"Simon Says" - Build more outlet centers

David Simon, CEO Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group chairman and CEO David Simon Thursday told the Economic Club of Indiana that there's demand to build more outlet malls.

"Full price retail, we don't see a lot of demand," he said.

Simon spoke to about 700 people in the Indiana Convention Center 500 Ballroom. He said the company focus is to make its diverse portfolio better.

The company had better-than-expected earnings last quarter. Simon reported a profit of $152.5 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $21 million a year ago. Its funds from operations, a key measure for REITs, jumped to $488 million from $313 million in the prior year period.





He also said today:

• An extremely high priority is redeveloping and reinvesting in existing properties.
• The real estate industry is not near as bad as it was in the early 1990s. The world of commercial real estate is clearly stabilized.
• There will not be a double-dip recession. The lack of job growth and inflation are big problems.
• Internet sales are Simon's biggest concern because no sales tax is collected. It makes for what he called an unlevel playing field.

Simon is an extremely private CEO who rarely talks to the media unless on a conference call discussing the financial results of his company --the nation's largest publicly traded real estate investment trust.

In today's speech, Simon did not discuss the ongoing feud between Simon family members over the will of his late billionaire father, Melvin Simon.

SOURCE: Indystar Written by Dana Hunsinger