About Leslie Gallardo
Leslie Gallardo, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Tanger, has been involved in the company's recent strategic shifts, as described by CEO Stephen Yalof in September 2024 interviews. Yalof stated that Tanger has been "reinventing" its centers by adding more food, entertainment, and other uses to attract customers, and has been focusing on "merchandising more to a local customer" rather than relying solely on tourists. He noted that the company acquired a shopping center in Huntsville, Alabama, and built a new one in Nashville, Tennessee, citing population growth in the "Southern corridor."
Yalof described the outlet consumer as an "aspirational" customer seeking value, and said Tanger is working to attract a younger demographic by adding brands like Sephora, which he said would be the first in an outlet environment. He also mentioned that apparel categories, including athleisure brands like Athleta and Vuori, have been performing well, and that the company has increased "conspicuous security" in response to retail theft in certain geographies.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Leslie Gallardo's recent appearances.
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Transcript (12 segments)
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Interviewer0:01
Nine categories, including online, health, personal care and clothing. Joining us to discuss the state of the consumer and spending trends is Tanger CEO Stephen Yalof. How is the consumer doing from your vantage point?
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Stephen Yalof0:29
Our sales performance has been echoing the trend we're seeing right now. April was, March and April were both great months. May continues to be pretty strong. So the customer is coming back. They like what we have in our shopping centers. Apparel, athletic footwear, athleisure brands, which are big categories for us. That's where a lot of that business is being done.
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Interviewer0:48
Is the outlet consumer a different consumer than the general U.S. consumer? Do outlets do well, does that say something about the economy?
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Stephen Yalof0:56
I think it may. I guess my opinion on that is the outlet consumer is an aspirational consumer, a customer looking for the brands they love at the best possible value. That's what draws them into our shopping centers. Now, what we're finding, and as you look at some of the variety we've added to the centers, the diversification of brands, and you mentioned Sephora, that customer is looking for a more rounded experience when they come to visit us. Because of that, we're seeing customers come, stay longer, come during the week. That's why that food and beverage part of our business seems to be doing better than it has in the past.
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Interviewer1:33
We're playing video of people playing cornhole. Talk about the efforts to keep their visits sticky when they are there, right?
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Stephen Yalof1:40
That's critical. Look, people can sit on the couch and shop all day if that's what they choose to do, so you really have to be special and you have to provide things not only for the shopper, but for that carload of people that come with the shopper. We find there's always somebody that wants to do that power shop experience, the traditional outlet shopping. There's also a customer looking for a better food and beverage, wants to sit and watch a ball game, wants to play, putt, go to a driving range. All those uses are popping up around our centers, whether we're developing them or the adjacent developers.
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Interviewer2:13
I'm more power shopper. The Sephora news is interesting because LVMH owns Sephora in an outlet mall.
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Stephen Yalof2:24
This will be the first Sephora in an outlet environment. The Sephora business will be a full-price business in our outlets. I think what they identified is the customer I'm trying to differentiate for you, the aspirational customer that's new. They may not necessarily get their product in front of. We're the A location in some tertiary markets. We're finding we get the bulk of the customer but they're looking for more of a rounded experience as they come and shop with us. So we think...
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Interviewer2:54
Do you see it as a big traffic driver?
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Stephen Yalof2:57
Absolutely. You see some brands B to B and B to C. We're trying to get a younger customer in without alienating our core customer but you definitely want a younger customer. In order to get the younger customer, you need brands they want. We see Sephora as a great driver of a younger customer.
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Interviewer3:13
We've seen, especially in the food business coverage that suggests private label, trade-downs, things that have been classically happen when a consumer is stressed a bit. You don't see that in apparel so much?
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Stephen Yalof3:25
Well, what we're finding particularly in our portfolio is apparel is really winning. The brands winning are American Eagle is winning, Gap and Gap brands are winning. Gap is going through this amazing resurgence with the new leadership over there. I couldn't be more, I'm an ex-Gapper so I couldn't be more than thrilled myself. I just love the products they're putting, the Met Gala. I think people are looking a
