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Shaun Benderson on Managing a Retail Portfolio

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Shaun Benderson is a true expert when it comes to retail properties. He has worked on commercial projects in Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Sarasota, and more. Essentially, he seems to always be able to stay ahead of the news and get a scoop project and make it big. But one of the ways he believes he has been able to do that, is by understanding what it means to manage a retail real estate portfolio.

Shaun Benderson on the Retail Portfolio

It is very important to make sure a retail portfolio only includes high performing properties, getting rid of anything at risk of becoming dead weight. This means they must also have a full understanding of the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), understanding which properties add value to the complete chain and contribute the most to the bottom line. Additionally, they must have a full understanding of the different types of properties (owned with mortgage, owned without mortgage, leases, and partial leases) that exist in the portfolio, identifying which ones should be invested in, and which ones should be divested.

Key Elements of Managing a Retail Portfolio

A good portfolio manager like Shaun Benderson will always:

  1. Know the relevant lease term dates, but also any other trigger dates leading up to that. This ensures they can determine the long term viability of leased properties in particular, ridding themselves of the dead weights.
  2. Know the relevant exercise dates, which means they don’t accidentally roll over into another three to five year commitment to an undesirable property. Again, this isn’t just about focusing on a single date, but rather on all the dates leading up to that as well, ensuring the right discussions are held with the right people before then.
  3. Manage all the options that remain within the portfolio properly. This means that they should know when to have negotiations and with whom, when changes are going to take place, which deadlines exist, and so on.
  4. Be able to make tough decisions. If a store within a retail portfolio underperforms, it should be removed, no questions asked. Strategic thinking means making choices that others will not like.
  5. Renegotiate the rent. They have to make sure that they conduct their own market assessments to determine whether the rent they pay to landlords, or the rent they receive from tenants, is appropriate and relevant to the market, renegotiating different terms and conditions wherever possible. Again, this must be done at the right time with the right people.
  6. Be able to divest and re-locate. Sometimes, stores have to close down, either permanently or by moving them to a new location. A good portfolio manager will know when it is time to do this and they will focus on making those improvements when necessary.

Being a retail portfolio manager is hard work. It requires a coordinated approach with a lot of forethought. It also means putting the appropriate strategies in place to get the most out of the available portfolio.

Take the Stress Out of Office Management with a Serviced Office Partner

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The decision to start a business is a substantial one, no matter where you are in the world. In every industry, the stakes are high and failure is a possibility. With eight out of every ten start-ups closing their doors in the first two years, you’ve got to be smart if you want to survive. As our economies grow increasingly hostile, the focus is on careful spending.

In recent years, entrepreneurs in Hong Kong have come up with some clever ways to streamline and optimise their overheads without compromising on quality. The serviced office, for example, is a major asset. It makes premium facilities affordable to smaller businesses. Visit www.servcorp.com.hk/en/serviced-offices/ to check out some amazing serviced suites.

This guide to the key features of serviced offices will explain why they’re a great way to minimise operational risk.

A Shortcut to the Big League

For many small businesses, working with a service provider is a clever way to boost brand potential. Due to the ‘all in one’ pay structure – which sees major utilities rolled into the monthly fee –, these workspaces are eminently affordable even while being in prestigious locations.

The consequence of this is an unrivalled opportunity to grab one of the most impressive addresses in the region for a very manageable price. In other words, you could be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest brands in Hong Kong not long after you launch.

More Money for the Future

One of the biggest challenges for a first-time business owner is figuring out how to grow fast without putting the existing staff and equipment under too much pressure. Expansion and development is a wonderful thing, but it must be sustainable.

You can’t invest all of your in capital growth, as it will leave you vulnerable when times get hard. All businesses experience difficult months, so you need to manage your overheads carefully. Serviced offices minimise expenses by including all major utilities in the rental fee.

The Freedom to Change

Whether you’re a first-time business owner or a third, mistakes happen. Sometimes, hard times aren’t even a result of your own errors. They’re just a consequence of a hostile economy. While you can’t predict the future, you can use serviced solutions to prepare for it.

These vendors offer inherently scalable resources, and this includes the physical office space. There are no-lock in leases, so you’ll never be trapped in an unsuitable contract. Plus, many serviced facilities allow tenants to up or downgrade within the same building if needed.

Making a Major Impact

Finally, it’s worth remembering how useful it can be to occupy a top spot, particularly in a place like Hong Kong. When your office is centrally located and right at the heart of all the action, the business is visible. It’s a beacon for investors, sponsors, suppliers, and local talent.

It’s also much easier to tap into local networks if you’re in close proximity to them. Most serviced facilities give tenants a helping hand with networking. It can be invaluable if you’re new to the area. Pitch nights, mingling sessions, and networking events are a common perk.

Why You Need a Serviced Office in Hong Kong

Aside from the practical and technical benefits, serviced offices have a substantial impact in terms of brand exposure and market presence. Location prejudice is a legitimate concern in big cities like Hong Kong and, unfairly or not, investors love brands that look the part.

You could attract more attention simply by having an impressive address, in a sought after neighbourhood. Fortunately, serviced providers can help you secure it, even if you’re working with a tight budget. They are committed to providing flexible, custom workplace solutions.

Achieving Success in Business Management

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The place most people learn business management is in colleges and universities. They take courses in everything from business operations, business, strategy, marketing, sales, accounting and customer service. These multi-year programs can prepare the student for what will hypothetically come when they are on the job.

If you speak with those like successful business manager Larry Polhill, they will tell you that the real world was quite different that how things looked in school and their real education came while they were working at a company.

This is primarily true because there are some things involved in business management that you must learn on the job. One is the speed with which things occur. Different issues happen at a business in timeframes that are completely irregular and sometimes with each demanding a different skill set and set of tools to solve the issue. A second is the randomness of so many business related issues. You can do something perfectly every time, yet one time it simply does not work and there was no indication that there was even a chance for failure. This occurs because most businesses have constantly moving parts that need to be watched but also given room for their eventual failure.

So until you are on the job and at the business, everything is guesswork to a certain degree and this is why you need to be prepared with a set of skills and approaches that can assist you in any situation. Here are some of those skills and approaches:

Create a company culture that includes responsibility, transparency and consistency.

Employees agree to work at an organization for various reasons but the ones that are always included involve their ability to count on the organization to be transparent, consistent and responsible. These three qualities give employees a sense that the company has their best interest in mind and that if things take a turn for the worse they will know it and understand why. Companies that do not make these qualities a core component of their operating strategy either lose employees consistently or have to go to extraordinary lengths to hold on to their employees. This additional time spent can be sued to focus on other things important to growing the business, so their absence is usually very costly.

These qualities must start at the top down and permeate every level of the organization and everyone must be accountable to them. Sometimes business managers think they can exempt someone because that person has a special title or brings lots of revenue into the company, but this is a recipe for chaos and unhappiness and it creates behaviors that run counter to the success of the business. Additionally they must dictate how you interact with your customers and key partners. This approach sets a great tone for your business and creates an environment where your company and its stakeholders can depend on the relationships with those who cause your business to be successful.

Make a Realistic Plan with Execution Steps

For any business planning is essential. You need to lay out where the company is, where you are going and how you intend to get there. This gives everyone in the organization a clear idea of the company goals and their roles in the success of those goals. As a further step, you need to lay out an action plan for achieving those goals. This plan can be placed against the actual happenings at the business as a barometer for how things are actually going. Too often there is miscommunication about objectives at a company and having things committed to paper alleviates and stress about who said what to whom. Get into this practice and demand that others in the company do as well and it will pay off for everyone.

Business Management is a tough and demanding job but if you have tools and strategies to assist you the job becomes much easier.