JLL introduces Retail Industrial Task Force

Earlier this week, Chicago-based industrial real estate firm JLL announced it is rolling out what it is calling a blended service model, in the form of a new Retail Industrial Task Force (RITF).

Company officials said that the objective of this offering is to simplify the needs of retailers, at a time when retailers have been rapidly forced to change operations on the fly, with a major shift to e-commerce operations, driven largely by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And they added that the RITF directly addresses the entire lifecycle of evolving real estate requirements between retailers and retail property owners, with its Retail, Industrial, and Capital Markets stakeholders joining forces to provide customers with customized real estate solutions through an end-to-end approach.  

“Pre-COVID, only the top global retailers were truly investing in and focusing on the last mile,” said Kris Bjorson, Head of Retail e-commerce Distribution, Americas at JLL, in a statement. “Now, that U.S. consumers have helped e-commerce surge above 20% of total retail sales—a three- to- five year leap forward, we see a tremendous opportunity to help all retailers in a better way—integrated as one team with every area of expertise required today.”

JLL’s Retail Industrial Task Force will provide various services for U.S.-based retail owners, occupiers, and investors, including: 

• supply chain consulting;
• retail & e-commerce distribution;
• urban logistics;  
• retail redevelopment;
• capital Markets scoring system for portfolios;
• industrial diagnostic process; and
• a proprietary system that looks at demand and metrics of real estate

In an interview, Craig Meyer, President of Industrial at JLL, explained that for more than ten years, JLL already had a retail e-commerce distribution group and formed the RITF to thoughtfully assemble a team of cross-functional experts in a disciplined and organized manner to address key issues and trends for its clients.

“It’s no secret that the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already well on their way,” said Meyer. “Last year, online sales were at 11% and this year during the pandemic sales are surging past 20%, leading more retail store operators to consider turning their empty department stores into last mile distribution centers. With JLL’s new blended service model, JLL will strategically cater to individual client needs with an end-to-end approach. JLL is now providing one simple, easy to understand approach by blending the firm’s service lines under one team. This new task force allows the team to better understand the needs of owners, the occupants of retail, and the owners of retail real estate, which were previously independent processes.”

In terms of what the RITF brings to the table for retailers, occupiers, and shippers, Meyer pointed to how they will develop a better understanding of what’s driving retail consumer buying habits today and how it impacts the U.S. supply chain and retail industry.

“The advantage is being able to understand how and where retailers will be growing in real estate,” he said. “For example, a retail store, shopping center or mall can ultimately be reused as a last mile fulfillment center. The focus is to understand where the need for urban fulfillment facilities will be in the high-density cities across the country and how to manifest it into real estate development. Another benefit is helping occupiers size their retail footprint and match that with their online distribution and fulfillment portfolios. For shippers, it’s understanding where it comes into play with the revised supply chain.”

And from a JLL perspective, Meyer pointed to a few competitive advantages that the RITF will provide.

“The advantages are integration, which before JLL’s task force used to be separate real estate divisions and approaches,” he noted. “For example, there are the retail site selection customers coming through the storefront and industrial supply chain customers coming through the warehouse door, and today both groups are walking into the same entrance arm and arm together. During these unprecedented times JLL is taking the time and effort to understand the fast-changing world and how everything fits together within real estate.”