NewMark Merrill Companies Announces the Launch of New Technology Affiliate
Woodland Hills, CA (May 14, 2014) – The rise of ecommerce and the growing ubiquity of the smartphone is re-shaping the brick and mortar shopping center business. In recognition of these trends, NewMark Merrill Companies has launched BrightStreet Ventures, a technology affiliate focused on developing new technology platforms that leverage its inherent advantages as shopping center owners and managers.
These advantages include:
Ownership and/or Management of 75+ shopping centers, and 10M square feet of Retail in three states.
Direct relationships with 1,500 merchants, including National Chains and Mom and Pops.
Thirty years of operating experience in the retail shopping center business.
“We believe that the rise of mobile has significant offensive and defensive implications for shopping centers owners and managers,” said Sandy Sigal, CEO of NewMark Merrill Companies, noting, “There is considerable evidence that merchants who embrace mobile strategies within their business see material sales lift, as compared to retailers who only embrace the physical channel. Towards that end, we intend to provide our industry the tools they need to make mobile-friendly and data-driven decisions about their business.”
BrightStreet will work with and add value to entrepreneurs’ ventures in the following ways:
Providing a ‘test tube’ for rolling out new platforms at shopping centers across a variety of geographic, economic and tenant mix environments.
Offering incubation, advisory and partner network access at NewMark Merrill’s headquarters.
Investing in entrepreneurs (i.e., check writing) with clear synergies to NewMark Merrill’s core business.
The new technology affiliate will be led by Mark Sigal, a five-time entrepreneur and angel investor with over 25 years of technology and real estate success, including exits to IBM, Intel and Apple. The BrightStreet Ventures team will be available at ICSC RECon Convention; Las Vegas, NV May 18th-20th. Booth number S3867-R Street.
NewMark Merrill Companies, Inc. owns or manages a portfolio of over 75 shopping centers. Since 1984 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sandy Sigal has led NewMark Merrill in a community leadership role at the company’s shopping centers in more than 45 cities throughout California, Colorado and Illinois. For more information, visit newmarkarchive.zabecki.com or www.brightstreetventures.com. For more information on NewMark Merrill Companies, contact Heather Danko at [email protected] or at 818-710-6100.