Sandy Sigal believes in a holistic approach to the properties he’s acquired. He pairs tech-savvy data gathering to understand trends and opportunities with a focus on creating shopping experiences consumers crave and connection with their communities.
This strategy is essential to making NewMark Merrill’s projects into successes, including the company’s latest California projects: the Rialto Village shopping center in the Inland Empire, which just completed preleasing, and the Corbin & Parthenia shopping center in the San Fernando Valley area, which is slated for renovations.
Knowing your customers allows you to account for their retail needs and desires in the best ways possible, explains Sigal, president and CEO of NewMark Merrill. Creating a place to shop means offering visitors an experience connected strongly to the retail center. “The customer wants to feel appreciated — they want to be part of a hunter-gatherer process. They want to feel connected, and they have a strong desire to share experiences. And shopping is a great experience,” says Sigal.
NewMark Merrill seeks to reinforce the fun and participation of the shopping center within the customer’s mind, to make these locations into a place to make memories, to celebrate and to return to over and over again for new experiences. Part of that ability to attract visitors is contingent upon taking part in the local community and making retail magnetic to those in surrounding communities. “Shopping as destination” is the philosophy Sigal follows, bolstering properties’ appeal with community-focused events, holiday celebrations and communications — as well as data collection that indicates how to improve centers.
Watch the interview to learn how NewMark Merrill is creating a positive feedback loop of retail experiences to develop loyalty in customers.
This video was created as part of the Retail Insight newsletter by Shopping Center Business, a brief newsletter series leading up to the ICSC 2023 LAS VEGAS conference and including post-conference video interviews. The videos in the publication are created in conjunction with our content partners, which sponsor the newsletter. Click here to subscribe.