Why battle-tested operators, rising rents, and limited new supply are creating unprecedented momentum across retail real estate.
Adam Ifshin and Kyle Matthews sat down live from ICSC Las Vegas 2026 to discuss the momentum driving today’s retail real estate market, and why many industry leaders believe the sector is entering a new “golden age.”
In this Retail Retold conversation, Matthews Real Estate Investment Services Founder and CEO Kyle Matthews shared why the current retail environment feels fundamentally different from past market cycles. Unlike the leverage-driven momentum seen in the mid-2000s, today’s strength is rooted in operational fundamentals, constrained supply, rising tenant demand, and battle-tested retail operators.
“Retail is ripping operationally,” Matthews said. “The retailers are healthy. The operators are healthy.”
The conversation explored how years of limited new retail development have created historically tight market conditions, particularly for grocery-anchored shopping centers, strip centers, and other high-performing open-air retail assets. As tenant demand continues to outpace available supply, both Matthews and Ifshin pointed to increasing pricing power for landlords and sustained rent growth across the sector.
The discussion also focused heavily on what DLC has called the “Age of the Operator” — a period where operational expertise, leasing execution, and hands-on asset management matter more than financial engineering alone. Matthews noted that firms that survived the Great Financial Crisis, the rise of e-commerce, the pandemic, and the 2023–2024 capital markets slowdown are now uniquely positioned to outperform.
“If I had a dollar to put into any product type, I would put it into retail,” Matthews said during the interview.
The episode also touched on capital markets activity, investor demand for retail assets, rising bid sheet depth, and why multi-tenant retail continues to outperform many other commercial real estate sectors.
Recorded live from the floor of ICSC Las Vegas, this conversation offers an inside look at the trends shaping the future of retail real estate.
