After culling through the numerous retail concepts that have debuted over the last few years, we have narrowed down our top three new tenant picks that we predict will have the most “oomph” for massive growth prospects in 2024 and beyond.
Serotonin Centers
Serotonin Centers, the Florida-based anti-aging company, began franchising its concept in 2021 and now has close to 80 new franchise locations under development throughout the country. Look for immediate franchise growth to take place at a rate of 10 centers in both Orange County, Calif., and throughout Virginia; five centers in both Orlando, Fla., and Springfield, Mo.; and expansion into Nashville, Tenn., Charleston, S.C., Fairfield County, Conn., and Boston. Continued expansion will also occur throughout New Jersey and Florida, with the latter state expecting new centers in Naples, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Riverview. Serotonin Centers has an ultimate goal of opening at a rate of 100 new centers per year by 2025 or 2026. The concept expects to benefit from an aging population that prioritizes holistic health, and therefore seeks alternative wellness options that eschew riskier medical procedures, such as plastic surgery.
Units for Serotonin Centers are between 2,000 and 3,000 s.f., preferably end caps but inline spaces will also be considered. Sites can be in upscale-oriented strip malls, power centers, grocery-anchored centers, lifestyle centers and open-air mixed-use developments. Standalone buildings on busy retail corridors will also be eyed. More affluent suburban communities within major metros will be targeted, and there should be a strong co-tenant mix including high-end grocers, such as Whole Foods Market, fitness centers, such as Orangetheory Fitness and healthier eateries, such as Cava Grill. The shopping center should attract a large number of high-earning consumers in the 35- to 65-year-old range. Serotonin Centers is a membership-based franchise that provides non-medical health and wellness treatments such as hormone replacement, hyperbaric oxygen and Botox.
The Picklr
Even though there have been no shortage of retail and/or restaurant venues that have materialized recently in the hopes of profiting off of the ever-growing popular sport of pickleball, The Picklr stands out not only because of its lofty growth goals, but also because of its established franchise operations. Its first brick-and-mortar pickleball venue opened in April 2021 in Uintah, Utah, and now with seven corporate locations in both Utah and Colorado, The Picklr began to franchise its high-end indoor pickleball court concept last year. In under a year, The Picklr now has a plan to open at least 25 new pickleball courts in 2024 and expects to have 500 franchise locations sold by late 2026/early 2027. Franchisees have already agreed to open up to 120 new The Picklr locations beyond 2024, with Florida, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, the Carolinas, Texas, Virginia, Nevada, Tennessee, Minnesota, Illinois and Georgia all on board to get the lion’s share of new venues.
The ideal square footage parameters for The Picklr units are second generation spaces, such as a former Bed Bath & Beyond, in the 25,000- to 35,000-s.f. ballpark, that can accommodate between eight and 12 courts in addition to a retail store. Sites can be in suburban strip malls, power centers, grocery-anchored centers or regional shopping centers, and the location should be close to major thoroughfares, have ample parking and provide good signage visibility.
Because The Picklr anticipates that its average customer will be trending younger in the future, co-tenants should include brands that appeal to the Gen Z audience, such as Five Below and Ulta Beauty. The Picklr is well positioned for massive growth, especially with new executive hires over the last year, including a chief brand officer who previously worked with F45 Training.
Boll & Branch
The New Jersey-based Boll & Branch is attempting to fill a void in the bed linens space by offering an elevated, luxury boutique shop version of Bed Bath & Beyond. In operation since 2015, the company already has a successful online customer base, and also has brand recognition with its wholesale presence in both Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. Boll & Branch opened its first store in 2018 at The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, N.J., followed by its second store in Greenwich, Conn, that opened in 2020.
After pausing retail expansion during the COVID years, Boll & Branch resumed growth in 2023 by opening four stores: one in Shrewsbury, N.J., and three in new markets, with two stores in Texas (Dallas and Houston) and one store in Boca Raton, Fla. Future growth will be at a rate of eight to 10 new stores per year over the next two years, with expansion into new markets such as California, Georgia, Illinois and Tennessee. This will be followed by further growth into the Mid-Atlantic/New England regions, such as New York City, Boston and the Washington, D.C., metro. Additional future growth is rumored to take place where its wholesale presence has been successful, including the metros of Denver, Seattle and Detroit. The company has also indicated it wants to ultimately open multiple stores in fairly close proximity to each other in its various U.S. locations.
Boll & Branch looks for inline or end cap spaces, in the 1,500- to 2,500-s.f. range, within either Class A regional shopping malls, lifestyle centers, power centers or retail street-front spaces in thriving metros. The shopping center should attract a large number of high-income consumers and contain high-traffic co-tenants, such as Lululemon, as well as other luxury home accessory stores, such as Pottery Barn or Williams-Sonoma. Boll & Branch hopes to differentiate itself from other home goods retailers by offering an in-store design studio service, in addition to an expanded assortment of cohesive merchandise that can tie in to its linens, such as candles, sleepwear, mattresses, throw pillows and rugs. The retailer is renowned for its farm-to-store-type sustainable approach to linens.
