Outsourcing Tenant Research: Finding tenants can be easier when you have them at your fingertips.

Finding new retailers can be daunting for small and medium-sized owners with limited resources. Shopping Center Business recently interviewed DJ Wight, president of Retail Lease Trac.

SCB: What types of tenants do you see expanding today?

Wight: Discounters. Everyone needs to save money in this tight economy and discount retailers have done an extraordinary job of keeping up with demand. Others are using this economy to move to better locations with lower rent agreements. Retail site selectors for general merchandisers such as Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Wal-Mart and Target; grocers like Aldi, Food Lion, and Save-A-Lot; clothiers such as Simply Fashion Stores, Cato, It’s Fashion Stores, Ross Dress for Less, and Burlington Coat Factory; and fast casual restaurants like Panda Express, Darden Restaurants, Focus Brands (Moe’s, Carvell, Cinnabon, Schlotzky’s), Golden Corral, and Five Guys Burgers; any fast food chain with a dollar menu; along with over 6,000 other retail site selectors looking for space right now. For ambitious types, this economy is a great time to start a company or move stores to better locations. It is easier to get an SBA loan, find a great location at a reasonable price, hire experienced staff at a fraction of the cost, and negotiate prices on merchandise.

SCB: With more vacancies, how can services like yours benefit retail space owners? How do they enhance their leasing capabilities?

Wight: Owners, brokers, managers, economic developments, and developers are able to make the most of their limited time and limited marketing funds by outsourcing contact information research needs to companies like ours. Using the contact manager/broadcast email, clients can get their property in front of the right person quickly allowing the call back process to start more quickly. At our company, our staff works with clients to help optimize the marketability of their properties and help provide insight into retailers’ expansion plans. Retail space owners and managers have a go-to source to find fresh information concerning new and expanding retailers in their area. It gives them an incredibly accurate tool to work with in a world of misinformation and uncertainty.

SCB: Developers have been scaling back leasing departments. How can services like yours enhance a smaller leasing staff?

Wight: Having an outsourced research staff reduces the costs and the stress of hiring, training, and payroll costs. Our clients are no longer burdened with costly in-house office staff or the costs of maintaining a database of potential retail tenants on their own. When any question arises concerning a retailer, we’re just a phone call or email away. When money is tight and payroll is a company’s largest expense, someone usually has to go. Those that are left are often overwhelmed with double or triple duties and a simple thing, like having the right name and phone number for the site selector for Chili’s in Topeka, Kansas, can mean the difference between a great day and frustrating one.

SCB: How can smaller shopping center owners — those who own 10 centers or less — benefit from services like yours?

Wight: We have spent 25 years working with small to mid-sized owners and developers, including economic developments, helping them find the right mix of national and local retailers for their tenant mix. The ‘little guy’ usually has less funding, less time, and less energy to devote to getting this mix. For the cost of one hourly research employee for one week, clients can access a database, research and marketing staff all year. As opposed to only reaching out to retailers in their area, smaller owners are able to get ideas for retailers they may have never encountered before.

SCB: How can you aid owners in finding new tenants?

Wight: We provide accurate contact information for retail real estate site selectors in the country. We have an online database that makes it easy to locate the right tenant for a property. Performing a search based on a property’s criteria can target potential tenants while saving time and money. The goal is to compile the contact information needed to turn a lease or sale as quickly as possible. Our research staff is always available to find contact and expansion information on any retail tenant clients may have interest in. We are also always attending trade shows, scouring the Internet, reviewing periodicals — searching for new and expanding concepts to add to our database. We get a lot of our material from clients who call asking about a new retailer they have seen in their area.

Interview by Randall Shearin
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