NEW YORK — As part of an on-going effort to strategically expand Jones Lang LaSalle’s overall retail platform, the firm today announced it has acquired Surge Retail International, a leading New York and Boston-based specialty retail tenant representation firm. As the retail sector continues to gain traction in its recovery, this acquisition will enable JLL Retail to nimbly respond to the increase in client demand for national market knowledge and tenant representation expertise. The price was undisclosed.
Surge Retail’s co-founders, Steve Ferris and Michael Hirschfeld, will join the firm as senior vice presidents and co-lead JLL’s National Retail Tenant Services practice. They will work closely with Lew Kornberg to expand the firm’s retail tenant representation capabilities, targeting premium and high-end retailers occupying space in enclosed malls, outlet centers and dense, urban retail markets across the United States, as well as international retailers wanting to expand throughout North America.
“The addition of Surge Retail strategically advances our quest to provide unparalleled service to a full spectrum of national retailers by utilizing JLL’s local market knowledge and expertise to execute the ever more demanding real estate mandates of those clients,” said Greg Maloney, CEO and president of Jones Lang LaSalle Retail. “Michael and Steve are seasoned veterans who know the nuances specific to main street retail, enclosed mall and outlet center spaces. The addition of this team and their highly specialized expertise allows us to offer our clients the most comprehensive retail platform in the industry.”
Michael Hirschfeld co-founded Surge Retail International. He has more than 35 years of experience as one of the leading professionals in the industry, specializing in urban retail real estate across the major markets in the United States. He is known for fiercely representing retailers such as All Saints, Barney’s Ben Sherman, Bose, Brioni, Brookstone, Diesel, Filson, Lindt Chocolate, Mont Blanc, Puma and Quiksilver, on main street locations including NYC’s Fifth Avenue, Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive. He graduated from New York University, and has been an instructor at the school’s Real Estate Institute.
“Under the direction of strong senior leadership, the Jones Lang LaSalle Retail team is quickly putting together the most dynamic and robust retail Tenant Representation platform in the United States,” said Hirschfeld. “Over the past few years, Steve and I were approached with a number of extremely appealing merger inquiries, but JLL and JLL Retail, in particular, stood out. They just ‘get’ it. Their worldwide presence, coupled with a group of talented retail specialists, made the decision to join JLL obvious. We look forward to being part of a growing business that is building a retail platform locally, strengthening it nationally and integrating it internationally to benefit our clients.”
Steve Ferris, co-founder of Surge Retail International, focuses on advocating for high-end retailers in the enclosed mall and outlet sector nationwide. His current clients include ALDO Shoe, Bare Minerals, Bose, Crabtree & Evelyn, Fossil, Groupe Dynamite, Lindt Chocolate and Swarovski. Steve has also been an integral part in project leasing for several prominent new developments and/or expansions of existing centers. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a semester abroad at London School of Economics.
“Our approach has always been to maximize our client’s’ portfolios,” said Ferris. “While opening new stores is the most exciting part of the business, we view every store as unique unto itself, advising on the best strategy and adding value to all of our client’s real estate decisions from expansion and contraction to design and location. While we may be an outsourced department, our clients view us as part of their company.”
During the past two years, Jones Lang LaSalle has added more than 30 brokers in major markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, Hawaii and Southern California. During the first half of 2013, JLL Retail has added more than 60 new assignments and more than 30 retail clients across the United States.
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About Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual revenue of $3.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle operates in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services to a property portfolio of 2.6 billion square feet and completed $63 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2012. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $47.7 billion of real estate assets under management. For further information, visit www.jll.com.