urban retail solutions:catherine timko: developing a winning retail strategy

Developing A Winning Retail Strategy

Connecting Communities

to Retail Development

It is increasingly complex and challenging

for communities and retailers alike to

explore, initiate and structure

relationships yielding the successful

results they both want and need

State of The Industry

Paradigm shift in retail

real estate industry

• Competition for

opportunistic sites is fierce

• Projects still stalled, even at a standstill

• Major demographic shifts

• Urban markets appealing

• Retailers refining their models prototypes

State of The Industry

Building a Sustainable Retail Base

• Fundamentals of retail & real estate development

paramount

• Pursue a market based approach to retail attraction

• Determine what your community can support

• Package information to create a powerful – competitive

position

• Garner political will and local support

• Collaborate with local industry leaders

• Develop relevant tools and incentives to support existing

and new retailers

Create a CollectiveVision

• Understand your market, create your story

• Create a strategy for retail- what do you want and how will you get there

• Meet one on one with every property owner to help sell the vision and get buy-in

• Work to collect information on every property/lease hold information

• Educate, communicate and market the vision to get community/policy leader buy-in

Where to Begin

• Collect basic economic data about your specific geographic market - get from your city demographer, or large brokerage firm to determine potential retail demand

• Create a vision for the retail area, work with a retail professional/consultant to confirm to create a merchandise mix and implementation strategy

• Identify key retail street/area, collect retail square footage numbers - net rentable sq. footage, lease information, build a database with contact information, photos, etc.

• Create simple marketing materials to support findings and help sell the vision to owners and potential retail clients

• Begin recruiting retailers who fit the mix

The Market Based Approach

• Effectively Use Data and Intel to

build a Market Based Approach

• Determine what your community

can realistically support.

• Package information to create a

powerful competitive position

and keep it current and

accessible

• Track retail and market trends

• Know your market

•

Manage Expectations

Retail Site Selection Factors

Traditional

Three primary factors

• Demographics

• Income levels (household and disposable)

• Competition

Secondary

• Market segmentation

• Traffic patterns and travel times

• Daytime population

• Cost of land

• Tax burden

Site Selection

Unexpected Real Estate

Barometers

• Urban - transit oriented

development

• Gentrification

• High density areas

• Aging populations

• Overlapping markets -

• Walkable environments

• Minority populations

• Women – the mom factor

Tools of the Trade

.

Trade Areas

Demand Analysis

Leakage/Surplus Factor by Industry Group

Leakage/Surplus Factor1009080706050403020100-10-20

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)

Special Food Services

Limited-Service Eating Places

Full-Service Restaurants

Direct Selling Establishments

Vending Machine Operators

Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers

Used Merchandise Stores

Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores

Florists

Other General Merchandise Stores

Department Stores (Excluding Leased Depts.)

Book, Periodical, and Music Stores

Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores

Shoe Stores

Clothing Stores

Gasoline Stations

Health & Personal Care Stores

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores

Specialty Food Stores

Grocery Stores

Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores

Building Material and Supplies Dealers

Electronics & Appliance Stores

Home Furnishings Stores

Furniture Stores

Auto Parts, Accessories, and Tire Stores

Other Motor Vehicle Dealers

Automobile Dealers

Access to Information

Tools & Incentives

• Tax abatements and rate reductions/deferments

• Rent subsidies

• Loan programs, grants for operations &

improvements

• Tax Increment Financing

• Façade and infrastructure improvement programs

• Retail and business training

• Coordinated buying and marketing initiatives

• Strategic merchandising planning

• Tax holidays and free parking

Recruitment vs. Retention

Recruitment

•Actively and systematically recruit new prospects to ensure leads in the pipeline

•Create a strong story - from market demographics to the retail vision

•Create tools for your retail toolbox

•Hand holding & nurturing

•Measure your success

Retention

•Knowing what is going on - how your current retailers are doing,

•Business assistance and education programs

•Collective public relations & marketing

• Customer base/focus groups/surveys

•Create/strengthen partnerships

Maps & GIS

Retail Attraction Toolkit

• Retail marketing and attraction strategies utilizing

traditional and nontraditional tools: – Implementation Programs Policies, programs and incentives

– Site inventories Project profiles

– Comprehensive editorial coverage Advertising and direct mail campaigns

– Interactive Websites and portals General marketing and project brochures

– Social networking GIS mapping & customer profiling,

– Database Management & Plotting Customized tradeshow booths& marketing

– Custom mapping

• Demographic reports that demonstrate market strength and potential and showcase consumer preferences (standard reports, expenditure reports, graphic profiles and psychographic analysis)

• Competitive analysis that shows how sites and communities compare to others

Case Studies

Philadelphia

Testimonials

Custom Research

Current Development

Relevant Indicators

Pedestrian Counts

Transit Use

Restaurants/Cafes

Benchmarking

Targeted Indicators

Philadelphia Retail

• National Tenants

• Menswear

• Big box tenants

• Local retailers

• Retail & manufacturing

• Redevelopment

Washington DC

A Neighborhood

Strategy

Tactics & Tools

• Great Streets Initiative

– Retail loans

– Façade Renovation

– Transit

• Anchor Strategy

• Neighborhood based research

• Public development

opportunities

• Housing

Neighborhood Profiles

Great Streets

• Up to $2 million in gap funding currently

available for individual projects

• Over 1 million square feet of available

retail space located along Great Streets

corridors

• Metrorail-accessible opportunities with 9

Metrorail stations located on Great Streets

• More than $17 million in Great Streets

grants and Tax Increment Financing

awarded

• More than $75 million spent on Great

Streets streetscape improvements for

the beautification of corridors

GreatStreets.dc.gov

Great Streets

Anchor Strategy

VerticalDensity

Focus on Design

Mixed-UseTOD

Adaptive Reuse

Think Outside The Box

Short-Term Retail

• Pop-up stores

• Seasonal Users

• Art & Culture

• Retail incubators &

Coops

• Non-retail users

Animate the Street

• Activate Vacant lots

• Storefront displays

• Street Retail

• Sidewalk Cafes

• Farmers Markets

• Art & Murals

Innovative Uses of Space

Service oriented retail

Civic uses

Social services

Medical facilities

Commercial tenants

Educational facilities

Non-profit organizations

Best Practices for Success

• Strengthen data collection, organization, and accessibility

• Develop and maintain inventory of available sites

• Strengthen presence in the national marketplace

• Collaborate with transactional professionals

• Establish protocols for marketing new retail

• Create case studies documenting retail successes

• Develop an arsenal of retail-oriented marketing tools

and information

Secrets of Success

• Look at models that work elsewhere.

• Be open to interim uses

• Encourage green retail

• Fill gaps with local entrepreneurs

• Strengthen relationships with

investors, retailers, and owners

• Be tenacious

Catherine Timko

principal/CEO

The Riddle Company/Community Retail Catalysts

202-365-7470

1220 L St., NW #100-447

Washington, DC 20005