Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/109754
$1 billion in the aggregate. The University of Maryland graduate joined Edens in 2002 after getting her start in retail leasing at the Carl M. Freeman Cos. Unlike her colleagues in quieter markets, Bruner has spent the past few years chatting with retailers about new development projects, thanks to the robust demand in her territory. "I'm in a really lucky position," she said. "Edens has a great development team — boots on the ground in Washington — and we kept right on developing through the recession." JUAN CARLOS GUILABERT ORTUÑO The pace of life was hectic, and then some, in 2004 when Juan Carlos Guilabert Ortuño joined Sonae Sierra as leasing manager for key retail accounts in Spain. For starters, Guilabert was tasked with leasing new entries like Luz del Tajo, the 119-tenant mall in Toledo; Zubiarte, the 68-tenant shopping center in Bilbao, and Dos Mares, a 79-shop property in San Javier, Murcia. "At this moment, we were growing a lot — Sonae Sierra opened four or five shopping centers all between March 2004 and April 2005," Guilabert said. "Of course, my job involved managing the leasing efforts for all of our existing properties in Spain as well. It was a big challenge." Following the global economic crisis in 2008, the rapid rollout of new shopping centers slowed in Spain, as elsewhere. But in 2013 Guilabert is as busy as ever. Retailers from around the globe are keen on securing space in Spain's top-tier malls, he says. Meanwhile, established chains are experimenting with their merchandise lines and in-store environments as never before, which is part of the reason Guilabert strives to meet face-to-face several times a year with all of Sonae Sierra's key tenants. "Retailers today are changing," he said. "They are changing their image, moving 34 SCT / M A R C H 2 0 1 3 things around. You have to be proactive and try to anticipate and respond to their needs. If you learn that a retailer is creating an interesting new brand, for example, you want to be able to say: 'We have a perfect location for this in our portfolio; let me show you.' " Guilabert's career began in 1988 at the Larry Smith International real estate consultant firm (later acquired by Lend Lease Europe). Over the years he has watched shopping centers in Southern Europe in particular evolve away from a hypermarket-centered model toward one in which the overall mix matters as much as the anchors. "You have to have the correct tenants for your catchment area," Guilabert said. "In Southern Europe nowadays you can find shopping centers that are based on fashion and leisure. It is no longer primarily about food." Little wonder Guilabert and his team spend so much time crisscrossing Europe to both malls and industry events in search of traffic-driving concepts. "One of our most important missions is to find new offers that can differentiate our shopping centers, and nowadays we are doing a lot of deals with brands like Primark, the Irish clothing retailer, and H&M;," Guilabert said. "Good real estate is always good. From my perspective, now is an excellent time to gain a presence in Southern Europe. Strong retailers need to grow. We happen to know these markets, and now there are plenty of opportunities." DARRYL SCHMIDT "If you don't ask, you don't get." Darryl Schmidt first heard this aphorism in the 1990s as a senior leasing executive for Triple Five, owner of West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America. "Raphael Ghermezian, one of the principals of the company, used that phrase from time to time," said Schmidt, who is today vice president of national leasing for FIND AN ORGANIZATION AND A PRODUCT THAT YOU BELIEVE IN, SAYS CADILLAC FAIRVIEW'S DARRYL SCHMIDT. the Cadillac Fairview Western Canada portfolio. "The truth of it stuck with me: If you don't ask for certain things, whether you're talking about rents or just approaching a retailer about taking a position in a particular center, the answer will always be no." The phrase helps Schmidt stay openminded about opportunities and to be unapologetic about pursuing them. When it comes to doing deals — or for that matter, maintaining strong relationships with retailers over the long term — attitude is everything, he says. "If you enjoy what you do and have a passion for the business, then it makes networking and meeting new people really easy," Schmidt said. "I take every new person or organization that I get to do business with as an adventure. It's an opportunity to forge a new relationship." Schmidt joined Cadillac Fairview in 1996 after leasing strip centers, malls and office complexes across Alberta for the likes of First City Shopping Centre Group, Pioneer Property Group and Triple Five. Today he oversees leasing for five regional malls totaling a combined 5.6 million square feet, including office components. Though individual leasing