Don't bring a knife to a gunfight: Placer.ai

Alternatively: Bring a gun to a knife fight

Welcome to Issue #1 of (un)real estate. Each issue I will shine a spotlight on one startup and how it is helping real estate operators succeed in these trying times. If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with others.

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Asset Type: Retail

The Need: As retailers across the country remain closed, they have all turned to landlords for rent relief. And the re-opening of stores will not halt the growing imbalance in the retailer-landlord power dynamic: tenants will continue to maintain leverage in light of decreased foot traffic and sales, and will use this to their full advantage when re-negotiating existing leases or negotiating new deals.

The only way for landlords to counteract this narrative is to approach all such negotiations armed with data and competitive intelligence that is specific to that retailer and to that location.

• Landlords need to know how strong this location has been historically for the retailer relative to other locations in the trade area and around the country

• Landlords need to be able to monitor their “new normal” for foot traffic and to know how it compares to competing properties, having visibility into how this location bounces back relative to others once stores re-open

With this data in-hand, landlords can confidently know if they are in a relative position of strength or weakness in each specific negotiation across their portfolio.

This is the kind of data that today’s startup provides..

Spotlight

Company: placer.ai

Funding Stage: Post Series A | Traction: Customers include Brixmor, JLL, SRS, Regency and Caesars Entertainment

Description: Placer.ai collects geolocation and proximity data from millions of mobile devices throughout the US that are enabled to share that information. Using this data, Placer analyzes real-time foot traffic to help its clients make decisions like where to rent or buy properties, when to run promotions and how to manage assets.

Pro tip: You can use Placer’s data to play offense by targeting tenants in nearby properties whose foot traffic is slower to recover than your own.

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If you would like an introduction to Placer or to any of the startups featured in (un)real estate, I would be happy to facilitate.

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Have a phenomenal week,

David