Having been involved in commercial retail real estate for as long as I have, the fact of ‘people you know’ comes into play often. Commercial retail real estate will forever be a ‘Good Ol’ Boy‘ network, so by way of years of relationships, a deal has finally closed. Let’s take an account of the major action items: On May 1, 2012, Kroger (aka Fry’s Food) closed on a piece of land that is a stones throw...

This is the update to how well the retail real estate strategy and system I use work.  Retail Real Estate in the Phoenix, Arizona marketplace is very difficult if you are not in tuned with what is happening in the retail real estate trends.  So, in an effort to secure the right location for Caballero Grill, my finger on the pulse, landed the perfect opportunity for them. There was a sale of several buildings from a defunct operations concept,...

Retail restaurant client seeking new location for his conceptual idea of the next hottest restaurant to hit the valley. So I took a call from, let’s call him Mr. X, who cam through from the office line the other day and began to wonder why I did. The gentleman was deliberate on his presentation, knew exactly what he was looking for, and basically told me how I should do my job of representing him. Well, after I heard about how I did not...

Recently I have been charged with finding the best locations for Snap Fireworks in all of Arizona. Finding the best locations for Snap Fireworks is exciting and fun at the same time. Not only are there plenty of retail spaces available, landlords are looking for this type of retailer to bring to their shopping centers, corner lots, and parking areas. This allows for the landlord to attract major traffic to their property, and that equates to...

With a recent uptick in same store sales, Tropical Smoothie is in growth mode once again. Tropical Smoothie has been experiencing a bit of a downtrend over the past year, until recently. There has been a surge in customer loyalty and new customer acquisition, and with the help of bright and shining stars at the helm of operations, Tropical Smoothie is, once again, expanding in key markets. Those markets include Arizona. This is where I step...

Does changing your logo equal change to the brand? Is your brand strong enough to that a change to the logo creates more opportunities? Let’s wrestle with that for a second… The unveiling of a new logo has its good sides and its bad sides, just go ask GAP. In one hand you have an existing great brand, and in the other, you have old and tired of that same brand image. What can be done to rejuvenate your customer base to begin to...

2011, a year to create new challenges, new highs, and get up and over it already! ‘It’ equals the year of 2010. The economy is in the tank, the outlook is bleak, and the silver lining is turning rusty. We have all heard it from one person or several. The economy this, foreclosures that, and whoa is me, blah blah blah. Get over it, the past is the past and there is not a single thing you can do about it. However, there are many...