CHICAGO—Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail has just added Jennifer Watson to their firm as Chicago-based senior managing director. Watson will use her expertise in franchises to help the national retail group continue serving clients such as Dunkin' Donuts and Burger King, among others. NGKF officials say she brings extensive experience in spearheading the strategic rollout and expansion of company-owned and franchise retail outlets in hundreds of U.S. markets.

"Jennifer understands the business perspective of franchisors and franchisees and how their real estate needs often vary greatly from corporate-owned outlets and from each other," says Gregory Kirsch, executive managing director in the Retail group. "She will ensure our clients receive the full value of the investments we've made over the past several years. This is an exciting value proposition for our proprietary Franchise Focus platform, one that differentiates us in the marketplace."

NGKF developed Franchise Focus, which helps franchisors and franchisees make real estate decisions, in response to the growth of franchise businesses across the country. The industry's gross domestic product is forecast to increase 4% this year over the $454 billion achieved in 2012. "The franchise sector is hot and it is expected to outperform the overall economy through 2014," says Neal Golden, vice president.

"I'm thrilled to join a platform that understands how retail real estate should not be a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead is specifically designed to serve this unique market," says Watson. "The opportunities today in the franchising industry are expanding rapidly and I'm excited to be part of a company that is in front of that growth."

Watson brings 15 years of real estate experience to NGKF. Most recently, she served as vice president of national real estate solutions at Baum Realty Group, where she developed and implemented site selection and advisory services for a number of clients across a wide range of industries seeking to increase their national footprint.

Earlier in her career, Watson was a sales manager for Pulte Homes Corp., where she developed and managed master-planned communities and had more than $100 million in sales.

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NGKF to Accelerate Franchise Work

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