New joint venture promises better data analysis for retail real estate managers
The asset disposition company A&G Realty has entered into a joint venture with a supermarket real estate veteran with the business proposition that better data analysis will help retailers be more proactive in managing real estate portfolios.
A&G has joined forces with former Supervalu executive Joe McKeska to form Elkhorn Real Estate Partners, a venture pledged to help retailers identify opportunities for new or replacement stores, re-invest assets to improve performance, and restructure their assets in line with broader, data-driven market strategies.
“We want to help retailers get more granular with their real estate strategies,” said Andy Graiser, co-president of A&G. “Sometimes the best decision is to exit a market. Other times the best decision might be to upgrade a store or replace it with a different brand.”
A&G joined forces with McKeska, Graiser said, because of his extensive background in supermarket real estate development along with a “demonstrated ability to analyze third-party data and marketplace trends to ensure that those developement decisions were accretive to his companies.”
In grocery-anchored centers, especially, the landscape is rapidly evolving. Events such as the German grocery chain Lidl entering the U.S. with 100 locations in the coming year challenge retailers to become more studied and nimble with their real estate strategies.
Elkhorn uses third-party data and analysis, including location-based modeling and geospatial data, to inform real estate decisions. “Elkhorn merges leading-edge research with Joe’s decades of experience in retail strategy and analysis to create unique deliverables for our clients,” said A&G Co-President Emilio Amendola.
During his 25-year career, McKeska attests to having developed, acquired, disposed of, and managed more than 130 million square feet of real estate and helped lead mergers and acquisitions valued in excess of $12 billion. At Supervalu, he oversaw the real estate operations of more than 5,000 stores in 42 states that were either company-operated, licensed, or serviced by the company’s wholesale unit.
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