“Retail Apocalypse? Not Exactly.
Why Pure-Play Online Retail Is Not Sustainable And Brick-and-Mortar Is Not Dead”
October 11th, 2018 | 10:00am -11:30am | Cornhusker Marriott Hotel
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Thousands of stores are closing. Iconic brands are disappearing. Amazon is taking over. The sky is falling. Not a day passes without new headlines heralding the death of brick-and-mortar retail at the hands of e-commerce. But while this is the narrative that has taken hold among journalists, investors and the general public, does it accurately capture the realities on the ground?
At Downtown Lincoln's Annual Summit, Michael J. Berne, President of MJB Consulting and one of North America's foremost retail experts, will make the case for a contrarian view, delving deeper into the nuances of what is actually happening, offering some surprising predictions for how the industry is likely to evolve in the coming five to ten years and discussing what it all means for our Downtowns.
As a follow up to Berne's Keynote Address, the Broker Workshop will start with a national perspective on the latest trends in retail leasing and development, with reference to relevant case studies, and then proceed to a moderated discussion among participants.
Speaker Bio
Michael J. Berne is the President of MJB Consulting (MJB), a national retail planning and real estate consulting concern with offices in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
MJB has been retained by a wide range of clients across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., including municipalities, BID’s, quasi-public/non-profit development corporations and educational institutions as well as private developers, landlords and retailers, to conduct market assessments, advise on site planning, devise tenanting strategies and spearhead recruitment efforts.
Michael himself is a frequent speaker at the conferences of the International Downtown Association (IDA) and sits on the Board of Directors as Vice Chair of its Executive Committee. He has also presented at the annual gatherings of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), National Main Street Center, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), among others.
Michael has written extensively for the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Urban Land magazine and for the Journal of Urban Affairs, and has served on numerous expert advisory panels for the ULI and the IEDC. He has lectured at the University of Pennsylvania and the City University of New York (CUNY), and appeared in high-profile publications such as The Washington Post, The Financial Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Michael received a B.A. degree from Columbia University (Columbia College) in New York City and an M.Phil degree from Cambridge University (Gonville & Caius College) in the United Kingdom. He splits his time between residences/offices in New York City’s Union Square and Berkeley’s Elmwood neighborhood.