The Children's Place

A Perfect Fit.

When The Children’s Place, a fully integrated retailer of children’s apparel, began their relationship with Resource Realty in the early 90s, they couldn’t have predicted how critical it would be to have a strategic commercial real estate partner on their team. Almost 20 years later, this enduring relationship exemplifies the benefits of the Resource Realty business model that combines a wealth of internal experience with the flexibility to develop a network of external resources, both locally and nationally.

Rightsizing

500 Plaza Drive, Secaucus

The ability to quickly adjust to changes in the economy is a key to business success, particularly in the ever-changing retail industry. In the case of The Children’s Place, this has required responsiveness first to support of rapid expansion and of an acquisition, and then to consolidation as the result of a divestiture.

In the early 90s, Resource Realty worked with local senior management on a five-year expansion plan that called for short-term warehouse and office space lease negotiations and ultimately consolidation to a new 203,000 SF headquarters facility in Secaucus, NJ. In further support of the expansion strategy, The Children’s Place sought a West Coast distribution facility. Teaming with the right brokers in targeted markets, we were able to secure a state-of-the-art 248,000 SF distribution center.

In 2006, The Children’s Place acquired the Disney Store chain, once again creating the need for a variety of corporate real estate support, including the addition of another distribution facility. Resource Realty assembled a team, which included site search consultants to study real estate, labor and economic development incentives. When a site was selected in Fort Payne, Alabama, Resource Realty coordinated securing the construction team, which included builders, construction management, expeditors, and project engineers to oversee the project. The result was a state-of-the-art 700,000 SF distribution facility, which significantly reduces the company's time and cost to market.

In 2009, in response to a radically different economy, the decision was made to focus on the successful and steadily growing core business. Resource Realty successfully orchestrated the relocation and consolidation of four office locations into a new 130,000 SF headquarters. The transaction required the negotiation of two lease terminations and coordination of the relocation of an e-commerce operation. One of the largest commercial real estate transactions of the year in NJ , it is projected to save The Children's Place million of dollars over the lease term.

When it comes to partnering for business success, Resource Realty and The Children’s Place have been a perfect fit.