% from a year ago to new quarterly records. Its net order intake also hit a record level in the quarter, said CEO Benedetto Vigna in a statement.
Here are the key numbers:

Earnings per share: 1.36 euros, versus 1.11 euros in the second quarter of 2021.
Revenue: 1.29 billion euros, versus 1.04 billion euros in the second quarter of 2021.

Ferrari shipped 3,455 vehicles in the quarter, up 29% from a year ago, on strong demand for its V8-powered Portofino M convertible and F8 mid-engine sports car. The company also confirmed that it’s begun production of its new V6-powered hybrid 296 GTB sports car.

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JetBlue Airways posted a second-quarter loss but said it expects to post a profit in the third quarter.
It remained cautious on growth this summer as costs surged.
Spirit Airlines last week agreed to sell itself to JetBlue for $3.8 billion.

JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 passenger aircraft landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Nik Oiko | LightRocket | Getty Images

JetBlue Airways said Tuesday that it expects to return to its first profit since the pandemic began this quarter and that it would remain cautious on growth while costs surge.
The New York-based airline lost $188 million in the second quarter on record revenue of close to $2.45 billion as it grappled with surging costs for fuel, labor and other expenses.

JetBlue’s third-quarter capacity will be down as much as 3% compared with 2019, a sign the carrier is holding back on growth like other airlines trying to improve reliability after a rocky start to a big summer travel season.
“We reported a record-breaking revenue result for the second quarter, and we’re on pace to top it again here in the third quarter and drive our first quarterly profit since the start of the pandemic,” CEO Robin Hayes said in an earnings release.
JetBlue last week announced it had finally reached a deal to acquire ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in cash after a long bidding war with discounter Frontier Airlines. Frontier’s agreement to combine with Spirit fell apart hours before the JetBlue-Spirit deal was announced.
JetBlue executives will face questions about the deal and travel demand on a 10 a.m. call Tuesday.

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Innoviz will supply lidar units directly to Volkswagen for eight years starting in mid-decade.
Innoviz expects to supply units for between 5 million and 8 million Volkswagen Group vehicles in total.
The company expects to realize about $4 billion in revenue over the term of the deal.

In this photo illustration a Innoviz Technologies logo is displayed on a smartphone.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Israeli lidar maker Innoviz announced Tuesday it has won a contract to supply lidar units and related software for autonomous driving to a unit of Volkswagen, in a deal worth $4 billion in sales over eight years.
Under the deal, Volkswagen will incorporate Innoviz’s latest automotive lidar unit and its proprietary perception software into vehicles across its portfolio.

The deal will run for eight years starting “mid-decade,” when the first Innoviz-equipped Volkswagen Group vehicles are expected to ship. Innoviz expects to supply lidar units for between 5 million and 8 million Volkswagen Group vehicles over that eight-year term.
Lidar — meaning, light detection and ranging — uses an invisible laser beam to scan surroundings and construct a detailed three-dimensional image. The sensors are considered critical components of most autonomous-driving systems, which compare the images generated by lidar with a detailed three-dimensional map to double-check the vehicle’s precise location.
As the costs of development and production have fallen, the sensors have seen broader adoption across vehicles and driver-assist systems – leading to fierce competition between a slew of lidar startups for automaker business.
Innoviz, which went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in late 2020, had previously announced the deal but had not revealed its client. The lidar maker said in May that it had won a deal with “one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world” to “become its direct lidar supplier across multiple brands.”
Innoviz’s CEO, Omer Keilaf, said the company’s deal with Cariad, Volkswagen’s software company, was struck after more than two years of testing and due diligence.

“I think one of the most challenging parts was the fact that we are coming with a new product, a new generation [of lidar units], and we had to build confidence on their side to see that it’s up and running. That was part of what we did in the last year,” Keilaf told CNBC. “The second part was getting Volkswagen to feel comfortable with Innoviz becoming a direct supplier.”
The process involved in becoming a direct supplier to a major automaker is an arduous one. Generally, an automaker will put a potential new supplier’s product through extensive quality and durability tests. It will also do due diligence on the potential supplier’s business, accepting the supplier only after it’s confident that the company will be around and financially stable for the length of the contract.
Selling directly to an automaker like Volkswagen is new ground for Innoviz. The company has an existing deal with BMW, but that agreement has established auto supplier Magna International manufacturing and delivering Innoviz’s lidar units to the automaker as something of a go-between.
For Volkswagen, the lidar units will be made by contract manufacturers using tooling provided by – and working directly with – Innoviz, which will then supply the completed units to Volkswagen itself.
Keilaf said that streamlined relationship offers advantages to both Innoviz and Volkswagen.
“Eventually, it was a good fit, because the new product is really intriguing in terms of performance and price,” Keilaf said. “And the fact that we are a direct supplier also is very helpful in terms of bringing the cost down. It’s less of a three-way kind of program.”

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California’s declaration comes after Illinois declared a public health emergency earlier Monday. New York declared a state disaster emergency in response to the outbreak late Friday.
The U.S. has reported nearly 6,000 cases of monkeypox across across 48 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California, Illinois and New York – home to the nation’s three largest cities – have reported 47% of all confirmed monkeypox infections in the U.S.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) talks with reporters after a meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the U.S. Capitol, on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak on Monday, the third U.S. state to do so in a matter of days.
Newsom said the emergency declaration would help support the state’s vaccination efforts. Demand for the vaccines has outstripped supply as infections rise. Staff at sexual health clinics and other sites have struggled to keep up with the influx of people seeking the shots.

California is mobilizing personnel from its Emergency Medical Services to help administer the vaccines. Newsom said the state is working across all levels of government to slow the spread through testing, contract tracing and community outreach.
California’s declaration comes after Illinois declared a public health emergency earlier Monday. New York declared a state disaster emergency in response to the outbreak late Friday.
The U.S. has reported nearly 6,000 cases of monkeypox across across 48 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak has spread swiftly since health authorities in Boston confirmed the first U.S. case in May.
California, Illinois and New York – home to the nation’s three largest cities – have reported 47% of all confirmed monkeypox infections in the U.S. New York is the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., with nearly 1,400 confirmed cases as of Monday.
The Biden administration is weighing whether to declare the a public health emergency in the U.S, according to senior federal health officials. This would help mobilize resources for state health officials that are battling the outbreak. The last time the U.S. declared a public health emergency was in response to Covid-19 in January 2020.

Monkeypox is rarely fatal and no deaths have been reported in the U.S so far. But some patients suffer excruciating pain from the rash caused by the virus.
Monkeypox is primarily transmitting through skin-to-skin contact during sex. Gay and bisexual men are the highest risk of infection right now, public health officials say. About 98% of patients who provided demographic information to clinics identified as men who have sex with men, according to the CDC.
Though men who have sex with men are at highest risk right now, health officials have emphasized that anyone catch monkeypox through physical contact with someone who has the rash the characterizes the virus or contaminated materials such as towels and bedsheets.
Monkeypox can also spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person has lesions in their mouth, but this requires prolonged face-to-face interaction, according to the CDC. Physical contact is the primary mode of transmission, health officials say.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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Starbucks Workers United is asking the company to extend wage hikes to workers at unionized stores.
In May, the coffee chain announced it would raise wages for workers at nonunionized stores.
The company said it is unable to make changes at organized stores without bargaining.

With pay increases set to kick in at Starbucks cafes around the U.S. on Monday, labor organizers are asking the coffee giant to extend the benefits to unionized stores as well without going through the bargaining process.
The request comes after Starbucks announced in May that it would hike wages for workers and add other benefits such as credit card tipping by late this year. But the Seattle-based coffee chain said it wouldn’t offer the enhanced benefits to workers at unionized stores because it needs to go through bargaining to make such changes.

In a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz obtained by CNBC, Workers United said the company can legally offer benefits to employees at unionized stores without bargaining, as long as the union agrees. The letter notes other companywide benefits announced in recent months, including faster sick time accrual and medical travel reimbursement for employees seeking abortions or gender-reaffirming care.

Starbucks Workers United t-shirts hang outside while unionized workers strike for unfair labor practices outside a Starbucks location on 874 Commonwealth Avenue in the Brookline neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, US, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
Scott Brauer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“Workers United refuses to stand by while Starbucks cynically promises new benefits only to non-unionized workers and withholds them from our members,” states the letter from Lynne Fox, president of Workers United, to Schultz last month.
The letter notes the union is not waiving any other bargaining obligation that Starbucks has under federal law.
About 200 Starbucks stores have unionized so far, while 40 have voted not to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks has roughly 9,000 locations in the U.S.
When contacted about the union’s request, Starbucks pointed to a factsheet on its website that states, “The law is clear: once a store unionizes, no changes to benefits are allowed without good faith collective bargaining.”

The company’s site says workers have access to Starbucks benefits that were in place when the union petition was filed, but that any subsequent changes to wages, benefits and working conditions have to be bargained.
Labor lawyers say the case could wind up before an administrative law judge at the National Labor Relations Board.
“Once a union has been certified, an employer is obligated to bargain with that union before making any changes to terms and conditions of employment,” said Stephen Holroyd, lawyer at Jennings Sigmond who has represented unions and worked for the NLRB.
But he said that the union greenlighting the benefits without bargaining changes the situation, and that it could argue Starbucks is withholding the benefits because of its organizing campaign.
Daniel Sobol, a lawyer at Stevens & Lee who has represented companies in union cases, said the NLRB and federal courts have disagreed on the issue.
“If [benefit enhancements are] done solely to chill unionizing, that could be an issue,” he said. But with employers adjusting wages in the inflationary environment, he said Starbucks might not be obligated to give the raises to unionized employees.
Gabe Frumkin, an attorney for Starbucks Workers United, said it’s clear the benefits are being offered in response to the union drive. He said Workers United has filed two charges tied to Starbucks’ wage and benefits announcements for nonunionized stores and is considering further options.
Catherine Creighton, director of Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School in Buffalo, New York, said the law requires companies to give a union notice of a new benefit and the opportunity to bargain over it. But she said that, “if the union says they have no objection, then the employer can absolutely give them that benefit.”
The pay hikes going into effect this week include a raise of at least 5%, or a move to 5% above market rate, whichever is higher, for employees with at least two years experience. Employees with more than five years of experience get a raise of at least 7%, or move to 10% above market rate, whichever is higher. The increases are in addition to a previously announced hike kicking in this month that gets wages to a floor of $15 an hour nationally. That increase is available to stores that did not start organizing before it was announced.
Starbucks has said it plans to spend $1 billion on wage hikes, improved training and store innovation during its fiscal 2022. When Schultz returned to his role as CEO for a third time, he suspended the company’s buyback program to invest in workers and stores.

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