In Retail, Just Focus on Sales

Retail leaders pinpoint success at ICSC Idea Exchange in Downtown Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES—Retail leaders gathered for ICSC Idea Exchange in Downtown Los Angeles to discuss the retail market and to try to pinpoint success. There were a lot of opinions during the general session panel, which included Joel Mayer, managing director and head of retail at Rockwood Capital; Jeff Kreshek, VP of leasing on the West Coast at Federal Realty Investment Trust; Elizabeth Hoxworth, director of real estate at Sprouts; Clare De Briere, chief operating officer and EVP at the Ratkovich Co.; Dave Moore, president at Irvine Co. Retail Properties, about how to be a successful player in the evolving industry.

For Mayer, it is about focusing on sales. “If you can focus on sales and less about other items, everything falls into place much better,” he said on the panel. “We’ve seen it in every segment. Strong sales make a weak project better.  It’s something we pay a lot of attention to on every asset, not just retail assets, but for office, hotel, apartment. You can’t just sign a lease with someone. You have to make sure it’s a good fit for the real estate and if someone can perform you can figure out the rent later.  The day we start looking at a new investment is the day we are getting ready to sell it. We think about what the next buyer will say. If you make good decisions that will stand the test of time you will get paid better in the future.”