overview strategic relationships our process & services case studies representative press
645 madison avenue new york ny 10022 | tel. 212 750 4680 | info@robertburkeassociates.com

r obert Burke Associates is a retail and consumer products consulting firm with particular expertise in the luxury sector. Founded by Robert Burke after a successful career as a luxury retailer, RBA, through it’s diversely experienced team, offers it’s clients highly specialized services tailored to meet their retail needs.
With extensive experience in the retail world and an in depth understanding of the retail landscape, including the global market of brands, RBA offers end-to-end consulting services for retail projects of all types, retail concept development, retail branding, project zoning and store planning, brand building as well as brand and retail relationships. RBA works with developers, owners, operators, leasing agents and brand executives on devising retail concepts for all types of real estate projects having retail components (including, shopping centers, office buildings, retail centers, hospitality, casinos, multi-family properties and mixed use developments) as well as branding, planning and managing the integration of all elements of such projects.
RBA’s involvement can begin as early as the initial planning stages of the development including reviewing space plans and architectural drawing. RBA offers formulation of a definitive retail philosophy for maximization of consumer draw in order to build a sustainable retail development. overview

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our process
& services our process & services
market analysis brand analysis concept development vendor mix assessment presentation book retail zoning & planning outreach negotiations recruitment financing

our process
& services
our process & services market analysis RBA will identify market opportunities and challenges and analyze local, regional, and international retail market segments applicable to a particular project’s anticipated retail focus.
brand analysis With in depth knowledge of the competitive landscape,
RBA will evaluate the project’s past operating performance and/or projected future performance and will determine the project’s weaknesses, challenges, opportunities and strengths. RBA will also assess the current market positioning of the retail store/property, analyze price points and evaluate the client’s competitive set.

our process
& services
concept development vendor mix assessment presentation book
RBA works in conjunction with the client in the development of both freestanding and multi-brand concepts. RBA identifies and develops different retail opportunities unique to the local market. Deliverable includes a comprehensive presentation with imagery that supports the overall look and feel.
RBA team works closely with the client to identify the most appropriate vendor mix, addressing the needs of the local market and the brand assortment that speaks to the identity of the proposed development.
RBA designs and produces a presentation book introducing the project highlighting information on the developer, and in some cases, the operator. The book acts as a visual identity for the project and is used to distill the essence and uniqueness of the project to targeted brands and operators. The physical presentation package clearly and strategically reflects the previously developed branding and positioning of the project in the concept development stage. retail zoning & planning RBA works with both developers and operators on the strategic zoning and planning of a mixed-use property development, freestanding retail concept, and multibrand retail concept. RBA assists in zoning and planning to ensure strategic brand adjacencies will be controlled throughout the process and the team collaborates with the project architects on optimizing the viability and productivity of the retail floors. our process & services

our process
& services
outreach negotiations recruitment financing
RBA utilizes its extensive network of high-level CEO and executive contacts at brands to arrange meetings in New
York and Europe to gauge the interest of possible retail partners and to facilitate tenant outreach. RBA acts as a liaison among all parties and each target brand during the logistics and implementation stage through to launch and opening.
RBA will work on behalf of the developer to engage the potential brand, and advise on the structuring and defining of terms.
RBA will work in conjunction with an identified recruiting agency to source qualified candidates for the team in order to have a successfully running retail operation.
RBA will recommend a captial structure that best fits your objectives and will identify potential lenders or investors with investment goals that match the defined captial structure. our process & services

case study 1
assessment planning execution
RBA executives traveled to Kazakhstan to meet with representatives of the prospective local partner, assessed the local market, and viewed the proposed sites available for development. RBA assessed the local demographics and retail climate by evaluating existing retail concepts and consumer brand awareness. RBA further evaluated the local and regional competition to better understand the market potential for Saks Fifth Avenue.
RBA identified viable brands to include in the vendor mix for the local market based on previous market research and findings. With an extensive understanding of the Saks Fifth Avenue brand and knowledge of the local consumer, RBA designed and developed a representative presentation book communicating the Saks Fifth
Avenue brand. This book was used in the engagement of highlevel executives at identified brands.
RBA engaged executives to begin initial discussion of the brand’s involvement with the property. RBA assisted in the negotiations of the relationship between the developer and the brand and continued to act as a liaison throughout the entire process. RBA successfully signed over 60 brands covering ready-to-wear, footwear, evening and handbags and accessories.

case study 2
assessment planning execution
RBA executives traveled to Beijing to evaluate the property and to understand the overall retail climate. In order to gain a full understanding of the retail landscape, RBA executives also traveled to Hong Kong, the city receiving high levels of Chinese consumers traveling from the Mainland, to understand the competitive landscape.
RBA developed a unique and exclusive retail concept that spanned three floors in two of the Pangu Plaza towers. This retail concept included women’s, men’s, children’s and lifestyle categories and is highly focused around personalized service and member’s only access. The concept development phase included a detailed presentation of zoning strategies and sample imagery that clearly illustrated the overall look and feel of each category in the retail concept.
RBA identified the categories that would be own and operated and the categories that have potential to be licensed. RBA developed organizational structures that would need to be implemented in order to successfully run categories that would be owned and operated by Pangu Plaza. With the organizational structure in mind, RBA engaged in third party executive recruiters to determine candidates for the outlined positions.

case study 3
assessment planning execution
RBA developed a comprehensive market positioning report for
The Breakers with respect to the Palm Beach market. This research specifically focused on the footwear landscape and clearly identified adjacencies and established the desired positioning within the market.
RBA assisted in the development of a footwear retail concept by highlighting unique retail elements that aligned with the overall brand of the property. Working in conjunction with the team,
RBA identified an appropriate brand assortment, vendor mix and product categories that catered to the identified customer but provided differentiation from its competitors.
RBA provided product assortment classification identifying the need for sandals, sneakers, casual and evening categories. RBA provided detailed layout of proposed retail space complete with strategic brand adjacencies.
RBA utilized its extensive network of high-level CEO and executive contacts to establish introductions between the targeted brands and The Breakers. RBA helped coordinate the meetings and work collaboratively with The Breakers throughout the process. The
Breakers successfully signed over 20 footwear brands to fill their retail space.