Desperate developers and mall owners are benefiting from the population trend.

By Laura Kennedy

Stores catering to ethnic groups are a hot commodity for mall owners. As thousands of storefronts go empty, ethnic targeted retailers and services are providing glimmers of hope for struggling real estate owners and developers. Mall owners desperate to fill space will offer low-rent deals to such retailers.

The new ethnic stores can transform an entire shopping center. For one thing, the fast growing group of retailers can attract customers from far away. And once they’re at the mall, those shoppers tend to stay and make purchases at neighboring stores, too.

“What’s unique about ethnic centers is they can become destination centers,” says Reza Etedali, CEO and founder of Reza Investment Group, a retail real estate investment advisory firm that puts a special focus on ethnic retail developments. “People reach [out] to go look for them. Sometimes you don’t need to be in a high-profile location as long as you have the right tenants.”

La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas, is a prime example. Five years ago, The Legaspi Company developers bought the 1.1 million square foot mall when it was only 10% occupied. Now, after redevelopment and repositioning to the Hispanic market, the mall is 85% full.

The mall houses Hispanic targeted retailers, such as grocery stores and Mexican apparel stores, as well as a Radio Shack, Foot Locker and Burlington Coat Factory. Jose Legaspi, who runs the Legaspi Company, says that the primary market for the center is customers who live 20 to 30 miles away. “At a regular mall, they’re lucky if they can pull from five miles,” he says.

Ethnic targeted grocery stores also tend to have more-loyal customers than their broader-based supermarket counterparts, says Ian Brown, a senior vice president in California with Grubb & Ellis, the commercial real estate advisory firm. Meanwhile, “the traditional supermarkets are really having problems trying to figure out what their niche is,” he says.

Consumer loyalty is good for other retailers and service providers looking to drum up business in the same area. For instance, in California, Charles Schwab locates its investment services offices in the same shopping centers where popular Asian retailer 99 Ranch Market sets up shop; travel agencies, restaurants and others do the same.

Many ethnic retailers can stay busy amid downturns because they sell necessities, such as food and sundries, or provide basic services. Immigrants in particular have downshifted during the recession with more ease than other groups, according to Emil Morales, senior vice president of the multicultural sector at TNS, a market research firm. “They know how to be thrifty shoppers” at all types of stores, he says.

Owners will offer the new mall tenants low rents and perks. Look for mostly Asian and Hispanic stores to spur the growth, but some Middle Eastern retailers and restaurants also drive traffic in certain areas.

The expansion of the American palate is driving a more diverse clientele to the stores, buttressing the strong growth from the ethnic groups themselves. Developers can also capitalize on Americans’ and immigrants’ growing support of multiethnic offerings. Diamond Jamboree, a shopping center in Irvine, Calif., that opened last September, is distinctive in that it caters to many different Asian markets.

“Unlike other ‘ethnic’ plazas that cater to a specific immigrant group, by virtue of the fact [that the center is in] Irvine, it’s very pan-Asian,” says Thomas Tseng, a principal and cofounder of New American Dimensions, a multicultural marketing research firm. The center is anchored by Asian grocer HMart and features a Taiwanese coffee shop next to a Korean tofu restaurant, among other stores. Tseng and Etedali, both based in California, see the multiethnic trend spreading countrywide. “We’re seeing melting pot concepts where one grocer is not particularly focused on one ethnic group, but is focusing on a variety of ethnic groups,” says Etedali.

Ethnic buying power is rising, so the investments are good long-term bets. Hispanic buying power in the U.S. is set to grow by 46% over the next five years, while for Asians, the number will leap close to 48%, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That compares with a likely 30% increase for the total U.S. population over that span.

Ethnic enclaves in California, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Chicago are particularly ripe for growth. Hispanic buying power in North Carolina as well as in Georgia will grow almost 60% in the next five years, and Asian buying power in each of those two states will increase around 55%.

Source: Kiplinger Business Resource Center

Desperate developers and mall owners are benefiting from the population trend. By Laura Kennedy Stores catering to ethnic groups are a hot commodity for mall owners. As thousands of storefronts go empty, ethnic targeted retailers and services are providing glimmers of hope for struggling real estate owners and developers. Mall owners desperate to fill space [...]

By Jorge A. Riopedre

It is human nature to seek someone to blame when things go wrong. Over the last several years, the scapegoat of choice, whether relating to crime, education, or most recently, health and the economy, has been Hispanics.

In 2007, there were 595 hate crimes perpetrated against Hispanics, a 40 percent increase from 2003, according to the FBI’s most recent statistics. I have little doubt that when the newest numbers come out that the trend will persist. And if there is any question whether our region has remained immune to this phenomenon, go no further than the Post-Dispatch blogs to see that anti-Hispanic sentiment is thriving in St. Louis.

To most, “Hispanic” has become nearly synonymous with “illegal immigrant.” Many of us have been conditioned to believe that Hispanics take American jobs, depress wages by accepting low pay and overwhelm our educational system. Hispanics are portrayed as poor, uneducated and dependent on public assistance. These are some of the same false charges that were leveled against Chinese laborers, Japanese-Americans, the Irish, Italians, Germans and others who came to this country as immigrants. You would think we would learn from our history.

In reality, Hispanics are a part of what’s right with this region. Here are some examples: Later this year, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis will launch a technology center that, in conjunction with the partnerships we are developing, will provide education and training to Hispanic and other minority entrepreneurs who often have faced a tremendous a disparity between their dreams and the resources to make them come true.

We are working with state, county and city governments to include Hispanics on boards and commissions so that we may have a voice in policy decisions. We are funding scholarships (21 in 2008) for our young people. We are creating jobs, whether it be thorough government — where Linda Martínez heads the Missouri Department of Economic Development — or through the private sector by companies like Pangea Group, which the U.S. Small Business Administration recently honored as its prime contractor of the year for our region. And, recognizing that Mexico is the second largest international buyer of Missouri goods — totaling more that $1.3 billion in 2007 — we are working to deepen the relationship between Missouri and Mexico for the benefit of both.

As Hispanics, we are doing our part to lift Missouri out of this recession, not only through the talents and abilities of our business owners and professionals, but by teaching our children the value of hard work and the obligation they have to strengthen this country, which opened its arms to their ancestors. And we gladly share the sense of joy and zest that is such a part of our many Latino cultures that add so much diversity and dynamism to the lifeblood of the United States of America.

Hispanics will play a large role in the future of this country. This is something to be celebrated, not dreaded. We are the children of people who struggled, dreamed and, in some cases, died to get to this country. So we love this nation just as much and work just as hard as those other immigrants who came before us. And we will add our own flavor to this land of immigrants, through a process that is uniquely American.

Source: STLtoday.com

By Jorge A. Riopedre It is human nature to seek someone to blame when things go wrong. Over the last several years, the scapegoat of choice, whether relating to crime, education, or most recently, health and the economy, has been Hispanics. In 2007, there were 595 hate crimes perpetrated against Hispanics, a 40 percent increase [...]

By Daniel Cubias

I’ve mentioned before that Hispanics are now the number-one ethnic minority in America. On a related note, I’m sure you’ve heard that salsa is more popular than ketchup (it’s true, more or less).

But this numerical advantage in population hasn’t amounted to much for Latinos, except perhaps to convince many U.S. citizens that hordes of immigrants are flooding the country, stealing their jobs, and ogling their wives. In the great ethnic-minority sweepstakes, we certainly can’t compete with African Americans. And I’m not just talking about the fact that blacks are flying high because we have our first African American president. I mean that Latinos were lagging behind, socioculturally, even before Barack Obama became the most popular man on Earth.

Because of the complex history involved, more obvious racial differences, or just plain coolness, black people will always have the advantage of being in the forefront of the American consciousness. This will remain true even if the percentage of blacks in America continues to decline under the onslaught of a high Catholic birthrate (most Hispanics are still Catholic).

We simply do not have the cache that African Americans have. Witness the fact that plenty of white people consider themselves culturally black. Many more actively want to be black, which can make for a disturbing and/or hilarious spectacle. In contrast, very few white individuals seek to tap their inner vato.

Witness also that a white-black interracial hook-up results in the oft-repeated catchphrase “Once you go black, you never go back.” What is the equivalent for a white-Latino relationship? “Once you go brown, you never… I don’t know… frown?” You see the discrepancy.

Now, there are advantages to being off-stage. For example, if someone tosses a slur in our direction, we are positive that he really means to be insulting and isn’t making some idiotic attempt to be down with us. African Americans put up with that all the time.

In any case, it’s all just whining, I suppose. It won’t even matter in a few generations, because in the future, everybody will be at least part Hispanic. After all, the numbers are on our side.

Source: The Huffington Post

By Daniel Cubias I’ve mentioned before that Hispanics are now the number-one ethnic minority in America. On a related note, I’m sure you’ve heard that salsa is more popular than ketchup (it’s true, more or less). But this numerical advantage in population hasn’t amounted to much for Latinos, except perhaps to convince many U.S. citizens [...]

by Jose Villa

There has been quite a bit of chatter during the last year or so about mobile marketing to Hispanics. Most of this talk has revolved around the use of SMS-based campaigns targeting Hispanics. As the most popular mobile advertising vehicle in the general market, it has been the “bread and butter” of advertising forays into reaching Hispanics using mobile.

Generally absent in the discussion about mobile and Hispanics have been the other two platforms that make up the mobile marketing triumvirate – the mobile Web and mobile applications. I can’t just blame others for this trend – as all of my recent presentations, blog posts and articles related to Hispanic mobile marketing have failed to delve into Hispanic opportunities within the mobile Web and mobile applications.

So what’s the big deal? Well, it turns out that during that same time, our agency has launched a couple of pilot Hispanic mobile Web campaigns for a few of our clients (sorry, can’t share names and data), and we have seen, on average, 500 times the response rates of Web banner and search campaigns targeting Hispanics. That’s right — 500 times response rates.

While I acknowledge that my statistically insignificant data does not constitute the basis for an industry white paper, it is worthy of discussion. For one, my data come from campaigns across a couple of client categories. In addition, two of the campaigns were national while one was regional. Most notably, the results were so significantly higher than anything we’ve seen on Web banners or paid search that I felt compelled to write this piece.

So why the huge response rate for Hispanic mobile Web campaigns? Maybe our experience was just the result of chance. However, three different campaigns, occurring at various times during a nine-month window, across various geographic markets indicates something more going on here. I have two theories:

1. Hispanic mobile Web represents an untapped and uncrowded space for marketers.

2. Hispanic consumers are still in a “honeymoon stage” with mobile Web.

On the first point, I think it is fairly safe to assume there are not many brands running Hispanic mobile Web campaigns at this point (that might change after this article). To my earlier points, I see most Hispanic mobile “testing” still focusing on SMS.

As a tactic that is a natural extension to offline programs (radio, OOH, events, promotions, etc.) this should come as no surprise. And much as was the case with Web advertising a few years ago, I think the general consensus is there is a mobile “digital divide,” particularly as it relates to Web-enabled or 3G phone penetration in the Hispanic market.

So, as a natural extension of my first point, with little advertising activity targeting Hispanics on mobile Web, the little that is there is getting noticed by a Hispanic audience that is also fairly new to the space. They probably have only had Web-enabled mobile devices for less than two years, so they are in a honeymoon phase where they are far from burned out and more likely to respond.

For those of us who have been involved in Web advertising for more than five years, we can all remember the heady days of 0.3% – 0.5% click-thru rates on display ads. Industry click-thru rates have been steadily falling every year.

So what does all this mean? Again, without the benefit tons of data, I think there is a huge untapped opportunity in Hispanic mobile Web advertising. Taking my campaign response data as anecdotal (as you should), there are three trends that are real and cannot be ignored:

1. Mobile penetration among Hispanics is growing.

2. Hispanic 3G mobile device penetration is poised to grow significantly.

3. Hispanic mobile Web usage will grow (as a direct result of the aforementioned two trends).

Most importantly, the emergence of mobile Web and mobile application marketing opportunities to Hispanics signals a seismic change in how the mobile device can be used to reach the rapidly growing Hispanic population – from much more than an extension vehicle (as is the case with SMS) to a potential stand-alone or key marketing platform (arguably one of the most personal advertising medium that has ever existed).

If you are in the business of advertising to Hispanics, now is the time to start getting your toes wet before your competitors have fully made the plunge.

Source: MediaPost

by Jose Villa There has been quite a bit of chatter during the last year or so about mobile marketing to Hispanics. Most of this talk has revolved around the use of SMS-based campaigns targeting Hispanics. As the most popular mobile advertising vehicle in the general market, it has been the “bread and butter” of [...]

By Katy Bachman One way for brand marketers to increase sales in a down economy might be by targeting Hispanics with Spanish-language media. According to a new study conducted by Experian Simmons for Univision Communications, Hispanics are less affected by the recession, tend to be more positive about it, shop more often and are more [...]

By Gregory Rodriguez President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court justice has been widely hailed as a triumph for Latinos. But it could just as likely spell the end of the very idea that there is such a thing as Latino America at all. News accounts suggest that Latinos at large are thrilled [...]

By Jeffrey Passel and Paul Taylor Is Sonia Sotomayor the first Hispanic ever nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court? Or does that distinction belong to the late Justice Benjamin Cardozo, who served on the court from 1932-1938 and whose ancestors may or may not have come from Portugal? Unscrambling Cardozo’s family tree is best left [...]