Spring ahead, leap ahead: The shoppers are baaaack!

With the Dow at 18-month highs, and unemployment stabilizing, consumers are starting to feel a little more secure about buying beyond necessities. It may not be the boom years of 2006 and 2007, but shoppers are coming back to the stores, and starting to spend-this time within their means. As I write at the beginning of April, that bodes well for the rest of the year, as retailers plan their inventories and their store expansions for the rest of 2010 and beyond. On March 12, the U.S. Census Bureau noted that February 2010 retail sales were $355.5 billion, an increase of 0.3% (±0.5%) from the previous month and 3.9% (±0.5%) above February 2009. Most surprising to the analysts was the strength of apparel sales that month, despite dreadful weather throughout much of the country. Luxury stores, so troubled in 2009, are seeing a healthy comeback: Nordstrom reported a 10.3% comp-store sales increase in February, while Neiman-Marcus' comps rose 6.2%. Department store sales, according to the February ICSC Chain Store Sales Index, rose 3.5% and on the hard-line side, Best Buy's fourth quarter sales (which ended Feb. 27) showed a 7% comp store increase. And the arrival of the iPad should boost sales at Apple and promote interest in other gadgets. The year thus far also is seeing an uptick in leasing. As shoppers come back, retailers are looking at expanding again, and even are open to experimentation. Nationwide, a number of chains announced ambitious expansion plans: Dollar General is on the way to opening 600 stores, while Gymboree is expanding its value concept Crazy 8. Mens' clothier Jos. A. Bank also has increased its expansion plans. But the most exciting retail news is the new chain from the Gap-Petaluma, Ca.-based Athleta, which it acquired in 2008 and is now testing in the San Francisco Bay area for possible expansion. Diane von Furstenberg is opening 20 new stores worldwide, eight in the U.S. over the next five years, including a 2,000 s/f space at 135 Wooster St. in SoHo. In New York City, Barneys has finally confirmed that it will open a Co-op at 194 Atlantic Ave. in Cobble Hill (it's also opening in Santa Monica), while Anthropologie debuted at Chelsea Market in early April. Trader Joe's is opening at 72nd and Broadway. Jerome Dreyfuss has come to Broome St. So clearly we're seeing retail of all types in all neighborhoods. The key thing to remember is that this new swell of leasing was not accompanied by new development. So more retailers will be pursuing the same spaces. I expect rents to begin rising both nationally and locally by the end of the year for the best locations. Von Furstenberg told Women's Wear Daily's April 2 edition that her upcoming SoHo store was not planned but the opportunity was "too good not to grab." That was smart-We won't see the insane rates of 2006 any time soon (nor should we), but this golden time that allows new retailers to enter great locations is coming to a close. And that's why I'm thrilled to be the co-organizer and a leader of one of five roundtables at an innovative new RECon session-a Special Interest Group focusing on Women in Real Estate. We're kicking off the convention at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, May 23 by informal discussions of "New Techniques in Negotiation," led by my co-organizer Jane Snoddy Smith, a partner at law firm Fulbright & Jaworski; "Mentors: How to Find One, How to Be One," discussed by Barbara Champoux, a partner at law firm Crowell & Moring; "The Importance of Networking," to be discussed by Debra Cole, the incoming president of the Association of Real Estate Women; "Developing Your Personal Brand" by Beth Silverman, managing partner of ShopTheJobs.com Inc.; and "New Retailers and Globalization," conducted by yours truly. Each attendee will have the opportunity to sit in on two of the roundtables. If you're reading this prior to the show, please preregister at http://www.icsc.org/2010SC/SIG.php. We can't wait to see you! I've always believed that tough times provide the greatest opportunity. The past year has shown that, and the rest of 2010 is shaping up to be the time when we really reap the rewards of our hard work, smarts and perseverance. Faith Hope Consolo is the chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group, New York, N.Y.