NewMark Merrill Launches Retail Tech Co.

LOS ANGELES—In response to the change retail landscape, largely due to technology, NewMark Merrill has launched BrightStreet Ventures, a retail technology platform serving shopping center owners and managers. Among other amenities, the platform will allow users to test potential brick-and-mortar locations prior to roll out to help ensure a more stable investment. To delve deeper into the new technology, we sat down with managing director Mark Sigal and found out exactly how the platform will help drive business for retail centers.

GlobeSt.com: Can you tell me more specifically about the types of technology platforms BrightStreet plans to develop?

Mark Sigal: While we are evaluating a number of domains where technology can add value to and enhance the viability of the shopper center business—including mobile, marketplaces, omni-channel, loyalty, business intelligence, local services and personalization—the first two initiatives are focused on: real estate business intelligence and Mobile tools that enable merchants to more efficiently market to nearby consumers.

GlobeSt.com: What is happening in the retail sector that inspired this new venture?

Sigal: There are four primary trends that are changing the face of retail. One is rise of e-commerce, best evidenced by Amazon, which has attacked the margins that local retailers once could count upon. Numerous segments are no longer viable as a result of this trend and more will fall before all is said and done. Two is the rise of the smartphone. This has lead to the collapsing of once analog segments, such as records, movies and CDs, into wholly digital ones (obviating the need for brick and mortar in these segments). It has also given the consumer the power of all knowledge at their fingertips, such that the consumer can discern fair price, or pursue a better deal in very few clicks. Three is that the traditional customer acquisition channels, like yellow pages, direct mail and classified ads, are fundamentally broken, owing to a generational shift and the disruptive nature of the internet. Four is the rise of big data and data science, which is changing the means of analyzing, targeting and customizing the linkages between retailers, consumers and developers.

GlobeSt.com: How will these platforms help drive business?

Sigal: Just focusing on the first two initiatives, one axiom is that you can't improve what you don't measure; namely, the ways that the shopping center industry thinks about their business relative to folks like Amazon is fundamentally limited and silo'd in its approach. The other truth is that mobile changes everything—there are five billion mobile devices dotting the planet—and so our second initiative is wholly focused on mobile as a conduit for connecting consumers and merchants.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the other benefits?

Sigal: For one, all of these initiatives are part of a larger orchestrated strategy, which is borne of the idea that you are only as strong as your weakest link. This is especially true in a world of omni channel where the consumer is simultaneously operating at the level of mobile, online and brick and mortar. Two is the idea that virtually every industry is destined to become software-defined, and no one has established that footing in our industry. We believe this is one of the biggest opportunities of the next decade. Three is the idea that this is all about delivering a better experience for the consumer, which touches multiple facets. Four is about creating an extended network between developers and merchants, on the premise that a rising tide lifts all boats.

GlobeSt.com: When will these technology platforms be available to the public?

Sigal: The first platform, which is focused on real estate business intelligence, is rolling out as we speak. The second, which is focused on mobile marketing between merchants and consumers, will roll out in the fall.

GlobeSt.com: What is the cost associated with using these platforms?

Sigal: The cost for consumers will be zero, as the overall strategy is about helping merchants and shopping center owners extend their reach. Individual offerings range from disruptively low daily usage rates to flat fee pricing models — depending on whether the end customer is a mom and pop, a national chain or a shopping center owner