RETAIL REAL ESTATE
Caruso to Receive NRF Foundation’s Disruptor Award
2015 is starting out as the year when Rick J. Caruso, developer of The Grove and The Americana at Brand, is honored as a disruptor.
The NRF Foundation, the nonprofit division of the National Retail Federation, the largest trade group for U.S. retail, is featuring Caruso in “The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future,” which was announced on Jan. 5. It is producing a Jan. 11 gala in New York for the people honored on this list.
Caruso was listed under the “Disruptors,” a category described by an NRF Foundation statement as “true originals who rock the boat with ideas so crazy they just might work. These are the people who make you rethink what you thought you knew about retail, opening you up to new possibilities for your customers, your business and your world.”
While Caruso has been a star in mall-development circles for years, he made headlines during a keynote address at NRF’s Big Show in January 2014 when he proclaimed that the traditional mall was dead.
During his keynote address, he said, “I’ve come to the conclusion that within 10 to 15 years the typical U.S. mall, unless completely reinvented, will be seen as a historical anachronism that no longer meets the needs of the public, retailers or communities. I believe the rebirth of retail will come as developers, retailers and cities understand the retail paradigm of the future is based on something timeless and enduring.”
Since then, Caruso has started unique retail projects that have sought not to use traditional mall layouts, such as Palisades Village, a 2.8-acre development in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades enclave that will redevelop the neighborhood’s main retail drag. The project is scheduled to take a bow in 2017.
Other disruptors in the NRF Foundation awards include Adam Brotman, chief digital officer for Starbucks, and Darrell Cavens, chief executive officer for Zulily.
Other categories for the NRF Foundation’s awards are Dreamers, Givers, Power Players and Influencers. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin was listed as one of the Influencers. Jim Gold, president of Neiman Marcus, was listed as one of the power players, and Isabella Rose Taylor, a teen fashion designer, was listed in the award’s Dreamers categories.
