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Brick and Mortis?

Dallas-Fort Worth
Brick and Mortis?
Get ready to rumble. In this corner we have online stores; and on the other side of the ring, traditional retail stores. Can't they just get along?
 
Martin Garza
K&L Gates partner Martin Garza says it's not an ?either/or? question but how to integrate operations to address shopper?s use of both platforms. He cites comScore research showing retail e-commerce reached $32.6B for the 2010 holiday season, 12% more than '09, and a new high. Expanding e-commerce operations may mean more office space as well as warehouse, distribution, and fulfillment capacity. What other implications are there when evaluating new locations or additional space?
retail stores
Martin gives an example of a major retailer with plans to: add 56k SF of office space in Midtown Manhattan for new e-commerce staff; expand its existing fulfillment center in Tennessee; and build a newfulfillment center in West Virginia to support its e-commerce operations. Distribution needs may change if companies are moving more product through the mail instead of malls. Additionally, online sales are a 24/7 business and don't conform to mall hours. Employees may need around-the-clock access to their space. This has implications for building access, security, parking, energy usage, and provision of building services.