The Retail Bus Tour is now boarding. No, these are not charter coaches for shoppers — unless one happens to be shopping for commercial space. Under the tagline “Thinking Outside the Office,” these whirlwind tours of up to 40 shopping centers give industry insiders the type of close-up-and-personalview of a shopping center that is impossible to acquire from mere site plans, fliers and e-mails.
Co-founders Gary Broidis (a former Wall Street financial analyst and also co-founder of Net Properties Corp. and Atlantic Commercial Group) and Larry Brooks (a retail leasing specialist) say such tours offer concentrated access to deal makers, tenants and trade areas that can lead to multiple deals.
The all-day, multi-bus tours cost $99 per head and accommodate up to 150 participants. “You get all the rents, incentives and redevelopment plans right from the horse’s mouth,” Broidis said. “It’s very effective.” The Retail Bus Tour operates in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee and is working on agreements elsewhere. Participants get a tour book detailing the shopping centers’ marketing and demographics data, and a backpack stuffed with giveaways, plus two meals and a networking reception.