Attention, shoppers

Don't mess with Wal-Mart.

At least not for commercial real estate.

The retail giant, according to a report from data firm CoStar, has added the most retail rentable building area/square feet in 2016 among all chains — and second place isn't even close.
Wal-Mart, through the second quarter, added 15.02 million square feet of new space nationwide, the report shows. Dollar General is the runner-up, with 6.53 million square feet of new space in 2016.

New store openings, according to CoStar economist Ryan McCullough, “typically lead leasing activity in the retail market and can be an indicator of future demand.”

The report points out another trend: Retail leasing activity has been dominated by discount chains that seek dense locations with average to below-average income levels, says McCullough. In addition to Dollar General, the top 10 includes Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. Marshalls is another chain in that group, with a little more than 3 million square feet of new space.

“The exceptions to this trend are Ulta and Forever 21,” says McCullough in the report, “which have targeted above-average incomes.”

On that point, fast-growing makeup chain Ulta is the outlier. The Bolingbrook, Ill.-based company added 1.17 million square feet of rentable building area in the first quarter, good for No. 10 on the list. The average household median income it chases with its openings is $88,883. That's the highest median income target in the top 10. T.J. Maxx, at $70,866, and Forever 21, at $70,883, are the only other chains in the top 10 that aim for more than $70,000 in average household median income.