September 17, 2024
Stephen Yalof, CEO, Tanger
Fighting Amazon-How Malls Can Reboot Shopping Experiences People Want, Stephen Yalof – CEO Tanger
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With Amazon and online shopping exploding in popularity, with new habits formed and accelerated during the pandemic, brick-and-mortar stores are at yet another turning point to regain relevancy. It is now a common sight to drive around towns in North America to see malls and outlet centers slowly hollowing out, becoming something else, or a place for mall walkers to get some steps in.
One company rebooting the outlet mall experience in a big way is Tanger, a leading operator of upscale shopping centers across North America. Although this company has been around for 30 years, in the last 4 years alone they have been on a post-covid bounce back and are now valued at over $3B.
On this episode of the Reboot Chronicles, Tanger CEO Stephen Yalof gives us a behind-the-scenes tour of how he’s rebooting the company—and competing in the ever-growing digital age. Listen in as we unpack changes being made to bring shoppers back into brick-and-mortar stores, shifts in consumer behaviors, and some advice for young professionals looking to make an impact in the retail economy.
Getting People Out Of Their Houses And Into Stores
One of the predominant effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, as many physical stores closed up shop, was people reduced physical IRL shopping habits. When stores started to re-open, there was a push to get people back into stores. One of the main ways Tanger has been doing this is by re-imagining shopping centers into gathering centers. Making these spaces more than just a place to shop, and more adjacent to a town square. As Stephen puts it people “can park their car, they can get together outdoors, they could shop, they could eat, and they can enjoy some entertainment.”
Finding An Edge Over E-commerce
Just turning these outlets into gathering spaces isn’t all that Tanger is doing to compete with the digital retail space. The other way that Stephen is staying competitive with online retailers is through the products they are selling and the stores they are promoting. Stephen mentions that online shopping is “easy to buy products that are repeat products, things that you know exactly what you’re going to get”. On the other hand, some products are better to buy in person, “whether it’s a pair of shoes or clothing, even jewelry”, the products that you want to try on before you purchase.
Advice For Young Professionals
Stephen has been in the retail or retail adjacent industry for years, having previously worked at Ralph Lauren in their Real Estate department and then moving to Simon Premium Outlets as their CEO. With this long, successful career, we wanted to know what advice he would give the younger generation. Stephen mentions that he gets this question a lot, and he says “Don’t be afraid to try a bunch of things.” Most industries are pretty big and have a lot more to offer than you may see on a surface level, and trying those other avenues and asking yourself “What part of this industry do I like?” is the best way to find the career for you.
