✨ Welcome to a four part series we’re calling “What makes Pedal so unique and effective in the retail real estate industry.” Otherwise known as “Why we need our own TV show pronto.” ✨
Today we’re discussing point #1:
Our business model is not reliant on lease commissions or equity in our clients’ businesses.
Have you ever spent 23 minutes trying to get the attention of a bartender on a busy Saturday night at a nightclub? Have you stood on your tip toes and tried waving cash? Have you wondered if maybe they don’t see you because you’re only five feet tall, or because you’ve never been able to dress cool like you’re at a club in your 20s even when you’re clearly at a club in your 20s
...We’re going to try something different. Most weeks, we write about retailing, real estate concepts, processes, clients and cardinal rules…and I don’t think we’ve ever really made Pedal the center of the story.
Today and for the next few weeks, we’re taking center stage. Which, you may not be surprised to hear, is a perfectly happy place for us seeing as Abby honed her stage skills over many summers at theater camp, and Sheila won the top prize for her persuasive senior speech in 1999. Netflix! Call us!
Anyhow, here’s why we’re going to talk about us.
Pedal is the only commercial real estate brokerage that focuses on independent and start-up retailers. Seriously, Google it, ...
When’s the last time you went to a tailor?
I went two weeks ago. I go to IBO’s Tailor Shop in downtown Norfolk, because this guy is an absolute magician. For those of us who are “non-standard” height (in my head I’m 5’ 9”, but my doctor and the DMV say I’m 5’ 0”), having one’s clothes tailored is the key to looking like an actual respectable adult. That is, if you care about things like that, which I do.
Most recently I had Ibo fix a pair of white jeans, which I had previously (foolishly) taken for “alterations” at my local (also beloved) dry cleaner. Turns out that someone who is capable of hemming is not necessarily capable of a more complex “taking in” of a waist. Before this, I...
I’m endlessly amused by the list of symptoms at the end of prescription drug commercials. Watching gracefully aging actors skipping blithely through a meadow with a 🦋 butterfly net, or 🎨 oil painting in a sun-streaked garage studio juxtaposed with the voiceover listing (as quickly as physics and the law allow) the list of dire and bizarre side effects always makes me chuckle. I’m not alone - Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader memorably spoofed these commercials on SNL in 2014… which was four lifetimes ago, yet the joke still works.
I’ve wondered why these commercials exist at all when, most of the time, the side effects get more airtime than the benefits of the drug. You’d think that ⚠️ warning...
One of my great fears in life (besides clowns) is being suddenly thrust into a talent competition. I’m not a singer, I don’t play any instruments, and while my dance floor skills are excellent, my training came from the 1994 Bat Mitzvah circuit, so not exactly Julliard.
I have, however, realized that I do have some very specific…abilities?...that sometimes elicit responses like an “oh, wow, that’s cool.” Since you’re dying to know, I’ll share:
🍺 I’m very good at identifying the alcohol content of beers by taste
🥃 I can quite accurately determine the volumetric measurement of a liquid in a container by sight
🎤 I have near perfect accuracy in picking the “wrong” horse, so to speak. P...
Remember the “I was today years old when I learned…” moment on TikTok where we all learned a lot of trivia like Australia is wider than the moon? Or the IRL moment when Sheila (at 35) finally figured out that Free Slurpee Day is always on July 11th (get it? 7/11!)
Today, we have one for you: big retailers are able to thrive in commercial real estate (when mom-and-pops struggle) because… retail real estate is actually a core business function for these larger companies.
Think about it -- if you’re Starbucks, your real estate is not something you have to deal with periodically… it’s an everyday thing. You’re constantly opening stores, closing stores, renewing leases, making modif...
Dear Pedal,
There is a space in my neighborhood that has been vacant for, no joke, probably four years at this point. Definitely since before the pandemic. Season after season I watch the “For Lease” signs in the window fade and age, and it doesn’t look like there’s anything happening.
So, my question is this – why wouldn’t the landlord lower the rent to make the space attractive rather than just let it continue to sit vacant? It is seriously killing me… this space could be the home to some awesome local business instead of the nothing/ eyesore it currently is.
Yours truly,
Thoughtful Neighbor
Well, hi, Neighbor, and thanks for your excellent question. Here at Pedal, we get differ...
I (Abby) do not have any tattoos. This will come as a surprise to many, who are surely thinking “but she SO cool and edgy. So counterculture! She really makes redlines seem punk rock.” 👩🏻🎤
I do, however, have a number of retail real estate truisms that would come in handy if I ever DID have them tattooed on my body. Chief among them? “EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE”
As we negotiate our deals, Pedal Retailers learn this is true. Pedal Retailers save $115,000 on average per lease – and that’s just just the tip of the iceberg.
✅ Need three months free after you open to ramp up sales? Let’s ask for it.
✅ Need short term parking out front for online order pickup? Let’s ask for it.
...
