An intro to
Gary Marshall
If you’d have asked me in 2024 what I might be doing the very next year, I would never have guessed that the answer would be, ‘I’m starting a new consultancy championing the retail tenant, advising retailers from indies to FTSEs on property accounts payable, and passing on knowledge to in-house estates teams and even students’.
I most definitely would not have predicted a podcast. My own podcast, featuring me, my ‘wisdom’, and my go-to people in the field of retail estates management.
I’m probably not on my own there. I don’t imagine many people would have foreseen me behind a mic and on socials!
Even so, a year ago, I already knew that something … something was coming.
Something that could pass on an experiential portfolio spanning three decades and a dozen retailers to current and upcoming estates management/property accounts payable people. Something that could especially drive home the need to focus on what I’ve come to think of as the ‘Venn Diagram Overlap’ between the two departments.
Something that could let retail tenants - from the mom-and-pop run mini-chain to the super-sized mammoths of the mall - that there’s hope of an answer when panic sets in. That their cause matters. That they form a community - and communities support each other.
Something that would highlight to retail tenants the scale of the money they could be putting back into the business instead of losing sleep, staff and even shops.
So here we are. I’m That Retail Property Guy. And my aim is to make life easier. As we like to say in the industry, proper prior process planning prevents poor property portfolio performance. If I can help with that planning - and remediation where the planning stage has passed - please get in touch.
Strategies for the Exec
Your C-Suite and even your CFO and Finance Directors may not know what they don’t know about retail estate management, despite property being their second most expensive resource after people costs. Accordingly, they may be missing out on millions on the bottom line. I can help with some gap analysis and familiarisation.
Estates Management /AP Teams
Let me take a look at your back-office functions in that Estates Management and Accounts Payable overlap. I can suggest how to upskill and train in-house staff, how to out-source operations and shared services for this very niche skillset, or how to effectively combine the two for maximum efficiencies, cost saving and cash reclaims.
Learning and Development
There’s no substitute for experience in this grey and gritty area of the retail world. My team and I can pass on that experience. Together, we can work out a bespoke solution that targets the right type of learning events and practices, from online to in-person, from YouTube to Moodle, for maximum upticks in performance.
Lease and Negotiation Expertise
Whether you’re starting from scratch, expanding your boutique brand, or heading in the opposite direction, I can advise on the leases you have already signed or will sign in the future. This is especially pertinent when the landlord applies pressure or change. With guidance, you may just find your business strategy and forecast shifting, or your future salvaged.
Retail Property Identification
The retail property market is vast and complicated, and it’s not just the obvious things that impact on the likelihood and scale of your success. If you’re hoping to identify new premises or opportunities to expand, I can provide a guide to the corners you can’t yet see around. Because proper prior process planning prevents … Oh. Said that already.
Championing Retail Tenants
I’ve spent my career supporting retail tenants through choppy waters, whether that’s a result of a landlord’s change of heart or ownership, or new legislation because of a council or government’s change of heart or ownership. I can help provide updates and recommended action plans or collate lobbies to parliament. Community matters.