WALNUT CREEK, CA-It used to be that department-store and big-boxretailers ruled the shopping-center arena, butthese days retailers of much smaller size arecalling the shots with their landlords, according to HansLapping, an attorney and partner with Miller StarrRegalia here. Whether acting out of fear or a perceivedadvantage over developers, smaller retailers are acting like minianchors, often using each other for mutual advantage by insistingon co-tenancies galore and making demands on landlords. The result:Landlords’ scrambling to meet these retailers’ demands in order tolease up shopping centers as the market recovers.

“The good news is that now there is deal flow again, as opposedto a couple of years ago when retailers put the kibosh on somedeals,” Lapping tells GlobeSt.com. “While Target, Apple and othername-brand companies that frankly appear to be recession proofcontinued to do deals, most retailers stayed on the sidelines anddidn’t expand much, based on the economy as a whole.”

However, says Lapping, in the last three to four months, therehas been in increase in deal flow as retailers return to themarketplace and look to expand their existing footprint. But theyhaven’t forgotten their recent economic woes. “There’s still sometrepidation on the part of the retailers. They don’t want to be thefirst one into a shopping center, and they don’t want to be thelast one out.”