Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/462841
position involves plenty of change for Frieze to manage. The company an- nounced in late October that it would team up with BlackRock Kelso Capi- tal Corp. to launch Gordon Brothers Finance Co. Gordon Brothers Group has been in the junior capital financ- ing business for 20 years, over which period it has had different institutional investors. "What we were looking to do is partner with a permanent source of capital, which is what BlackRock represents, where we can now grow the second-lien, secured-lending business rapidly," said Frieze. Gordon Brothers provides services related to appraisals, dispositions, store closings and inventory-optimization sales programs for distressed and healthy re- tailers alike. The company is probably best known for its store-closure exper- tise, which has included work with such brands as Coldwater Creek and Sharper Image. But the firm has developed other services for retail clients; about three-quar- ters of the work it does today is actually for healthy retailers, says Frieze. Although 2012 and 2013 were fairly quiet in terms of retail dispositions, Frieze says things have picked up, with more closings ahead for this year and next. "We believe digital commerce is at a tipping point and is impacting how retailers connect with their consumers, whether that is bricks-and-mortar or on- line or social media or mobile," he said. The smart retailers are getting out in front of this trend and closing underper- forming stores, he says. Over the past decade, Frieze has played an important role in key transac- tions, such as the firm's purchase of Po- laroid's intellectual property in a liquida- tion sale, which allowed the firm and its strategic partners to acquire the brand name and tangible assets. "His most im- portant contribution has been evolving our strategy," said Michael Frieze. He has, for example, been deeply involved in expanding the firm's appraisal and commercial-and-industrial businesses and international reach, the elder Frieze says. The younger Frieze has also been instrumental in enhancing the firm's ability to help retail clients with e-com- merce. The firm can, for example, set up and manage a company's online sales, or help connect mobile technology, so- cial media and e-commerce to a client's omni-channel platforms. The company began expanding out- side the U.S. nearly two decades ago and now operates 13 offices worldwide. "For each country, we develop a customized approach reflective of the uniqueness of the jurisdiction," said Frieze. Gordon Brothers has forged local partnerships that combine in-country expertise with the firm's own global platform, he says. When the company expanded into Ja- pan 10 years ago, it did so by teaming up with Development Bank of Japan. S C T John T. Riordan School for Retail Real Estate Professionals Management • Marketing • Leasing • Development + Design + Construction • Specialty Leasing S C OT T S DA L E APRIL 12 – 16, 2015 The John T. Riordan School for Retail Real Estate Professionals, through its cutting-edge Institutes and world class faculty, offers a week of rigorous study. Attendees will deepen their knowledge of retail property and shopping centers, learn from experts, share ideas and identify successful strategies alongside colleagues from around the world. The program is designed to ensure that participants can master the fundamental concepts required of site selection, design, construction and tenant coordination required to develop (or redevelop) a shopping center while building knowledge of the industry's best practices. For more information and to register, please visit www.icsc.org/2015SAZ 56 S C T / M a r c h 2 0 1 5