Louis Conforti, CEO of Washington Prime Group (NYSE: WPG), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles.
Conforti said that Washington Prime Group works closely with its local management teams to better understand what innovations each of its constituencies is after.
“We’ll provide the resources up at corporate, but it’s incumbent on our folks that are actually at the assets to figure out what’s innovative,” he said.
Turning to risk management, Conforti said that store closures allow Washington Prime Group to better curate and diversify its tenants. He said the REIT views closures as an opportunity, and that it has led the company to be 93.7% occupied with 3.5 million square feet of space.
Conforti also said that logistics, delivery, and distribution in the retail space are constantly changing, so it’s important for Washington Prime Group to have offers beyond goods and services, like entertainment and social interactions.