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The language of retail.


Over the past several years, as more and more national retail chains have opened in the city, many people have referred to this as the "mailing" of New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
. While this may or may not be true, one thing is certain: the introduction of all these out-of-town retailers has brought with it a whole new vocabulary that is as foreign to New Yorkers as a heavy southern drawl drawl  
v. drawled, drawl·ing, drawls

v.intr.
To speak with lengthened or drawn-out vowels.

v.tr.
.

As a result, New York based retailers, real estate brokers and developers have adopted a new jargon in order to communicate effectively with tile so called "nationals." A sampling of tills updated vernacular ver·nac·u·lar  
n.
1. The standard native language of a country or locality.

2.
a. The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language. See Synonyms at dialect.

b.
, or "mauling" of our language, if you will, is listed below:

Vertical Transportation: What was once referred to as taking the stairs has now escalated (pardon the pun pun, use of words, usually humorous, based on (a) the several meanings of one word, (b) a similarity of meaning between words that are pronounced the same, or (c) the difference in meanings between two words pronounced the same and spelled somewhat similarly, e.g. ) into a whole new package of expensive goodies good·y 1   Informal
interj.
Used to express delight.

n. also good·ie pl. good·ies
Something attractive or delectable, especially something sweet to eat.
 like elevators and escalators. Since flat retailing has given way to multi-level retailing, getting up or down has become a vertically challenging requirement - and preferably one in which the other guy pays for it.

Big Box: Somewhat analogous to big foot, when it comes to your own neighborhood, get the carriages and children off the street. In a more innocent time, the ubiquitous Woolworth's was our definition of a big store. Today, however, it's not enough to simply be a big store. If you're really big, (see Ed Sullivan), you are a big box.

In Line Store: Tiffs is a store, of course, which is in the middle of the block. But, in mid-American malls, there aren't any blocks -just lines. Now, if you want to call a store in the middle of a row of several stores "in line," go right ahead. But in New York, a store in the middle of the block is called a store in the middle of the block.

Theme Restaurant: In the rest of America, when it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a  to eat, customers are entertained with diversions such as sports, race cars, music or show business while waiting endlessly for predictable food served by a well-groomed, smiling waiter. New Yorkers, on the other hand, want great food, served properly by any kind of waiter (or waitress), It's the food that's the theme: Italian, Chinese, Jewish deli, etc. Give me an authentic ethnic meal in a ran-down joint served by a grumpy grump·y  
adj. grump·i·er, grump·i·est
Surly and peevish; cranky.



grumpi·ly adv.
 waiter any day of the week. That's a theme restaurant!

Mixed Use Project: An office building that contains stores and restaurants. Or all apartment building that contains a health club, movie theater and stores. Etc., etc. Oh, I get it.

Destination Entertainment Retail: Since rents are so expensive, large retailers and movie theaters have been forced to locate in the middle of nowhere. If all these stores, restaurants, and entertainment tenants open up together in the middle of nowhere, you've got a destination entertainment retail center, as opposed to an ordinary shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into .

Pro Forma As a matter of form or for the sake of form. Used to describe accounting, financial, and other statements or conclusions based upon assumed or anticipated facts.

The phrase pro forma
: Everyone these days has a pro forma. Retailers must pro forma a proposed location. Developers must pro farina their proposed development. After the tenant opens for business and starts to pay rent, the retailer and developer both analyze whether they are hitting their pro formas. Nobody crosses their fingers any more.

And who said that New Yorkers talk funny?
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Title Annotation:New York retail/real estate industry jargon
Author:Fox, Benjamin
Publication:Real Estate Weekly
Date:Jan 27, 1999
Words:537
Previous Article:Advent of the millennium on minds of retailers and customers.
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