Retail Tenant Representation Case Study - Office Depot
THE ISSUE
In 1988 a new company in American retailing, Office
Depot, began site location activity in Louisiana. Their goal was to become
the dominant office supply company in the state.
THE ASSIGNMENT
To work with Office Depot’s corporate real
estate personnel in the creation and implementation of plans for site selection
of retail stores in the metropolitan markets in Louisiana. After each market
was analyzed, the actual selection of store sites, contact of property owners
or developers, initiating or soliciting proposals and negotiating the terms of
letters of intent would be accomplished.
This process would take years and, in fact, would be ongoing indefinitely as
changes occurred in Office Depot store sizes and changing markets. New Orleans,
Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport were targeted for the initial introduction
of Office Depot stores.
THE SOLUTION
Since 1988, SRSA has been involved in
sourcing over 30 Office Depots in Louisiana. In addition to the larger
metropolitan markets, such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport,
sites have been secured in communities that include Houma, New Iberia and
Ruston, Louisiana.
Over the years the product mix carried by an Office Depot unit has changed.
Indeed, as home offices and home computers have become the norm for many Americans,
the target customer has shifted from a major focus on small businesses to a mix of
business and general consumer customers. Even the size of the average Office Depot
store has been reinvented from a prototypical 30,000 square foot unit to a range of
15,000 to 22,000 square foot stores.
One of the most rewarding aspects of this assignment was the securing of a 13,000
square foot building on St. Charles Avenue near downtown New Orleans. Almost four
years elapsed between the initiation of a site search and the opening of this store.
Although it was, at the time it opened, one of the smallest stores in the chain, the
St. Charles Avenue location had the largest opening day and opening week sales
volumes in the history of Office Depot. This store has been an unprecedented “store
of the year” for two successive years.
SRSA has represented Office Depot in Louisiana for over sixteen years. This
experience is illustrative of the ongoing broker-client relationship that this
company and its brokers have established and maintained.
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