T
hirty years ago, incubation of specialty retail merchants meant holding onto successful tenants until they were ready to move from a cart to a kiosk
or inline store. Today, incubation for some real estate developers is about the importance of protecting property assets and giving back to the community so that everybody wins. The retailer wins by testing the waters— operating a business at a fraction of the cost— and the developer wins by adding innovative operators to malls that are finding alternate ways to drive revenue. In an effort to bring new and unique products to a center, some companies are forming partnerships that simultaneously teach, mentor and incubate a retail business. Whether it is a “reality TV-like” competition or simply nurturing an entrepreneur, specialty retailers are being introduced into the shopping center business, one concept at a time. Three years ago, Washington, D.C.-
based developer Madison Marquette saw the writing on the wall. As the economy in the San Francisco Bay area slowed, the company identified ways of creating a sustainable program that brought new and relevant retailers into the leasing pipeline and sustained existing ones. One of the first such programs is called “Retail Star.” The Retail Star program has two objectives:
find new and creative retailers and create a series of events that drive traffic to the properties. The leasing and marketing teams decided a reality-television-like program was the proper vehicle. Contestants work to impress a judging panel comprised of local leaders, retail experts and members of the Madison Marquette leadership team. Just as in reality television, they go through a series of elimination rounds, the last couple of which are hosted as public events at the mall. Whitney Livingston, VP of Marketing Services at Madison Marquette, says the
The Retail Star competition launched by Madison Marquette has produced many winning retail entrepreneurs.
SpecialtyRetail.com
Winter 2012 n Specialty Retail Report
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