Hartford Business Journal

20 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 31, 2021 FOCUS: On The Record - Q&A By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusinesss.com W hen the pandemic hit last March and online retail purchases began to soar, some experts left brick-and- mortar retail for dead. Indeed, numerous major national brands — including J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and the parent companies of Ann Taylor and Men's Wearhouse — filed for bankruptcy and closed a significant number of stores. Amid that backdrop, U.S. malls have also taken a beating, but Westfarms in West Hartford seems to be an outlier. In fact, the 1.3 million-square- foot mall's occupancy rate prior to and throughout the pandemic has remained at 95% and it was even able to add new retailers over the last year, despite being forced to close for two months in the spring of 2020. It's one significant loss was Lord & Taylor, which shuttered all of its U.S. brick-and-mortar locations after filing for bankruptcy in August. But another downsizing national retailer, Nordstrom, decided to maintain its Westfarms outpost. Now that Connecticut has lifted all business restrictions and more residents continue to get vaccinated, newly-named Westfarms General Manager Alberto Arebalo said he's got a bullish outlook heading into the rest of this year. Mall traffic is increasing and sales in key merchandise categories are trending ahead of 2019's performance pace, he said. The 48-year-old Arebalo says Westfarms has been able to maintain its competitive edge by recruiting new-to-market retailers — essentially brands not found at nearby shopping centers. That's a key part of the mall's overall strategy, he said. Arebalo comes to Connecticut from Miami where he was director of operations at Dolphin Mall, a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping center. Prior to that, Arebalo worked as the director of operations for Harvard Retail Corp., Urban Retail Properties and StoreTech+ Co. Dolphin Mall is also owned by Westfarms parent Taubman, which was purchased in December by Simon Property Group Inc. Arebalo has big shoes to fill having replaced longtime Westfarms General Manager Kevin Keenan, who had a 46-year career at the mall and was well-known within local and national retail circles. Arebalo says he's big into analytics and using data to detect consumer trends and behaviors. He also likes to get out on the shopping floors and engage with consumers to understand first-hand their wants and needs. He recently sat down with Hartford Business Journal for a virtual Q&A. Here's what he had to say: Q: It's a crazy time for brick- and-mortar retail. Why did you want the Westfarms GM job? It's almost like a homecoming to me. I am originally from and grew up in Middle Village, Queens, New York. I was in Florida for quite some time helping run Dolphin Mall and it took me awhile to acclimate to south Florida but it won't take me long to acclimate to Connecticut. For years the former GM of Westfarms, Kevin Keenan, couldn't say enough about the Westfarms team and the people here so when the opportunity came up my interest was naturally very high. I came up with my fiancé Braja to visit the area and we both fell in love with the community, and we are looking forward to building our life here. Q: How has Westfarms handled itself through the pandemic? I wasn't here when the pandemic first came to fruition last March when we closed for two months. Taubman took all the state, local and Centers for Disease Control recommendation guidelines and made sure customers were aware of the protocols we put in place, which included a mask mandate, social distancing, hand sanitizer and floor markers that directed traffic. We also worked with retailers, which adapted and offered in-store pickup options. We also put together a curbside pickup program that proved very popular with customers. Both addressed ways shoppers could receive goods immediately, particularly if they were not comfortable spending a significant amount of time inside of public spaces. Q: How has the pandemic impacted the mall's business operations? The mall has remained very strong considering the challenging environment. Our occupancy levels in 2020 and 2021 have remained at roughly 95%, showing that our lineup of brands has resonated with consumers even during the pandemic. During the last year we also welcomed new-to-market brands, including Fablectics, Warby Parker, Cotton On and Cotton On Kids. Those are all brands that are new to the Connecticut market. Meantime, in 2021, month-over- month sales continue to increase. Many tenants are beating not only With high occupancy rate and new, exclusive tenants, Westfarms mall counteracts retail's brick- and-mortar struggles Westfarms General Manager Alberto Arebalo said his mall remains in good shape coming out of the pandemic, with a 95% occupancy rate. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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