It’s easy to attribute the rise of e-commerce to the slow death of Manhattan’s brick and mortar shops — but RKF chief Robert Futterman sees it more as a symbiotic relationship.
“Online retailers that have a bricks and mortar presence are the ones that actually preform well,” Futterman told The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier. “Online retailers don’t really make a lot of money — maybe Amazon aside — but until they have a brick-and-mortar presence do they really see their sales increase.”
Futterman pointed to physical stores opened by e-tailers like Bonobos and Warby Parker as evidence that the internet and bricks and mortar can co-exist. As for Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, Futterman called the merger “brilliant.”
“[It’s] the poster child for the merger of the internet-shopping and bricks and mortar,” he said.
To see Futterman talk more about the future of retail, watch the video above. See the full interview here.
Produced by Alistair Gardiner and Kerry Barger. Interview conducted by Konrad Putzier.
For more videos, visit The Real Deal’s YouTube page.