Operations | Financing Upgrades Column
NTI STORE DEVELOPMENT
PROGNOSTICATIONS FOR 2022 As headwinds blow, savvy c-store operators are planning new-to-industry (NTI) development to shore up their 2022 expansion plans. Mark Radosevich • PetroActive Services
Last month, I predicted that potential tax increases by the Biden administration could alter the structure of mergers and acquisitions by increasing store leasing at the expense of real estate ownership transfers. In this follow-up article, I’ll look into my crystal ball and offer some thoughts on what the future might hold for newto-industry (NTI) store development next year. Chain store operators with no foreseeable plans to exit the industry generally take a balanced approach to growth, with a mix of acquisitions and new-builds. Depending on the size and sophistication of the operation, NTI expansion could be strategic, guided by preferred market analysis and planning, or opportunistic, in which individual NTI projects are unsystematically decided based upon availability of appropriate real estate. NTI real estate may include vacant land, alternate-use conversions, and raze-and-rebuilds of owned or competitive sites that fit predetermined criteria, including property size, traffic counts and demographic profiles. 140
CSTORE DECISIONS •
October 2021
cstoredecisions.com
