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The last few months have been a scary time
for many retail categories. For mall-based
apparel and hard goods chains, it has been
downright brutal. These challenges have
also been particularly acute for many chains
historically active at mid-level price points.
For them, retail bankruptcies and store
closures are up, and publicly traded entities
are under more pressure than ever from
Wall Street to “right-size” for the new
omni-channel world of e-commerce by
shuttering storefronts. Some speculate that
the bricks-and-mortar retail world of
tomorrow will be about discount and luxury,
no middle.
Discount and off-price retail now accounts
for the lion’s share of growth in North
America — primarily in suburban centers.
In both the United States and Canada, the
expansion of top luxury and upscale
concepts continues, albeit at an increasingly
conservative pace.
However, a new breed of retailers is
connecting with Millennial consumers largely
on their own terms and, more often than not,
at that seemingly disappearing mid-market
price point. This phenomenon is not
happening in the malls, whether they are
thriving trophy centers or dying Class C
properties. Nor is it happening in urban high
street markets like Fifth Avenue, the
Magnificent Mile, Rodeo Drive, or Union
Square, or even in suburban community,
neighborhood, and power centers where
discount is the name of the game. It is not
happening on the High streets or on the Main
streets, but on what we call the Cool Streets.
In this report, we explore the rise of dozens
of exciting new retail districts across the
United States and Canada in urban (and
urbane) neighborhoods profoundly impacted
by the rise of the Millennial consumer.
Make no mistake about it, these are largely
“hipster” neighborhoods notable for their
embrace of the unconventional, the out-of-
the-box, and the cool. In some cases, these
are longstanding bohemian enclaves known
as focal points for local arts, music or LGBT
communities. But most of the neighborhoods
featured in this report are up-and-coming
trade areas driven by dramatic demographic
shifts and the strong Millennial preference for
urban living. The renaissance occurring on
these Cool Streets has been driven by an
explosion of new restaurant and retail
concepts that connect with the seemingly
elusive Millennial consumer like no other.
The story of this growth alone is noteworthy.
However, what may be most important is
that in an age of increasing retail uncertainty,
Cool Streets serve as an incubator of sorts
for what will likely be the hottest new retail
concepts of tomorrow.
The Cool Streets of North America
report
details these trends and lists what we
believe to be the 100 most important Cool
Streets in North America right now. We will
It’s not happening on the High Streets
or on the Main Streets, it’s happening
on what we call the Cool Streets.
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Cool Streets Report