Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/74664
was to come into my father's busi- ness," Richard Baker said. The patriarch describes his son as a quick study. "It was just a few years before he was starting to make deals," he said. "He's terrifically bright and "My goal in life is to be a retailer, an operator and a merchant, and if you can triangulate those three categories, you can create a lot of value and have a lot of fun." very hardworking. He's made tremen- dous success of Lord & Taylor and The Hudson's Bay Company. He's very pleasant and treats everyone with respect. He has the whole package going for him." The elder Bakers established NRDC Equity Partners in 2006 (with partners William Mack and Lee Nei- bart) to buy Lord & Taylor, and Rich- ard Baker was put in charge. Though a self-described "real estate guy," Rich- ard Baker also sees a much larger pic- ture, one that melds brick-and-mortar property with the fine art of running a retailing enterprise. "I really love the dynamics and the leverage between real estate and owning and running an operating company that occupies the real estate. That's a powerful story, and now I spend all of my time managing both the retail business and the real estate business," he said. Initially, he did not fully appreciate the power of the Lord & Taylor brand, he acknowl- edges. "While it was dusty, it had un- believable loyalty by customers and an unbelievable DNA, an unbeliev- 54 SCT / AUGUST 2012 able history. If you could dust off an old brand, then tremendous positive things can happen." By the time NRDC bought Hud- son's Bay in 2008, Richard Baker had a full appreciation of that unbelievable history. Hudson's Bay, founded in 1670, is North America's oldest con- tinually operating company. "It is in its strongest financial condition since 1670, and we plan on being around for the next 300 years," said Richard Baker. As head of Hudson's Bay, Rich- ard also holds the title of governor, of which there are only two in all of Canada — harkening back to the lead- ers of corporations originally chartered by the king of England early on. As it happens, Richard Baker's Ca- nadian standing was boosted measur- ably early last year when Target Corp. announced its entrance into Canada by buying leasehold interests in about 220 stores of Zellers, a Hudson's Bay– owned discount chain. That deal, val- ued at some $1.5 billion, reduced the company's debt load and allowed the refurbishment of its upscale depart- ment stores. A plan to list 20 percent of Hudson's Bay on the Toronto Stock Exchange is now on hold until the market improves. Meanwhile, Lord & Taylor is set to re-enter Florida in Sep- tember 2013 with a store in Boca Ra- ton's Mizner Park luxury retail center. Jack Baker sits poised at the fore- front of the Baker legacy as future leader of the next generation. "He has it in his blood, it's unbelievable," said Richard Baker. "He understands what to do just like he was born to do it. It's not surprising that fast racehorses of- ten breed fast racehorses. We seem to have a great line of people with a great interest in real estate." This is the second summer that Robert Baker and his grandson have spent together at the firm. "I'm train- ing Jack to be able to come into the business, and I think it's terrific," said Robert. "Jack is very bright and hard- working. I tell him the same thing I told his father: 'You just follow me around like a fly on the wall and listen to everything that's happening, and it's not going to take you long to figure out what this business is all about.' " At 77, Robert Baker does experi- ence a sense of urgency. "If I wait around until Jack is as old as Richard was when he came into the business, that's seven or eight more years, and too late to train him," he said. "You can't go to college and learn how to de- velop real estate. Richard was exposed to the business because we talked busi- ness at the dinner table every night. Jack is exposed to the business because when he's with me we talk about deals. Jack knows an amazing amount about the business for a 15-year-old. Yes, he's getting an edge because he has a family business to go into, but he could have opted to go to camp or go on a team tour. I give him a lot of credit that he comes to work every morning and wants to learn. He's like a sponge." As Jack continues to learn his craft, father Richard reflects on both the past and the future. "My career, like everyone else's, has been an evolu- tion," Richard Baker said. "You just keep learning and prying and experi- menting, doing more and doing dif- ferent. I've been very lucky. My goal in life is to be a retailer, an operator and a merchant, and if you can triangulate those three categories, you can create a lot of value and have a lot of fun." For Robert Baker, life does not get much better than this. "It's not too many people who get a chance to train both a son and a grandson," he said. "I love teaching. Jack's working on devel- oping a 450,000-square-foot shopping center in Eatontown, New Jersey, and my guess is he will get it done by the time he's 18. It's a pleasure to have him here. What can I tell you? It's nice to have kids and grandchildren!" SCT