Issue 01 · Autumn 2026 · 48 pages
Origin & Destination
Where retail site selection came from, what the last six years changed, and where it goes next.
Our first issue traces site selection from the gravity models of the 1930s to the AI forecasts of today, then follows the forces now redrawing the map: a retail real estate market with almost no new supply, a population still moving south, and a store-growth cycle led by discount, wellness, and experience. It closes with what all of it means for growth-stage founders, multi-unit operators, regional expanders, enterprise real estate teams, and emerging franchisors.
Inside this issue
Feature
The gravity of shopping
How Reilly, Christaller, Huff, and Applebaum turned a hunch about where people shop into models we still use, and what they got right.
Feature
The great recalibration
Retail real estate since 2020: the pandemic shock, the construction drought, record-low availability, and who is filling the empty boxes.
Feature
Moving targets
Where Americans moved, what remote work did to daytime population, and why the map your last plan used may be out of date.
Feature
Destination
AI in site selection, the new rules on location data, and why human judgment still decides the deal.
Field guide
Questions to ask before you sign
A checklist for the decision every expansion rides on.
Briefings
What it means for you
One page each for growth-stage CEOs, multi-unit operators, regional expanders, enterprise teams, and emerging franchisors.
Start with your briefing
Every issue ends with a one-page briefing for each stage of growth. Pick yours and the reader opens to it.
Growth-Stage CEOs
Store two proves whether the concept travels
Page 36→
Multi-Unit Operators
The best growth plans include a closing list
Page 37→
Regional Expanders
Last cycle’s boomtown is not this cycle’s
Page 38→
Enterprise Teams
Give every forecast a test it can fail
Page 39→
Emerging Franchisors
Location is already written into your FDD
Page 40→
Read online as a magazine, in reading view, or as a PDF.