The MAXIM Advantage

Conceived in 1993 by publisher/editor Therese Byrne, RetailMAXIM.net® provides independent opinions and proprietary analytics in all its research products, not conflicted by capital positions, agency and institutional relationships or influence of corporate governance. The objective has long been two-fold: To bridge the gap between retail and real estate analysis that continues to be underwritten as two mutually exclusive industries and asset classes and develop alternative benchmarks on performance that accounts for the rampant structural change impacting fundamentals and risk analytics that elude conventional valuation standards in the real estate capital markets and rating agencies (NRSROs.)

To achieve such ambitious requires a thorough working knowledge of the increasing complexities of retail and real estate in the past 40 years of evolution radically altering the dynamics of the spatial markets. In its extensive coverage of retail credits and formats, MAXIM® not only looks behind the “numbers but beyond the balance sheet drawing on intelligence gathered from field due diligence provided by Pantheon LLC (its affiliate consulting firm) and a vast network of practitioners operating, investing and underwriting a myriad of retail and real estate projects in the US and abroad.

By screening the markets for the “unexpected” of structural changes and shifting competitive landscape, the family of MAXIM® products and services has become a leading source for preemptive investing, establishing a track record in calling inflection points and dislocations in the retail and real estate sectors. By monitoring the innovation in the retailer’s merchandising model and store format through NEXT! new opportunities for growth and value are identified to offset the risks of the former, providing analytics as dynamic as the retailers’ businesses that thrive on change.

MAX-ING Alternative Value & Risk Tools

The Global 400 Retail Watch List® is the cornerstone of all MAXIM® stable. By assembling a diverse group of 500 US and foreign retailers, brand manufacturers, wholesalers and e-tailers operating in the bricks & mortar space, best practices and strategies avail themselves to deconstruct the transition of the marketplace to determine where value is created and risks are emerging in the business models and real estate portfolios of retailers, investors, lenders and landlords. The G-400 has an established track record in early detection of dislocations in retail credits and real estate channels, providing a greater valuation advantage in a transition that has been accelerated by the break down in old borders, rules and constructs. The diversity of credits and formats coincide with the rent rolls of shopping centers and districts in the US and abroad.

The G-400 provides a baseline of fundamental value and risk that is not discernible under the prevailing bubble dynamics fostered by the Fed’s open-ended monetary policy that continues to inflate and distort asset values. The G-400 ratings also provide early detection of corporate turnarounds, or workouts that go beyond capital fixes. The ratings also measure the advantage of new chains and formats coming to market and those acquired and privatized. The MAX-Spatial Index® provides additional benchmarks, trends and strategies to assess the impact of structural changes in particular the transition to an omni-channel platform. For greater perspectives on asset performance in the bricks & mortar space, the G-400 Annual Store Productivity Survey provides additional benchmarks of top producing real estate of G-400 credits and competition that’s being right-sized, maximized and monetized to exploit the market advantages afforded under the wave of New Normals (New NORMAL.24) in the Arc of Great Real Estate Unwind.

Practitioner of Alternative Thinking

Therese Byrne, the founder of RetailMAXIM.net®, has 35 years experience in valuing the fundamentals of the retail and real estate industries for the private and public capital markets. After working on Wall Street in the US, Europe and Japan during the 1980s and 1990s in real estate development (UK Canary Wharf), finance and retail REIT IPO boom, Ms. Byrne set up an advisory firm to assist and advise operators and opportunistic investors in repositioning distressed retail and real estate assets to add value by capitalizing on structural shifts occurring in the retail, real estate and capital markets. Coverage of retail and real estate also includes due diligence on local retail real estate developments through dispatches in the “trenches” of Europe, Mid East and BRICs (China, Russia and India) for direct investment by private equity and securitized property indexes of global mutual funds and hedge funds.

Her research is unique because of its cross-disciplinary perspectives and structurally-oriented analysis, with a reputation for beating the buy-sell recommendations within the real estate capital markets on the upside and downside by a two-four year margin while discrediting misnomers manufacturer for deal support. Having lived and travel abroad during several significant economic and industry transitions, investment perspectives and strategies are rooted in decades of ongoing observations that provide context for current realities. Her diverse background in retail, real estate, architecture and planning and cultural affairs with degrees in international finance, history, art and film, provided a unique perspective where retail is valued in the context of real estate, and real estate in the context of the retailer.

Ms. Byrne has worked at Salomon/Smith Barney, CS First Boston and Merrill Lynch during the first two decades of real estate securitization and holds an MBA from CUNY, New York and BA in Art History & Film Studies from SUNY, Stony Brook.

Client-Subscriber Universe

The client-subscriber universe is as diverse as the G-400 Watch List of credits and real estate formats, each with special research and investment requirements and objectives. MAXIM products support the expanding universe of players in the global retail and real estate markets along with investment and development opportunities.