Reply to Barnes and Noble Bethesda Avenue Closing end of 2017

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A lot of information is not publicly known about the original lease and the alleged rent increases and decreasing sales.

Barnes and Noble across the country put out a mandate to negotiate lower rents due to sagging sales.  The one thing B & N is good at is PR, They are tossing the blame on Federal Reality and making them look bad in in an effort to have local leaders and residents put pressure on them like the did in NY when they were closing a store there that eventually became an Saks off 5th.

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What I heard is B&N had a 20-year lease, due to expire 12/31/16. When they signed the lease 20 years ago, the renewal terms were negotiated then.

When it came time to renew, B&N wanted to deviate from that agreement (lower the rent). FR wanted to stick with the existing deal. Thus, B&N did not renew. FR did not push them out.

I think where FR is not thinking strategically is B&N is the anchor tenant of that whole area. For example, we go there on weekends and buy kids books, then go eat lunch at restaurants that are part of that complex, like Nando's. If B&N isn't there, we'll have no reason to be in that complex at all and eat elsewhere.

For us, when our kids want a B&N fix, we'll now just go to Tysons. Just then I get suckered in to paying $5/head for that little train ride in the food court.[/quote]

I mean, no one is really the villain.  B&N had the right to try to renegotiate the deal, especially given their economic realities; FR had the right to say no.  Personally, I agree that it's a little short-sighted, because it makes the retail market less diverse and people looking for a bookstore will just go elsewhere entirely instead of coming and then also spending money on meals, etc.  [/quote]

I am curious what impact this will have, but I think it is hard to say it is short-sighted because we don't know what will be going into the space.

I live nearby and am in that area quite frequently with my young kids.  We would spend a bit of time in B&N with some frequency (particularly before they removed the train table a little while back), so I will miss it.  But, I am not sure that will really lead me to coming into the area less.  B&N was a side diversion, not the main destination, except when I needed a last minute b-day gift.  Maybe it will affect my habits more than I expect, and maybe it is more of the specific destination for others.  But I am not yet convinced it is going to make a tremendous overall difference to the popularity of the area, especially if the tenant(s) that replace B&N also work to drive traffic more broadly.[/quote]

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