The document provides information on developing a winning retail strategy. It discusses the challenges in retail real estate today and strategies communities can take to attract and retain retailers. These include collecting market data, creating a vision and mix for retail areas, identifying key sites, developing tools and incentives, and recruiting retailers through a market-based approach. The document emphasizes the importance of collaboration, adapting to trends, filling vacancies with interim uses, and strengthening relationships between all stakeholders.

1. Developing A
Winning Retail
Strategy

2. Connecting Communities
to Retail Development
It is increasingly complex and challenging
for communities and retailers alike to
explore, initiate and structure
relationships yielding the successful
results they both want and need

3. State of The Industry
Paradigm shift in retail
real estate industry
• Competition for
opportunistic sites is fierce
• Projects still stalled, even
at a standstill
• Major demographic shifts
• Urban markets appealing
• Retailers refining their
models prototypes

4. State of The Industry

5. State of The Industry

6. State of The Industry

7. Building a Sustainable
Retail Base
• Fundamentals of retail & real estate development
paramount
• Pursue a market based approach to retail attraction
• Determine what your community can support
• Package information to create a powerful – competitive
position
• Garner political will and local support
• Collaborate with local industry leaders
• Develop relevant tools and incentives to support existing
and new retailers

8. Create a Collective
Vision
• Understand your market, create your story
• Create a strategy for retail- what do you want and how
will you get there
• Meet one on one with every property owner to help sell
the vision and get buy-in
• Work to collect information on every property/lease
hold information
• Educate, communicate and market the vision to get
community/policy leader buy-in

9. Where to Begin
• Collect basic economic data about your specific
geographic market - get from your city demographer,
or large brokerage firm to determine potential retail
demand
• Create a vision for the retail area, work with a retail
professional/consultant to confirm to create a
merchandise mix and implementation strategy
• Identify key retail street/area, collect retail square
footage numbers - net rentable sq. footage, lease
information, build a database with contact information,
photos, etc.
• Create simple marketing materials to support findings
and help sell the vision to owners and potential retail
clients
• Begin recruiting retailers who fit the mix

10. The Market Based
Approach
• Effectively Use Data and Intel to
build a Market Based Approach
• Determine what your community
can realistically support.
• Package information to create a
powerful competitive position
and keep it current and
accessible
• Track retail and market trends
• Know your market
•

11. Manage Expectations

12. Retail Site Selection
Factors
Traditional
Three primary factors
• Demographics
• Income levels (household and disposable)
• Competition
Secondary
• Market segmentation
• Traffic patterns and travel times
• Daytime population
• Cost of land
• Tax burden

13. Site Selection
Unexpected Real Estate
Barometers
• Urban - transit oriented
development
• Gentrification
• High density areas
• Aging populations
• Overlapping markets -
• Walkable environments
• Minority populations
• Women – the mom factor

14. Tools of the Trade
.

15. Trade Areas

16. Demand Analysis
Leakage/Surplus Factor by Industry Group
Leakage/Surplus Factor
1009080706050403020100-10-20
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
Special Food Services
Limited-Service Eating Places
Full-Service Restaurants
Direct Selling Establishments
Vending Machine Operators
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers
Used Merchandise Stores
Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores
Florists
Other General Merchandise Stores
Department Stores (Excluding Leased Depts.)
Book, Periodical, and Music Stores
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores
Shoe Stores
Clothing Stores
Gasoline Stations
Health & Personal Care Stores
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
Specialty Food Stores
Grocery Stores
Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
Building Material and Supplies Dealers
Electronics & Appliance Stores
Home Furnishings Stores
Furniture Stores
Auto Parts, Accessories, and Tire Stores
Other Motor Vehicle Dealers
Automobile Dealers

17. Access to Information

19. Tools & Incentives
• Tax abatements and rate reductions/deferments
• Rent subsidies
• Loan programs, grants for operations &
improvements
• Tax Increment Financing
• Façade and infrastructure improvement programs
• Retail and business training
• Coordinated buying and marketing initiatives
• Strategic merchandising planning
• Tax holidays and free parking

20. Recruitment vs.
Retention
Recruitment
•Actively and systematically
recruit new prospects to ensure
leads in the pipeline
•Create a strong story - from
market demographics to the
retail vision
•Create tools for your retail
toolbox
•Hand holding & nurturing
•Measure your success
Retention
•Knowing what is going on - how
your current retailers are doing,
•Business assistance and
education programs
•Collective public relations &
marketing
• Customer base/focus
groups/surveys
•Create/strengthen partnerships

22. Maps & GIS

23. Retail Attraction Toolkit
• Retail marketing and attraction strategies utilizing
traditional and nontraditional tools:
– Implementation Programs Policies, programs and incentives
– Site inventories Project profiles
– Comprehensive editorial coverage Advertising and direct mail campaigns
– Interactive Websites and portals General marketing and project brochures
– Social networking GIS mapping & customer profiling,
– Database Management & Plotting Customized tradeshow booths
& marketing
– Custom mapping
• Demographic reports that demonstrate market strength
and potential and showcase consumer preferences
(standard reports, expenditure reports, graphic profiles and
psychographic analysis)
• Competitive analysis that shows how sites and communities
compare to others

24. Case Studies

26. Philadelphia

27. Testimonials

28. Custom Research

29. Current Development

30. Relevant Indicators

31. Pedestrian Counts

32. Transit Use

33. Restaurants/Cafes

34. Benchmarking

35. Targeted Indicators

37. Deals

38. Philadelphia Retail
• National Tenants
• Menswear
• Big box tenants
• Local retailers
• Retail & manufacturing
• Redevelopment

40. Washington DC
A Neighborhood
Strategy

41. Tactics & Tools
• Great Streets Initiative
– Retail loans
– Façade Renovation
– Transit
• Anchor Strategy
• Neighborhood based research
• Public development
opportunities
• Housing

42. Neighborhood Profiles

43. Great Streets
• Up to $2 million in gap funding currently
available for individual projects
• Over 1 million square feet of available
retail space located along Great Streets
corridors
• Metrorail-accessible opportunities with 9
Metrorail stations located on Great Streets
• More than $17 million in Great Streets
grants and Tax Increment Financing
awarded
• More than $75 million spent on Great
Streets streetscape improvements for
the beautification of corridors
GreatStreets.dc.gov

44. Great Streets

45. Anchor
Strategy

46. Vertical
Density

47. Focus on
Design

48. Focus on
Design

49. Mixed-Use
TOD

50. Adaptive Reuse

51. Adaptive Reuse

52. Think Outside The Box

53. Think Outside The Box

54. Think Outside The Box

55. Think Outside The Box

56. Think Outside The Box

57. Think Outside The Box

58. Short-Term Retail
• Pop-up stores
• Seasonal Users
• Art & Culture
• Retail incubators &
Coops
• Non-retail users

59. Animate the Street
• Activate Vacant lots
• Storefront displays
• Street Retail
• Sidewalk Cafes
• Farmers Markets
• Art & Murals

62. Innovative Uses of
Space
Service oriented retail
Civic uses
Social services
Medical facilities
Commercial tenants
Educational facilities
Non-profit organizations

63. Best Practices
for Success
• Strengthen data collection, organization, and accessibility
• Develop and maintain inventory of available sites
• Strengthen presence in the national marketplace
• Collaborate with transactional professionals
• Establish protocols for marketing new retail
• Create case studies documenting retail successes
• Develop an arsenal of retail-oriented marketing tools
and information

64. Secrets of Success
• Look at models that work elsewhere.
• Be open to interim uses
• Encourage green retail
• Fill gaps with local entrepreneurs
• Strengthen relationships with
investors, retailers, and owners
• Be tenacious

65. Catherine Timko
principal/CEO
The Riddle Company/Community Retail Catalysts
202-365-7470
1220 L St., NW #100-447
Washington, DC 20005