Building a Bigger Footprint for Bare Escentuals

Bare Escentuals, one of the fastest growing prestige cosmetic companies in the United States and the leader in mineral-based cosmetics, has experienced continuous growth ever since opening its first boutique in 1976. When the company decided to add horsepower to its retail boutique expansion, Bare Escentuals called upon RCS Real Estate Advisors for its growth anddevelopment expertise.

By evaluating the economics and demographics of countless locations to determine the best sites for their products, RCS Real Estate Advisors is helping Bare Escentuals realize their expansion goals: 40-50 new, 1,200-square-foot boutiques, positioned center-court in high-traffic malls, for each of the next few years. For more information about Bare Escentuals, please contact Eileen Mitchell, Executive Vice President.

RCS Real Estate Advisors Drives Growth of The Container Store

Since launching in 1978, The Container Store, known as the nation’s leading retailer of storage and organization products, has experienced tremendous growth. In order to get to the next level and keep their growth momentum moving forward, The Container Store needed experts to identify key locations on the West Coast. The Container Store executives turned to the leading retail real estate experts—RCS Real Estate Advisors—for their growth and development expertise. RCS Real Estate Advisors is using its retail real estate knowledge and its extensive relationships with landlords, to identify the right locations and negotiate the right lease terms, in order to drive The Container Store’s growth initiatives.

Currently operating 37 stores in 15 states nationwide, The Container Store is actively seeking single-level, 24,000-square-foot sites that are located in high-traffic, affluent areas.

For more information about The Container Store, please contact Roger Burghdorf, Senior Vice President or Warren Kiersh, Vice President.

Providing Property Disposition Services to Marsh Supermarkets

When Marsh Supermarkets, Inc., a grocery retailer headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, needed to dispose of underperforming locations, they turned to RCS Real Estate Advisors to provide property disposition services.

RCS Real Estate Advisors is assisting Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. with eliminating surplus properties at an auction scheduled for 11 a.m. on November 15, 2007, in Indianapolis. RCS, with their auction partner, will be selling 27 fee-owned properties including 12 retail grocery and other commercial properties, in addition to 15 retail development sites, in and around Indianapolis. For more information about the auction, please call 1.800.257.4161.

For more information about Marsh Supermarkets, please contact Spence Mehl, Senior Vice President.

Retail Consulting Firm Gains Clients, Revamps

RCS Real Estate Advisors, formerly Retail Consulting Services, recently added three new clients to its roster of retailers, cosmetics chain Bare Escentuals, former Limited Cos. apparel chain the Limited and Sbarro pizza restaurants. The addition comes at a time when the firm’s management is going through a rebranding phase. Since its founding in 1981, RCS has primarily helped distressed retailers dispose of real estate. It began offering store-expansion consulting for companies 18 months ago. The new name better describes the firm’s capabilities, Mitch Friedman, SVP of business development, tells GSR.

For both Bare Escentuals and Sbarro, RCS will head up growth initiatives. At Bare Escentuals, it will assist in growing the chain from its current 35-unit count to a goal of 75 by the end of next year. In the case of Sbarro, RCS is exploring non-traditional real estate opportunities for the mostly mall-based, 1,000-unit chain, in areas such as airports, college campuses and hospitals.

Additionally, the firm is helping Marsh Supermarkets dispose of about 30 markets in the Indianapolis area and is currently working with Forever 21 and Sears Holdings. In all, it currently has about 25 clients. “We really cut across all kinds of retail business,” says Roger Burghdorf, an SVP. RCS typically works with retailers between six and nine months. Every three to five years, the company looks to double its total client base.