inventory of available space is leased to permanent tenants, the specialty leasing department must get creative. So Reiss and his team are faced with finding ways to meet revenue targets even when there is no available space to lease in a property. They look at vacant adjacent land at some properties for uses such as tent sales, circuses and other unconventional ideas. “It’s what makes specialty leasing different. We are looking at monetizing things that don’t need four walls,” Reiss says. These centers offer a different type of specialty leasing, Reiss cannot simply erect an RMU or kiosk. For example, a returning Halloween store
operator wanted to open a large store in a center that had few space options. Reiss worked with his property management and leasing teams and creatively combined two spaces with a breezeway and provided the retailer with the right-sized 6,000-sq.-ft. space for the season. The cost of the breezeway was built into the deal. The net result: a content retailer and a budget target achieved. In addition to Halloween, Reiss is also responsible
for national deal-making in the furniture, fireworks, and wireless (cell towers, cable and Internet) categories, as well as “green initiatives” such as solar rooftop panels and car charging stations. Solar rooftop panel operators create rental income for the landlord by renting the rooftop space. In addition, electricity diverted to the property offsets utility expenses. The car-charging stations provide income through advertising space that is on each unit.
Strategic merchandising The power center business is not without its challenges. The traditional holiday stores have faded over the years. “When I first began in the industry we could lease vacant big boxes to holiday shops that sold toys, decorations, gift wrap and other holiday items. These deals are nowhere to be found, as they cannot compete with Target and Walmart,” Reiss says. He has had success in backfilling Halloween store spaces with furniture retailers and Toys for Tots. But the typical Christmas tree lots in community and power centers are far and few between. Reiss and his team are sensitive to the strategic merchandising decisions they make for each property. While open-air centers may have a little more leeway than a traditional mall, Reiss says strategy is still important. “There have been instances where we have had to terminate a tenant
because they don’t look appropriate. We want our retailers to be aesthetically pleasing to our customers.” Reiss believes temporary retailers have a growing interest
in community centers and are considering these properties more now than they have in the past. It’s partly because of the way people shop. The ability for customers to get in, get what they came for and get out, is power shopping at its best. Reiss has had inquiries from established retailers like Walmart and Toys R Us who have considered setting up temporary Halloween and toy stores. “As occupancy levels increase, temporary available space is limited, coupled with the fact that there are not a lot of new malls being built, so national retailers are looking at other options to grow,” Reiss says.
Reiss is a member of the first graduating class with the
new Specialty Leasing Designation (the education program offered by Pinnacle Publishing Group). He hopes to continue to grow by taking more classes. “I want to broaden my education and continue to be successful in what I am doing,” Reiss says. “I would highly recommend this program to anyone who plans on having a career in specialty leasing.” Reiss recently joined the SPREE Advisory Board and is looking forward to making a difference.
Duffy Weir is the former vice president and director of Specialty Retail and Marketing at The Rouse Company in Columbia, Maryland. She is now an independent retail marketing and sponsorship consultant, Director of Education and a senior writer for Specialty Retail Report. Weir travels the world searching for what she says “makes marketplaces tick.” She can be reached at
Duffyllc@comcast.net or her office 410.252.8885.
SpecialtyRetail.com Winter 2013 n Specialty Retail Report 93
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