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EL SEGUNDO, CA—Matthews Retail Group is rebranding as Matthews Retail Advisors, complete with an operational restructuring to expand into additional CRE services, the firm's chief marketing officer Eric Boyd and chairman and CEO Kyle Matthews tell GlobeSt.com. We spoke exclusively with the two about the changes taking place, what prompted them and how the firm's clients will be affected by all of it.

GlobeSt.com: What was the impetus for your rebranding?

Boyd: This is much more than a rebrand; the company is operationally restructuring to make room to expand into additional commercial real estate services. As a company, Matthews Retail Group has been larger than most retail-focused commercial real estate brokerages for many years, both in membership and revenue. However, our partnership with Marcus & Millichap and later Colliers International required that we be known as a “group.” Now, as Matthews Retail Advisors, we are the first business unit of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Other commercial brokerage units will be added under the corporate umbrella beginning later this year.

GlobeSt.com: How has your message changed, and how will this impact your clients?

Boyd: Our message hasn't changed, but we will be delivering it in stronger ways. And our message is simple: Our clients make more money because of our real-time execution, competitive and collaborative culture and our drive to exceed expectations. Matthews Retail Advisors redefines what clients should expect from a commercial real estate brokerage company. We redefine how properties are marketed using the experience, best practices and technologies from the high-tech industry. We redefine how cold-calling is done with Click-to-Call Technology™, which tracks the behavior of buyers to analyze and determine the moment they are considering a deal, putting us in touch with that buyer in real-time. What we call Point of Analysis Interjection™ is the unique capability and process by which we introduce salesmanship at the moment a buyer is considering a deal to upsell the positives and overcome objections before a buyer has formed them. We redefine collaboration in brokerage with Retail Verticalization™, wherein each agent specializes in a retail industry and tenant. Those industry experts work together, and each agent leads a team of specialists in research, financial analysis, marketing and transaction management. Lastly, we redefine 1031 exchange through the 1031 Private Client Advantage™ —the only 1031-exchange program in the commercial real estate industry.

As we ask clients and prospective clients to “Redefine Your Expectations” they will have a better understanding of the greater value that Matthews Retail Advisors delivers and why working with us means they will increase their wealth.

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GlobeSt.com: What are the biggest challenges retail brokerage firms face in today's economy?

Matthews: The biggest challenges we have clearly seen facing other real estate brokerage firms are often self-inflicted. First, there is a lack of long-term thinking by executive leadership. Publicly traded firms are often unable to see beyond the next quarterly earnings call and, thus, fail to reinvest in their business. Short-sightedness prevents them from putting the surplus profits they are likely to be experiencing in today's economy back into their marketing platform and human capital to drive future growth. Secondly, when the economy turns and the market is not as favorable, companies tend to immediately pull back on spending. They stagnate, rather focusing on improving their platforms, training better agents and ultimately positioning themselves to be better as a company. I think this is why we have seen almost no tangible innovation in the commercial real estate brokerage industry over the last 20 years.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the new direction of your company?

Boyd: Coinciding with our branding re-launch is the introduction of the 1031 Private Client Advantage™, the first-ever 1031 Exchange Program. We know that our clients increase their wealth as a result of their next purchase. So, while we deliver the highest level of execution on the sale of a property, just as importantly, we focus on putting the client in a better position by identifying their up leg and managing their next purchase. The program we've developed provides clients with the best options for their exchange and begins the moment they list with us. We are the only brokerage company that is perfectly suited to effectuate an exchange in real-time because of our large national buyer pool, extensive rotating inventory and collaborative culture.