NEW YORK CITY-Locally based Cushman & Wakefield is ready to saddle up on its latest joint initiative, this one focusing on marketing and sales of recreational real estate. The joint venture, a 50/50 deal, is being forged with the Manchester, VT-based Orvis Co.

Dubbed Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield and anchored in Colorado Springs, the new venture will be helmed by John B. Watson, who comes on as president and CEO. In addition to tapping three independent board members, three members will be selected from each company.

Orvis, founded in 1856, is a sporting-goods retail operation with a 500-dealer worldwide network, 29 dealers in the states and a 50-million-issue annual catalog business. The firm is also a major contributor to land conservancy. The intention apparently is to tap into the Orvis network of product buyers as real estate investment prospects.

Not surprisingly, the folks of both firms are praising the new structure as innovative. "Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield will revolutionize the way people buy and sell ranch and recreational properties," says Orvis EVP David D. Perkins. Watson adds that Orvis brings "a wide array of customer touch points, direct mail, retail stores and e-commerce, by which to foster brand recognition and promote and market properties."

The joint venture is the latest in a series of moves rolling out for C&W this year. In January, the firm acquired Moscow-based Stiles & Riabokobylko, a brokerage with which Cushman had a year's long joint agreement. The buy formed C&W's third largest European outpost and positioned it to tap into the growing Russian real estate market.