Kruse's post as chief of CBRE's LA South region includesoversight of the new retail services hub office, at 2041 RosecransAve. Heading the staff of professionals, account managers andsupport personnel in the hub office are executive vice presidentRichard Rizika, first vice president Stan McElroy and vicepresident Greg Whitney, all of them longtime retailspecialists.

Kruse tells GlobeSt.com that CBRE, which will be unveiling thenew retail services hub at next week's annual spring gathering atICSC, came up with the idea for the retail hub as the the result ofa sort of "perfect storm" of circumstances. One element of thatperfect storm is that the retail industry has changed dramaticallyin recent years, with a growing number of national retailers whohave requirements for a broad range of services in multiplemarkets.

"Twenty-five years ago, every segment of our business was prettymuch geocentric," Kruse says, with brokers typically specializingin a particular geographic area that was relatively small. Now, hesays, the business has shifted from a geographic to anaccount-oriented focus, so that real estate services firms have gotto be thinking "at least regionally," if not nationally. The newCBRE retail hub, for example, is already servicing the likes ofTarget, Home Depot, Chevron, New York & Co. and Mervyns.