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We’ve all heard talk and seen the headlines that the retail apocalypse is upon us. Listening to the news, it sounds like brick-and-mortar retail centers are going the way of the dinosaurs. However, that’s really not the case. While retail is definitely in the midst of significant change, it’s certainly not on the verge of collapse. As our guest this episode says:

“Retail isn’t dead, bad retail is dead”

Beth Azor is a commercial real estate broker and owner of Azor Advisory Services. She’s also a seasoned real estate investor focusing on retail properties. Joining Terra Nova in 1986, Beth got her start in real estate assisting with commercial leasing. She handled mainly office leasing but was also involved with retail leasing, which is where her love for that asset class formed. Eventually, she worked her way up to President at Terra Nova, but left to spend time with her family and to focus on her own real estate investing goals.

She now owns five retail centers and an office building that she plans to convert to retail. Beth doesn’t worry too much about the doom-and-gloom talk concerning retail investing, despite the worries of some, Beth sees a sunny future for retail. She has developed creative strategies for both finding and filling retail centers that offer strong returns.

5 Creative Strategies for Filling Retail Centers

Feet-on-the-street canvasing and property searches
- Make physical visits to properties; open a dialogue with retail owners
The power of social media
- “Networking on steroids”
Dedicated involvement with local Chamber of Commerce
- Build trust among chamber members
Visiting corporate offices
- In-person visits can go a lot further than a phone call
Small group broker networking
- Connect with small groups of brokers; find similar interests