NEW YORK CITY—The announcement earlier this week that Winick Realty Group was starting a retail investment sales division was accompanied by the appointment of a newly hired executive, Michael Cleeman, to head up the effort as a SVP. GlobeSt.com caught up with the seasoned retail sales broker to learn about the thought process that prompted Winick's decision and how the division is going to be created in this EXCLUSIVE interview.
GlobeSt.com: Why has the company decided to launch a retail investment sales division?
Cleeman: We want to be a more full service entity to clients, it's a natural outgrowth of retail leasing. To be competitive in the market today, you need to be multidimensional and we felt that the synergies between leasing and investment sales would help us grow while also helping clients. Our leasing knowledge is helpful on acquisition side.
GlobeSt.com: Are there market conditions at play that made this a particularly opportune time to start a retail investment sales group?
Cleeman: In the current market, our clients need a broader scope of services and knowledge. Clients today want to make more informed and quicker decisions—good deals go fast. As our client firms grow, we want to grow with them.
GlobeSt.com: What makes you suited to running this new effort?
Cleeman: I've been in retail investment salesfor over a decade so I'm bringing my knowledge, experience and expertise together with Winick's breadth of knowledge. We felt it'd be a marriage that makes sense.
GlobeSt.com: As you work to staff up the division, what will you be looking for and over what time period?
Cleeman: We have an amazing culture of young, driven folks who want to beat their peers and I'll be looking for people like that. There'sno limit to the size of the group but we'll have different geographic regions represented, like one broker covering Manhattan and some working in the outer boroughs. We will staff up as soon as I find the right people.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
