Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Zidell.
Jeremy, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Prior to founding RUE in the Fall of 2018, I spent 15 great years with The Retail Connection. During that time, I was a student of the national retail real estate landscape with an increasing focus on the urban core environments within those respective cities. In launching RUE, there were several influencing factors but the two worth expanding upon at length were as follows. Firstly, the apocalyptic moment that is oftentimes ascribed to retail is being painted with far too wide a brush and that, in fact, our industry is going thru a renaissance. Secondly, that our world is becoming a hyper-entrepreneurial place, which will create incredible opportunities for us to connect with our clients among an increasingly widening spectrum of possibilities. With those driving factors, we started a company that embraces the incredible pace of change with a decided focus on youth and continuing to positively impact urban core geographies across the country.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I always say that the path from A to Z is anything but a straight line. In a business that is highly people-centric, we are constantly dealing with idiosyncrasies. I wouldn’t change that for the world by the way. As a company that embraces entrepreneurialism, that oftentimes means we are pioneering, which, by definition, involves forging our own path. That path is wonderful but riddled with trial and error and imperfection but backed by good-intention. Lastly, we, alongside the world, are working our way thru the COVID-19 headwinds. Thankfully, we have a young company and youthful spirit which tends to rally in face of adversity, so I am confident that we will continue to keep morale high and pointed in the direction of progress.
Please tell us about RUE.
Our core business deals in the representation of retail businesses and landlords in the creation and implementation of their real estate strategies. For example, we are fortunate to represent best in class retailers such as Equinox, Allbirds, Bonobos, Sweetgreen and Mendocino Farms as well as urban core real estate including 40,000 square feet of the Knox District in Dallas, the West Village [also in Dallas], a collection of gorgeous buildings in The Houston Heights neighborhood, a key project along with South Congress in Austin and so on. Thankful to our relationships, we have also been fortunate on the private equity side to have invested in some incredible retailers who we confidently feel we can further advantage with real estate expertise. Based on our market knowledge, we have also successfully sourced real estate projects across the country.
I am most proud of our company’s work ethic and culture. Creating change takes hard work and dedication. It also means failure and perseverance. Our team is small but potent, and I continue to be inspired by what they teach me. In terms of setting us apart, I want to first state that we have definitely been a student of the business and taken inspiration from the places we’ve come from before RUE. We owe a debt of gratitude towards those that taught us the business. Otherwise and in terms of setting us apart, I think the answer to that lies in the way in which we are reinventing certain aspects of the way our business has traditionally been conducted. Specifically, the ways in which we collaborate with other companies. Additionally, I think our bet on youth is different than others and testament to the our long term view and ways in which we want to “incubate” our talent and culture. There are several other and more granular ways in which we distinguish ourselves but would require a more long-winded explanation!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I always had a very special relationship with my grandfather [Herman], who passed when I was 12. I distinctly remember the feeling of laying across the back of his Cadillac sedan, his plush cloth seats and the sun warming my forearms through the rolled-up windows and watching him from the backseat while some Frank Sinatra song played.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2616 Main St.
Suite 250 Dallas, TX 75226 - Website: www.RUE-re.com
- Phone: 214-651-6000
- Email: hello@RUE-re.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rue_re/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RUEcre
Image Credit:
Pic of partners with credit to Halli Makennah [www.hallimakenahphoto.com]
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