The 4-Month Course, Designed and Instructed by University of Arizona Faculty, Keeps Professionals Updated on the Retail Business and How It Adapts
Los Angeles – CBRE has graduated its third class of professionals from its Retailing University program taught by the University of Arizona, equipping another 55 CBRE personnel from across the globe with insights for best serving clients in the evolving retail industry.
This graduation of this class from the program brings to 200 the number of CBRE professionals who have completed the course in the past three years. The four-month, online course is designed and taught by faculty of UA’s Terry J. Lundgren Center For Retailing.
UA and CBRE designed the course to keep CBRE’s retail professionals updated on the intricacies of retail operations as retailers adapt to the omnichannel marketplace. Participants learned about details of store operations, supply chain, inventory management, pricing, customer acquisition and retention, store staffing and many other factors, as well as how those variables influence retailer’s real-estate decisions.
“CBRE joined with UA on this program because the best advisors never stop learning, especially in an industry changing as rapidly as retail,” said Todd Caruso, a CBRE Senior Managing Director and UA graduate who completed the Retailing University course last year. “We refined the program after each of our three classes completed it, and we see results in the depth of discussions our professionals are having with their clients.”
CBRE’s new graduating class represents a broad sweep of CBRE’s global operations and its disciplines. It includes graduates working in 12 countries from Asia Pacific to the Americas to Europe. Their titles range from senior-level professionals to associates and business analysts to project managers.
“I’m now able to have a different and more comprehensive discussion with my clients about their challenges,” said Barbara Van der Brempt, a CBRE Retail Account Manager in Antwerp, Belgium, who graduated in the most recent class. “I gained key insights in supply chain, pricing and other topics that have enabled me to have better relationships with my clients.”
The Retailing University program is a cornerstone of CBRE’s Retail Science value proposition, which entails providing location analytics, in-depth research, consumer-experience expertise and ongoing training for CBRE’s professionals to serve clients as trusted advisors.”
“As the retail industry continues to evolve, this program helped address how retailers are approaching changes to the marketplace and how brokerage professionals can meet their needs as they continue to adapt and innovate,” said Carol Schillne, a CBRE First Vice President and recent graduate of the program. “Retail is a complicated sport, and the more we learn about our clients and their customers, the better we can serve them.”
Said Ayaka Saito, a CBRE Retail Business Consultant in Tokyo who completed the program last year: “Before we had even finished the program, I was able to engage in higher-level communication with my clients because I now can even better understand their point of view and, essentially, speak the same language with them.”