Speakers
Brett Beaudette, Design Manager/Lead Designer, Mall of America
Brett Beaudette serves as the Lead Retail Designer and Design Manager for the Mall of America, in addition to owning his own design consulting business, Ideal Productions. Brett’s diverse background consists of retail manager, entrepreneur and designer, project manager, marketer, graphic designer, and visual merchandiser. If that was not enough breadth of diversity, Brett also served as a US Army Ranger and is a current Sergeants Major in the US Army. Brett has been immersed in design for almost 30 years.
Spending an abundance of his career working with specialty leasing entrepreneurs to create unique and successful in-line, kiosk and RMU designs and merchandising strategies. Brett has developed an exceptional background in retail design tailored on achieving the greatest results within any given design budget leading him to win a number of “Visual Victory” awards over the years. Brett’s achievements at the Mall of America go beyond his “Visual Victory” award winning store and cart designs. He was featured on HGTV and Travel Channel specials for his mall holiday décor and store design sets. He has also gained recognition for moving past an Aesthetic only mentality, influencing stunning functionable kiosk designs and retail props. When Brett isn’t spending his time creating a design strategy for the next hit Mall of America store you can find him adding design touches to his own home, creating a masterpiece landscape in his yard on the lake, or out in the boat fishing with his family.
Liad Biton, CEO, Live POS
Liad Biton, is the Chief Executive Officer of CSS LivePOS. LivePOS® was developed in 2001 and is now the leader in Point of Sale Solutions for the Cart and Kiosk Industry; with over 11,000 customers and 50,000 daily users in 20 different countries. Liad is a serial entrepreneur and a speaker on the topics of retail technology, computerized management solutions, and business innovation. At a young age Liad is continuing to expand his business success together with his teams around the globe (USA, China, Philippines, and Israel).
Suzanne Cayley, Vice President, Specialty Leasing & Partnerships, Ivanhoe Cambridge
Suzanne K. Cayley is Vice-President, Specialty Leasing and Partnerships with Ivanhoe Cambridge. Ivanhoe Cambridge is a pre-eminent Canadian-based global property owner, developer and investor. Ivanhoe Cambridge owns, manages and develops a portfolio of some 70 market dominant regional and super-regional shopping centers, in Canada, Europe, Brazil, China and Scotland.
Suzanne has been with Ivanhoe Cambridge for 18 years; and oversees the Special Leasing and Partnership department in Canada and supports the program in Europe. Managing a team of 29 people she is passionate and committed to growing the industry and has been an avid supporter of SPREE and Specialty Retail Report since its conception. Offering over 27 years experience in the Specialty Leasing industry, Suzanne is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and served on the former Specialty Retailing Conference committee for five years and is on the advisory board for Specialty Retail Report. She was the Chair of the Specialty Retailing Conference in 2007 and site on the Certified Leasing Specialist Education Committee for 2012/2013. She recently received the Specialty Retail Report Hall of Fame Award for Specialty Leasing Director of the Year for her drive, passion and teaching to enhance the industry. She is an active volunteer in her community, sailor, skier and mother of two daughters and married to Chris for 28 years. She has the total pleasure of coming into work everyday loving her job.
Jessica Dalton, Director of Specialty Leasing, Tanger Outlet Centers
Jessica Dalton, oversees all temporary retail leasing for the Tanger Outlet portfolio, including in-line stores and RMUs. Her responsibilities include interfacing with new project development team in planning; and the design of RMU’s in new and existing projects; negotiating lease documents and design approval for tenants; and monitoring of budgets. Jessica joined Tanger in 1997 in an administrative role in the Leasing Department with a background in Construction and Real Estate. During her tenure with Tanger, she has advanced to Leasing Systems Manager, to Specialty Leasing Representative in 2002 and is currently the Director of Specialty Leasing. Jessica has earned Specialty Leasing Designation and ICSC certification as a Senior Certified Leasing Specialist. Jessica is married with 2 children and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Anita Davis, Vice President, Specialty Leasing, The Taubman Company
Anita Davis, Vice President, Specialty Leasing for Taubman Centers Inc., has been an industry leader in Specialty Leasing for more than a decade. Since she joined the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman in December 1997, she has spearheaded the creation of a new department as well a comprehensive specialty leasing program for RMU’s, kiosks and temporary in-line stores at 30 Taubman shopping centers nationwide.
Davis came to Taubman from Compass Retail in Atlanta, GA, where she spent five years as Vice President of Specialty Leasing. During that time, she created a start-up Specialty Leasing Department for the organization. Davis has also worked in various capacities in retail and commercial real estate for Equity Properties & Development Limited Partnership, First Capital Financial Corporation and VanKampen, Morris and Stone (VMS) Realty Partners, all Chicago based companies. Born and raised in Chicago, Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola University of Chicago.
Rebecca Fitts, Owner, Pop-Up Marketing
Pop-Up Stores for Retailers
In 2010 Pop-up Marketing founder, Rebecca Fitts, co-created Imilla Road, a company which “popped” up once a month in a different part of New York City, offering in-season and affordable apparel and accessories, while also acting as a co-op for new and emerging designers. Imilla Road’s success was ahead of the retail pop-up curve and the idea for Pop-up Marketing was born after Fitts recognized the demand from retailers and consumers looking for new and unique shopping experiences.
Rebecca Fitts’ experience creating pop-ups from scratch includes finding spaces to maximize exposure, operations, merchandising the space, staffing, producing a successful launch, managing the breakdown and everything else in between. She has over a decade of experience in conceptualizing and implementing public relations and marketing campaigns for major and emerging brands.As a 2013 speaker for SPREE, Rebecca took some time to answer five questions on her seminar topic – Pop-Up Stores for Retailers.
Please tell us a little about yourself and your company.
Pop-Up Marketing offers services for you to plan and implement your next retail pop-up experience. Whether you are testing a new market, launching a brand or bringing your online business to the brick-and-mortar world, Pop-ups are tools for businesses to stand out in today’s crowded market place. Pop-up Marketing can service you from soup to nuts or at any juncture in your pop-up process.
Please describe a little bit about what your session will cover:
This session will cover all the steps and secrets to create a successful pop-up shop. Starting from finding the place, creating your operations, buying inventory, insurance, licenses, moving-in and out, merchandising and promoting your shop – we’ll cover it all so you can leverage it all.
Why do you think this an important seminar topic for specialty retailers/specialty retail industry?
Pop-Ups are a great way to take your store and brand to the next level. It’s a great way to test a market (without the cost and stress of a long term lease), launch a brand, bring an online business to brick and mortar, move inventory and build your brand.
What is the #1 take away you hope attendees gain from your session?
We want SPREE attendees to understand that the definition of Pop-Ups is expanding by the minute and it’s totally possible to create one whether you’re a big brand or small one. There IS a formula to creating a great pop-up shop that anyone can do.
Can you give us a sneak peek on one tip you will be sharing in your seminar?
Attendees will learn what the biggest challenge is to popping-up and how to overcome it. Spoiler Alert: It’s a finding the right time and place! We will give you all the tools to get it right.
Deborah Georgetti-Piro, Senior Vice President, Mainstreet, The Mills/A Simon Company
Deborah J. Georgetti-Piro, CLS is Senior Vice President of Mainstreet for The Mill/A SIMON Company based in Chevy Chase, MD. In her position, Ms. Georgetti-Piro oversees the department which handles all short term leasing and permanent kiosks for the Mills portfolio. She is responsible for its income generation, overall management and visual presentation. Prior to joining The Mills, Ms. Georgetti-Piro served as Vice-President of Business Development for General Growth Properties, Chicago, IL and Director of Specialty Leasing for Corporate Property Investors, New York, NY.
She has a total of over 26 years of combined experience in permanent leasing, specialty leasing and sponsorship. Ms. Georgetti-Piro is an active member of the ICSC CLS Committee and a Dean of Leasing for the 2013 University of Shopping Centers. Ms. Georgetti-Piro and her husband, Ernie, reside in Great Falls, Virginia with their two daughters, Abbey and Amanda.
Linda Johansen-James – CEO/COO, American Kiosk Management
Linda Johansen-James is currently the CEO/COO of American Kiosk Management. She oversees in excess of 1200 employees and over 8500 carts in the US and Canada representing Proactiv Skin Care and Sheer Cover Mineral Make-Up and WEN Hair Care. She is responsible for setting the companies strategic direction and delivering on the company’s mission to caring for customer’s concerns.
Linda joined AKM in 2002 and has held many postions within the company including: National Recruiter and Trainer, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and currently Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Under Linda’s leadership, the company has continued to have unpresidented growth and the company has become the largest Specialtiy Retailer in the world. Her strong leadership skills have lead AKM through their most successful years of business, and she continues to lead the company’s growth and profitiability. Her top priorities include streghening and growing brands, maximizing sales while increasing profits and attracting and retaining top talent. Linda is a frequent speaker at the International Council of Shopping Centers and Speciality Retailer Conference. She is on the board for the International Council of Shopping Centers Annual Conference and is currrently on the Education Committee for writing the critera for the Global Certification for Leasing Managers. She also currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Camp Soaring Eagle Foundation,a medically based camping program for children with life threatening illness. Linda is also active with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in many aspects and sits on the Leadership Council Board. Linda also support many other charitable organizations.
Jerry Jones, Regional Manager – Specialty Retail, CBL & Associate Properties
Jerry Jones began with CBL & Associates Properties in 2001 as the Assistant General Manager for Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC where he quickly grew the Specialty Leasing program into the first $2 million dollar program in the company. In 2005, Jerry was promoted to District Specialty Retail Manager working mainly in central North Carolina to help grow programs for CBL centers in NC & SC regions. In 2010, her was promoted to Regional Manager of Specialty Retail for the Carolina Region of CBL Centers.
Jerry’s program at Hanes Mall has won several Visual Victories Awards over the year and in 2007, Jerry received a Maxi Award for the “Piedmont Retail Business Challenge”, a business plan contest involving three CBL centers in central NC. Prior to joining, CBL, Jerry owned and operated an independent animation & cartoon art gift store in North Carolina.
Deborah S. Kravitz, SCLS – Partner, Pro Retail, Inc. (PRI)
Deborah S. Kravitz is a partner in Pro Retail, Inc. (PRI), a specialty retail leasing real estate consulting firm. PRI creates, leases, merchandises and manages specialty leasing programs for shopping centers, lifestyle and entertainment venues, municipalities, airports and other transportation locations. PRI has worked on high profile projects for Steadfast Properties; Trademark; Miller Capital Advisory; Jamestown Properties; Festival Companies; Vestar Management; CBRE; the Los Angeles International Airport; San Diego International Airport and many others.
In addition, PRI developed, owns and manages the high profile Denver International Airport RMU/Kiosk program, which is the largest common area program in an airport location. Deborah is a frequent speaker at ICSC conferences including ICSC RECON and Fall Conventions; ICSC ASIA Conference and the ICSC FUSION Conferences. She has conducted seminars on Specialty Leasing for the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers (MECSC) in Dubai, UAE. She is on the advisory board of Specialty Retail Report and SPREE.
As a 2013 speaker for SPREE, Deborah took some time to answer five questions on her seminar topic – Retail 101, 102 & 103 – Everything You Need to Know
Please tell us a little about yourself and your company.
PRI is a specialty leasing consulting firm started over 15 years ago by myself, and my partner, Ross V. Provenzano, and between us we have over 60 years of retail management, merchandising, product development and other related experience. We work with shopping centers, transportation hubs and municipalities to create, lease, manage, merchandise and consult on specialty leasing including carts, RMU’s, Kiosks and short term inline stores. Our company has trained and experienced staff all over the country, and we work in locations as diverse as my home base of Southern California, to Alaska, Texas, New York and even Martinique.
Please describe a little bit about what your session will cover.
These three sessions are an overview of how to run a retail business and make money! They will be presented together for those who are interested in learning everything there is to know about starting and operating a specialty retail business.
Why do you think this an important seminar topic for specialty retailers/specialty retail industry?
This is an important topic because it is essential for retailers to be successful in the specialty retail industry to learn the basics- from retail math to buying, from merchandise content to visual display, from customer service to hiring. All of these topics are critical to maintaining an existing business, and growing a business.
What is the #1 take away you hope attendees gain from your session?
The #1 take away is to ensure that the retailers, specialty leasing management and leasing attendees understand retailing. A greater understanding will show how to make the business agreement profitable for both sides.
Can you give us a sneak peek on one tip you will be sharing in your seminar?
The biggest sneak peek is the value of visual merchandising to productivity and sales.
John Krumnow, Director of Special Opertaions, Pro Retail Inc.
The Art of Negotiation for Retailers
John is the Director of Special Operations with an emphasis on the PRI Denver International Airport RMU/Kiosk Asset Management Program. John has over twenty years of experience in retail stores and specialty retail. He began his career working in Houston for a locally owned sporting goods chain where he advanced to general manager of stores. In this role, he oversaw the operations and management of four stores.
In 2006 at the request of a franchise owner he started a four-unit RMU program from the ground up developing the Go Gizmobies concept. Next, John joined the Personalized by Santa team in its Christmas initiative in the role of Regional Manager. John spent several years with the Rosetta Stone company first as the Southwest Regional Manager and then promoted to the position of Director of Business Development Airports. In the first role he was responsible for location selection, lease negotiation, operations and management. In his second role, as the person responsible for business development of airports, he successfully negotiated six airport contracts for new locations for the company in one year. In October 2010 John was pictured and quoted in an issue of Airport Revenue News magazine for an article about brand placement in airports. Before joining PRI, John’s latest position was with the @Dell Experience Center Program being developed and managed by BDS Marketing. As the Director of Stores West John launched twenty-two kiosk store locations in ten days in six states and managed all aspects of store operations. John has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the South Texas College of Law and is a graduate of Southern Methodist University. He is an avid sportsman who enjoys golf, scuba diving and skiing. John has regularly attended the Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo (SPREE) and is an ICSC member.As a 2013 speaker for SPREE, John took some time to answer five questions on his seminar topic – The Art of Negotiation for Retailers.
Please tell us a little about yourself and your company.
PRI is a specialty leasing consulting firm started over 15 years ago. PRI works with shopping centers, transportation hubs and municipalities to create, lease, manage, merchandise and consult on specialty leasing including carts, RMU’s, Kiosks and short term inline stores. Our company has trained and experienced staff all over the country, and we work in locations as diverse as my home base of Southern California, to Alaska, Texas, New York and even Martinique.
Please describe a little bit about what your session will cover.
The Art of Negotiation will be taught in five highlighted sections:
Who-who do you contact, which will include descriptions of mall management structure locally and nationally
When-what is the best time to start a specialty retail negotiation including seasonal and non-seasonal opportunities
Where-the art of getting a choice location
What-the licensing agreement will be broken down term by term and discussed in detail
How-combines all of the above, with a discussion of what you can and cannot achieve, including single unit agreements, seasonal agreements and multi-unit deals
Why do you think this an important seminar topic for specialty retailers/specialty retail industry?
Merchant negotiations with the mall management team is the only point in the specialty retail licensing process where the merchant may gain control over the unit’s location, length of term and the amount of monthly rent.
What is the #1 take away you hope attendees gain from your session?
The goal of the Art of Negotiation seminar is having the attendees gain insight into the entire specialty retail licensing process. The attendees will gain knowledge on what terms are negotiable and what terms are dictated by management. Tactics will be presented that will help all attendees better position their business in the future.
Can you give us a sneak peek on one tip you will be sharing in your seminar?
Research, Research, Research!
Howard Lim – Founder, How Creative
Expanding Your Business Internationally – Why Branding Your Product is Important
Howard Lim earned his stripes as a world-class brand specialist over the last 25 years through hands on experience, hard work, dedication, and setting new standards in countless industries. His award winning company at HOWCreative.com, established in 1987, was the first innovative multiple disciplinarian authentic branding firm in Los Angeles which has produce billions of dollars in profits, value and equity for his clients. His firm specializes in just about every industry and channel in the global market.
Howard Lim’s most recent Kiosk client was Opticwash, an innovative company who approached Howard when their idea was merely on a napkin and one of SPREE 2012’s hottest exhibitors. With Howard’s strategic positioning and branding, Opticwash won the Grand Prix Award at INPEX – the Invention and New Product Exposition. Additionally, he positioned them to launch their product into the international arena.After branding thousands of companies, products and services and bringing them to market, Howard decided to give equal access to all size companies and has taught over 31,500 entrepreneurs on the business language of branding.
As a 2013 speaker for SPREE, Howard took some time to answer five questions on his seminar topic – Expanding Your Business Internationally. This session will be in a panel discussion format of which, Howard will be a participant among other veteran retailers and wholesalers.
Please describe a little bit about what your session will cover:
This session will give the panel a chance to discuss all different areas of how specialty retail businesses can work to expand. Specifically, my expertise and insight will focus on clarifying your brand identity, understanding if your company or product is well positioned to expand internationally and how to transforms a business, product and service into a international brand.
Why do you think this an important seminar topic for specialty retailers?
We live in a global economy where people want to connect and experience other brands from other countries. For instance, Americans, want Italian made shoes and ice cream or Chinese want American products like Apple technology. People want to connect with specialty retail brands that represent their aspiration and lifestyle.
If you don’t have a strong and unique specialty retail brand, you just have a service or product. And in this case you will be seen as a commodity and get beaten up on price and loose customers and sales. You will not be able to grow far domestically nor internationally.
What is the #1 take away you hope attendees gain from your session?
My intention is to have every SPREE attendee walk away with a ten thousand dollar lesson plan.
Can you give us a sneak peek on one tip you will be sharing in your seminar?
One tip we will discuss is “Brand Vision”. One of the most critical ingredients needed for sustainability and expansion internationally of any company is a brand vision. As a CEO, ask yourself: do you have a Brand Vision that inspires all of your stakeholders domestically and internationally?
A brand vision should provide guidance and inspiration in the process of critical decision-making. All international decisions should lead and channel to the brand vision. It must be grander and of more substance than a dollar amount. That is a very common mistake. A dollar amount simply isn’t big enough to inspire the customer or stakeholders internationally. The brand vision should be based on what change and legacy you want to leave behind on this planet.
Is there anything else you want to share with SPREE attendees interested in attending this seminar?
There’s always FREE giveaways for those participating in the session
Patricia Norins, Publisher & Founder, Specialty Retail Report
Patricia Norins is the Publisher and Founder of Specialty Retail Report, the industry trade magazine for retail entrepreneurs. Norins has 18+ years of experience in both the publishing and retail industry.
She started her career in family-owned seasonal retail stores (400 kiosk locations nationwide), and later managed a well-known chain store, Casual Corner. In 1997, Norins launched Specialty Retail Report. Currently, Norins publishes SRR, GIFT Shop Magazine, GREEN Retailer, and a how-to book for cart and kiosk retailers—Ultimate Guide to Specialty Retail. Norins also produces a tradeshow for the specialty retail industry—SPREE. In addition, Norins serves as a consultant and speaker to retailers and wholesalers across the country.
Rob Rasmussen, Regional Manager – Specialty Retail, CBL & Associates Properties
Rob Rasmussen has over 20 years of shopping center management and marketing experience. Since 2002 Rob has been with CBL as a regional specialty retail manager. Prior to 2002, Rob worked at five different regional shopping centers in various mall management and marketing positions with Jacobs Group, General Growth Properties and a small one-mall shopping center owner over a 12-year span dating back to 1988.
Rob received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1988. While Rob currently oversees specialty retail for CBL’s 13-center Madison Region, he also serves as the point person and closely manages many local, regional and national relationships for CBL, including See’s Candies, Crocs, Rosetta Stone, SolarX, Cellairis, Kitchen Collection, Seacret Spa and several other seasonal and year-round retailers.
