Retail Retold

Real Talk Series #6 with Sucharita. Kodali

On today's podcast, we have Sucharita (Mulpuru) Kodali. Sucharita is the Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research.  Sucharita serves digital business strategy professionals. She is an expert on eCommerce, omnichannel retail, consumer behavior, and trends in the online shopping space. She is also an authority on technology developments that affect the online commerce industry and vendors that facilitate online marketing and merchandising.

In her research, Sucharita covers such consumer-oriented topics as eCommerce forecasting and trends, merchandising best practices, conversion optimization, and social computing in the retail world. She has also authored "The State Of Retailing Online," a joint study conducted annually with NRF.

Before that Sucharita worked for various Retail companies such as Disney, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Toy's R Us. Sucharita brings her personal perspective on how the current Pandemic is affecting retail and how it may change retail for years to come. Listen in as Chris & Sucharita dive-deep into the current world of Retail and what can be expected in the near future.

In today's episode of Retail Retold, we have Rob Arnold Co-Owner and CEO of Launch Franchising.  Rob tells our host Chris Ressa the story of his flagship Launch Trampoline Park in Warwick, RI. An entrepreneur to his core, Rob shares how a trip to Disney inspired the birth of Launch Franchise. In this interview, Rob highlights the importance of Launch Trampoline Park evolving into Launch Entertainment. He describes all the new lanes of entertainment they have recently introduced which includes VR, bowling, arcades, laser tag, and even a few bars! He also opens up to Chris about what their re-opening plan is going to look like, noting that the most important part is making sure their customers are comfortable, safe, and ready to re-enter social settings. Listen to find out how he put a creative spin on face masks which will even make them fun for the whole family to wear!

IMPORTANT EPISODE FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS! 

As Business Director at a national cost segregation leader, Madison SPECS, Yonah Weiss has assisted clients in saving tens of millions of dollars on taxes through cost segregation. On today's podcast Yonah shares his insider tips on cost segregation and explains the recent changes to the CARES ACT. Have you heard of QIP (Qualified Improvement Property)? Are you wondering if it will change your Cost Segregation Benefits? If so, you definitely will be interested to hear if there's a way your own small business can benefit from the new CARES ACT updates. Listen for yourself and let us know what you think!

Real Talk Series #4 with Zach Lones

On today's podcast we have Zach Lones, Director of Social Media Marketing at Wal-Mart. As you can imagine, Zach has an interesting perspective on how the digital landscape will affect future business'. Zach shares his top 3 social media tips as well as his own personal story with our host Chris Ressa.  Listen as they discuss his journey from Cashier to Store Manager to how he landed his current role as Director of Social Media.

A cold calling success story! 

Caleb Krumsieg, Director of Leasing at Dunton Commercial LLC in Denver Colorado, tells Chris the story of how Denver Bouldering Club ended up at their center in Thornton, CO. Krumsieg shares how they've created a unique synergistic destination for local consumers out of a run-down center. This story highlights the importance of tenant relationships and merchandising mix while proving that the old fashion cold calling method still works! Listen-in to hear for yourself.

C: "What's your best piece of commercial real estate advice?"

A: "It's always people before assets."

. . .

Today's episode features our fearless leader Adam Ifshin.  Adam is the Founder and CEO of DLC Management Corp., which he founded in 1991. Since then, he has grown DLC into one of the nation’s premier owners and operators of retail real estate, and one of the most active acquirers of assets with value-added potential. He openly shares the journey of how he became the team-building entrepreneur he is today. An economic historian by training, Adam shares some enlightening predictions, getting real about the current state of the industry, and describes his thoughts on what he believe's the post-COVID-19 era will be like. His insights are eye-opening, to say the least.

The second portion of this podcast is the story of a CVS in Peekskill, NY. This particular deal is definitely special... for a few reasons! 

Listen to find out why. 

Real Talk Series #4 with Dana Telsey

Has the retail landscape changed forever? Listen in to Chris Ressa and Dana Telsey's virtual "fireside chat" about the industry on today's podcast.  Dana is the Chief Executive Officer/Chief Research Officer at Telsey Advisory Group. In 2020, Dana was recognized for her leadership in Finance by Barron’s, on their inaugural 2020 list of 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance. In 2018, Ms. Telsey was elected to the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC) Board of Trustees for an initial three-year term. In 2016, Ms. Telsey won the Thomson Reuters award for “Number 1 Stock Picker for Multiline Retail”. In this episode, Chris and Dana dive into their own personal predictions about the future of retail real estate and share their thoughts on the way we will all engage with each other in the future.  Take a listen & join in their conversation!

On today's episode, we have Diana Shipley,  Vice President of Leasing at Saul Centers, Inc. Saul Centers, Inc. operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 59 grocery anchored shopping centers and office properties totaling approximately 9.1 million square feet. Approximately 85 percent of cash flow is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington D.C/Baltimore area. Additional Centers located in Atlanta, Florida, North Carolina and New Jersey markets. In this episode our host Chris Ressa & Diana Shipley do a deep dive on an entire development called Ashbrook Marketplace. Diana shares the behind-the-scenes details about how they were able to lease-up 100% of the center within one year! Listen as Diana & Chris discuss this story as well as other current events affecting the commercial real estate world today.

Police escorts at a public forum, an old junkyard & a barn remodeled into a modern Whole Foods? That's right, today's episode has everything! Our guest of honor today is Kim McCann of ELEVEN18 Architecture. Kim Day McCann AIA LEED AP, Mark Adams AIA and Neke White make up the heart of the ELEVEN18 team and with over forty years of combined experience in architecture, interior design, and graphics. Today, Kim chats with our host Chris Ressa about a particularly interesting story located in Winter Park, FL. Listen as Kim shares all the behind the scenes drama that made this project into a reality! 

Real Talk Series #3

On today's podcast we have James Walker. With more than 30 years of broad based, senior level, management experience in the hospitality and retail industries, Walker has served as President, Chief Development Officer, as well as in Senior Operations and New Product Development positions, for brands such as Baja Fresh®, Cinnabon®, Johnny Rockets® and Subway®. As the North American Vice President for Subway®, Walker oversaw their 28,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. He has conducted business in more than 70 international markets, including such emerging markets as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan and Mongolia. Today, Walker is the SVP for Nathan's Famous, Inc. Listen as Chris & Walker discuss the future of Nathan's famous and the exciting new business ventures the company is growing into.