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 Executive Vice President Dave 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."

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

John Salustri

John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.