Retail consultants to serve domestic and international clients

Real Estate Weekly, April 14, 1999

Richard Seligman, a leading retail consultant and former senior managing director of Insignia/ESG's retail group, has announced the formation of Retail Development Partners to provide a full range of consulting and retail real estate services to retailers, developers and property owners domestically and overseas.

Retail Development Partners (RDP), headquartered at 350 Park Avenue in Manhattan, provides a comprehensive range of services through three divisions - RDP Brokerage, RDP Property Advisors and RDP Retail Consultants. The company will soon open offices in London and Milan.

Joining RDP are Roger M. Roisman, former partner at the Manhattan office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, LLP; Gene P. Spiegelman, former associate managing director of Insignia/ESG's retail group; Lee Shafkowitz, former president of Cerruti Group Service, New York, Ltd., and Alan J. Napack, former president of the Manhattan-based AJN Realty Advisors.

"Retail Development Partners offers unparalleled experience and expertise in the retail and real estate arenas," said Seligman. "The combination of in-depth market knowledge and existing relationships enables us to identify opportunities before they appear in the market,"

RDP Brokerage provides a team of experts in the retail real estate and financial disciplines to ensure that clients-receive a creative and analytical approach to retail brokerage. The combination of creativity and market knowledge provides strategic solutions for American and multi-national retailers.

RDP Property Advisors provides owners and developers of urban and suburban properties with a fresh look at contemporary merchandising and leasing concepts. RDP's consulting services enable developers to pinpoint consumer motivation, identify trends and expand the menu of potential new tenants to ensure successful retail property differentiation.

RDP Retail Consultants provides hands-on management services for foreign retailers that have not yet achieved the level of U.S. sales necessary to support an effective management infrastructure. RDP Retail Consultants offers advisory services in merchandise assortment, develops strategies for leasing and provides economic models to help determine store size and location. In addition, RDP Retail Consultants has the ability to assist retailers in operations, staffing, distribution and systems management.

"Our retail consulting division enables foreign companies to understand all aspects of the retail environment in the United States, from the nature of the competition to our unique cultural sensitivities," Seligman said. "We guide retailers through the differences in the American market to help them implement an effective retail program."

Seligman has substantial experience in Europe and has developed extensive relationships in the European retail and property markets. Retail clients have included MaxMara, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bvlgari, Express (division of The Limited), Estee Lauder, Christofle, SONY and Crate & Barrel.

At Insignia/ESG's Retail Group, Seligman helped develop the company's national and international urban retail brokerage network. Prior to that, Seligman was responsible for the management of the ESG Retail Group. He also served as Eastern Leasing Manager of The Taubman Company, one of the nation's largest shopping center developers.

"Retail property differentiation, through tenant mix and unique service offerings, is essential to the success of future retail developments," Seligman said. "Consumers have extraordinary choice through department and specialty stores, catalogs and the Internet. Consumers don't have the time or the traditional buying motivation of the past."

According to Seligman, the challenge for both retailers and developers is to differentiate themselves from the competition. "The first step is to understand the buyer values of target audiences and to derive a plan that matches those buyer values," Seligman said. "The challenge and the fun is that the values are changing much more quickly than in the past."

Roger M. Roisman, a former partner at the Manhattan office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, LLP, has joined RDP as general counsel and executive vice president. Roisman has represented such distinguished clients as Millennium Partners, Vornado Realty Trust, The Mills Corporation, The Witkoff Group and The Trump Organization.

Gene P. Spiegelman, former associate managing director of Insignia/ESG's retail group, has joined RDP as senior managing director. Spiegelman has more than 12 years of experience developing and implementing real estate strategies for tenants and owners throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Lee Shafkowitz, former president of Cerruti Group Service, New York, Ltd. and commercial director of MaxMara USA Inc., has joined RDP as senior managing director. Shafkowitz is skilled in all aspects of apparel retailing and wholesaling, and is an expert at positioning European luxury goods in the United States.