Labor shortage, inflation affect USC Village turnover rate
USC Village consultant said the turnover rate for shops is not higher than elsewhere.
By LAUREN KIM
In the past year, numerous shops have joined and left USC Village. Shops like Honeybird, a spot for buttermilk-brined fried chicken, and Stout Burgers & Beers departed the 15-acre extension of the University Park Campus. Students were greeted by a Sephora, Yoboseyo Superette and an expanded Simply Nail Bar in the fall.
Jim Dillavou, a consultant for USC Village and a principal for Paragon Commercial Group who has been working on USC Village for the past 10 years, said its tenant turnover rate is lower than other projects in Los Angeles and not abnormal.
“You always want to turn over some level of tenants in retail,” Dillavou said. “[The addition of Yoboseyo Superette and the expansion of Simply Nail Bar] are all intentional and positive because what we’re trying to do is constantly upgrade the tenancy to what both students and the community need.”
Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.
USC Village’s retail make-up looks vastly different compared to when it first opened seven years ago. Students who attended USC in the late 2010s would not be able to find their favorite eateries at today’s USC Village — gone are Barilla, Saola by Hannah An and The Baked Bear.
Dillavou said Paragon Commercial Group tries to predict and keep up with changes in the consumer behavior of USC Village’s target demographic — college students.
“Student and community consumers eight years ago are different than they are today,” Dillavou said. “Part of our job is to make sure we’re constantly merchandising USC Village from a retail standpoint, to reflect the requests and the changing consumer behaviors. [The public has] seen retailers change post-COVID more than 10 years pre-COVID, so it’s our job to stay ahead of those trends.”
Shops like Honeybird fried chicken and Stout Burger & Beers have left USC Village in the past year while Sephora and Yoboseyo Superette have moved in this Fall semester. (Ana Hunter / Daily Trojan)
Tobe Chuke, a sophomore majoring in music industry, said the additions to USC Village weren’t necessarily beneficial to his daily life as a college student.
“I don’t really feel like [the new shops] are good additions,” Chuke said. “It doesn’t really add anything to my life at USC. I don’t find myself really ordering any of those places. In terms of new additions … I would appreciate it more if there’s healthier and cheaper alternatives around campus.”
Dillavou said, rising costs of living and unforeseen circumstances like the coronavirus pandemic are major factors that have affected the period of a tenant’s stay at USC Village.
Anthony Dukes, a professor of marketing, said the world has seen significant changes in the way consumers go about their shopping due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“What we saw post-pandemic is a shortage of labor and workers to staff these places,” Dukes said. “That has driven up a lot of the costs that they face to hire workers and service personnel, and part of that is the rate of inflation, which has really hit food prices. I think that’s acutely hit restaurants … Some of the turnover that we might see [is] perhaps pretty high for what we were used to, pre-pandemic.”
While major tenants like Target and Trader Joe’s will maintain their long-term role as the anchors of USC Village, curating an environment of constantly changing smaller tenants is what makes a retail shopping area vibrant, Dukes said.
