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etail’s future over the next decade hinges on following customers wherever they go. At WWD’s Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, CBRE and Nuveen leaders unpacked how retail real‑estate, consumer habits, and demographic shifts intersect.

    CBRE Americas Retail head Laura Barr moderated “Retail Disruptors: Navigating the Evolving Retail Landscape—Real Estate, Strategy and the Consumer Experience,” exploring how property assets must adapt to a rapidly changing market. (Listen to the podcast here.)

    Nuveen’s global retail chief Katie Grissom highlighted the need for a holistic view that fuses real‑estate analytics with consumer insight. Her path from hedge‑fund analyst to retail investor gave her a unique edge. “Understanding the shopper and how retailers view their customers was the foundation for my investment strategy,” she said. Nuveen’s $140 billion real‑estate portfolio includes $30 billion in retail, spanning Hawaii’s Ala Moana, Chicago’s Oak Street, and the Vegas Strip.

    Barr stressed that a collaborative landlord‑retailer relationship is essential, not adversarial. “Retail isn’t zero‑sum when partners focus on shared growth—sales, foot traffic, or brand exposure,” she explained. Leveraging landlords’ lower capital costs can accelerate expansion, especially through tenant improvements (TIs). Barr noted that, once inside the industry, she realized how valuable TIs could be when real‑estate teams act as strategic allies.

    Two major headwinds emerged. First, a looming talent deficit: 40 % of commercial‑real‑estate professionals are set to retire in the next decade, versus 23 % in other sectors—a “talent cliff.” CBRE is addressing this with succession plans that keep growth targets on track. Second, a gap in retail analytics remains, underscoring the need for better data integration to guide decisions.