Reader Profile: Loren Moss
Name: Loren Moss
Title: Specialty Leasing and Marketing Manager
Property: Santa Rosa Mall
Location: Fort Walton Beach/Destin, FL (USA)
How long have you been at this property? Since May 1, 2009.
How many years of experience do you have in the retail industry?
I have nine years of experience in retail real estate. Prior to that, I ran a technology firm serving the retail/restaurant industry for five years.
What are the main strategies that you use to promote your specialty leasing program?
Direct prospecting is best, face to face with prospective retailers. A big part of what I do is simply letting independent retailers know that there is space for them at the mall. Before joining Jones Lang LaSalle, I spent most of my real estate career representing retail tenants and most small operators have no idea that there is a way to operate in a mall without a long-term commitment and a multi-million-dollar balance sheet. It’s an easy sell once you successfully get your message out.
Which retail categories have been the most productive for specialty leasing?
The most productive have been apparel (independent retailers), furniture, computers and accessories. The furniture and computer categories have been a surprising success.
How much do our center’s in-line tenants use specialty leasing space? For what purpose for they typically use this space (e.g. Liquidation of stock, new product promotion, seasonal marketing, extra shelf space during inventory turnover)?
In our instance, the primary purpose for in-line tenants using specialty-leasing space has been either storage or using vacant kiosks for promotional advertising.
What is your primary marketing goal for the properties this year?
Incubate seasonal operators into year-round operators and the more successful specialty retailers into permanent tenants. Specifically for this year we want to fill some gaps in our retail lineup. For example, we want to broaden our holiday toy and children’s apparel offering.
What is your biggest challenge this year?
I relocated to this mall from Ohio and our GM is also new to this property, so we have to ramp up very quickly in establishing relationships. I especially have to get a feel for the market. We are just outside of a large military base and in a tourism-oriented area. It’s very different from the malls outside the large metro areas I had in Ohio and Indiana, a very different region of the country. The markets, consumers, even real estate laws are very different here, so there is a learning curve.
Can you offer one tip to other mall-marketing professionals?
Remember that it’s a sales job. Whether you are selling retail space to tenants or selling the mall as a destination to the public, don’t forget that you are selling something. You need to believe in the product (in our case retail space, a venue or a shopping destination) to be effective and enjoy what you do.
Thanks Loren!
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