Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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opportunity to better serve that institutional client base," Rose said. As retailer aspirations become increasingly global, the largest real estate services providers are furthering their reach accordingly. SRS Real Estate Partners has expanded its services to China. "We've made a big push internationally and think international is on the forefront of retailers' minds," said Chris Maguire, CEO of Dallasbased SRS. The retail sector was slower to recover from the downturn than other commercial property types, straining the brokerage community, he says. "Lots of retail brokers found other things to do, because the sector got hit so hard," Maguire said. "But we're finally seeing the breakout we've been waiting for. We're definitely back to growing the business and are seeing the revenue associated with that." Like most brokerages, SRS experienced plummeting revenues in 2009 and 2010, Maguire says. The company logged about 10 percent annual revenue growth in 2011 and 2012, and this past November year-to-date deal volume was up about 40 percent from a year before. SRS' headcount of about 140 professionals is short of the 200 it employed in 2007, but the company is nonetheless recruiting in most of its 20 U.S. markets. Maguire says he expects to see deal growth in urban infill retail, but that a lack of new supply is holding back multistore rollouts by national retailers. "We've had several retailers in the last couple of years that would love to come into Dallas, Atlanta or Houston, but they can't get density," he said. "They would come in with four or five stores, but they're not going to come in with just one." During the downturn, retail activity was strongest in the urban cores of gateway markets, says Anthony Buono, who heads CBRE's retail services in the Americas. The company's retail teams helped retailers and investors close leases, sales and acquisitions in the flight to quality that occurred from the onset of the downturn until the market bottomed out in 2010. CBRE has been increasing its deal volume since then, especially in tenant representation. Today the retail recovery is in the third or fourth inning of a nineinning game, says Buono. "We're witnessing a sustained, muscular recovery occurring across the country," he said. "Gateway cities are still stronger, but there's a uniformity of correction toward increased occupancy and growth of rental rates." To succeed in the postrecession world, many retailers are focused on international expansion, and those companies seek service providers that can help them achieve efficiency in their global operations, Buono says. That preference is helping companies like CBRE grow stronger and forcing many individual brokers and boutique real estate companies to consider joining an international platform. "The Small 'boutique' firms flaunt their local touch Boutique real estate shops across the U.S. In Austin, Texas, tenant representative Jan kerage in Northbrook, Ill., has built up are proving that neither a national footprint Estlow has relied on long-term client re- its business by focusing exclusively on nor multidisciplinary services platforms lationships to generate deal flow through single-tenant, net-lease transactions. are the only means to serving and retaining several economic cycles. An associate The number of deals within that niche retail clients today. "Being a boutique firm at locally based commercial real estate that the company's four-person broker- allows you to focus and be great at one firm The Kucera Cos., Estlow has been age team closed in the first 11 months thing," said Steven E. Baker, president of the Central Texas regional representative of last year places Boulder among the Winick Realty Group, New York City. "What for AT&T; Mobility and its predecessor sector's top 10 brokerages, according separates us from the more-global firms is companies for the past 20 years. Until to New York City–based Real Capital that we are 100 percent laser-focused on recently, Estlow represented the Austin Analytics. "A lot of middle-market leasing retail space." American-Statesman newspaper, for [real estate] firms are consolidating or whom she secured real estate for about disappearing, and people are moving division devoted to New York's Long Island, 20 years. "You have to have a couple of to superspecialized boutiques like our- working out of its New York City office, as large clients that will continually be open- selves or to multinational firms," said well as a Cranford, N.J., office that houses ing new stores," said Estlow, who also Randy Blankstein, Boulder's president. both retail and investment sales profession- represents Western Dental and others. "It's not a great time to be a midsized als. The firm serves the five boroughs of "Maintaining your clients over a long pe- firm with a few different service lines," New York City, and Long Island and West- riod of time is the secret to being able to Blankstein said. "The market is either chester, plus Connecticut and New Jersey. withstand good and bad markets. It goes calling for all service lines and multina- The firm has plans to expand beyond the beyond leasing space. You have to really tional platforms, or for market-leading, U.S. Northeast by the end of this year. give excellent service to your client, or boutique, specialized firms. Those are "We're slowly but surely going to be working somebody else will get them." really who is leading out there today Over the past two years, Winick has added a on a national platform," Baker said. 46 SC T / J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 The Boulder Group, a boutique retail bro- and where firms are going." — MH