Other fine restaurants in the area are Fasano, Antiquarius and Gero, giving you plenty of choices during your stay in the neighborhood of Jardim. One of the finer hotels in the area is called Hotel Unique, which was built like an ocean liner, but to me it looks more like Noah’s Ark or a half cut portion of a watermelon.  I am sure when everyone stands in front of this amazing work of art they have a different impression. For me, the design is so inspiring because it makes one’s imagination soar, and isn’t that one of the sole purposes of art? In addition, the windows throughout the property are shaped like portholes, ones you would expect to see on the bow of a cruise liner.  Another design aspect of this truly modern hotel is the rooms have no right angles and the bathrooms have motorized windows that, when open, double the size of the room.  There is no finer view in São Paolo than the view from the rooftop restaurant. 

Let’s talk about more shopping. The malls I visited were spectacular.  One developer that stands out and is renowned for luxury malls in the part of the world is called Iguatemi. They have over 15 malls and their premier center, which holds its namesake, and is located in the ritzy neighborhood of Jardim. In this one shopping center there are over 330 stores.  The center looks just like Miami’s two level outdoor Bal Harbour Shops.  This is one of their oldest centers, built in November 1966.  Needless to say, when you walk and shop this mall, it is as new and modern as if was built today.  One wonders which mall came first and who came up with the idea of this fresh design center that still holds up over 50 years later.  More names not prevalent to the U.S., but can be found in this center are Guerriro, Amsterdam, Sauer, Almanara and Carla Amorim.  Anytime I travel and see new stores it is such a treat, since I have been in the retail brokerage business for over 30 years in New York City and I have seen retailers come and go. After a while, most parts of the U.S.’s major cities are looking the same.  There is no finer trip than when I go and I can feast my eyes on new stores possible to bring back to New York.

In my worldwide travels I am constantly searching for new brands to bring back to New York City and the States.  I’ve had the pleasure to visit and canvas all the high streets and shopping malls in Singapore, Sao Paolo, Vienna, London, Milan, Rome, Capri, Naples, Florence, Venice, Munich, Belfast, Dublin, Montreal, Toronto, Paris, Zurich, Lausanne, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Mexico City and even got to visit and bargain in the souk in Marrakech with the locals.

I founded the SBS Group Of International Brokers seven years ago.  The brokers are located in 35 international cites around the world, including Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Cape Town, South Africa. SBS is an elite fraternity of top retail brokers who share their most intimate secrets to their markets and make cross continent deals with the other retail brokers.   We have conference calls that run over 90 minutes, and on any one call you get a snapshot of the entire worldwide market in just one sitting.  Many times we see a trend just by everyone sharing information together or we see who is opening and who is closing before the market gets whiff.  In our business there is only one gold medal and there is no silver, so this information is invaluable.

I plan to write about retail in all the various parts of the world and I would like to share my findings with you and take you on my journey.  So, for now, I will say in Italian: Ci Vediamo a presto!  Which simply means, see you soon.