People
Rebuilding Together
I recently participated in a volunteer event organized by Rebuilding Together Boston. Rebuilding Together’s mission is to provide critical repairs and renovations for low-income homeowners across the United States. The organization gathered about 300 volunteers to participate in building rehabilitation projects throughout the city. The site I visited was a Dorchester home owned by a 63-year-old single woman who suffers from…
Fenway High School Senior Science Fair
Last December, Matt Rice and I spent a morning helping out as judges for the Fenway High School Senior Science Fair. It was a fun venture out of the office, a way to get involved with the community, and a great way to get to know some of the students, since Arrowstreet is currently designing a renovation and addition to their school. The science fair was held at the Museum of Science with several dozen seniors presenting their experiments. We were given a rubric and an overview of the grading, then were sent off to inquire about students’ work. While there are too many great examples to list, I specifically remember one student who studied the effect of hair coloring products on the strength of hair; a study which has some potential to be quite useful in applications outside of the classroom. I’m excited to see what next year’s seniors come up with.
Four Season Commuting
With the onset of spring, many people focus their attention on spending more time outdoors. A popular choice is cycling, particularly here in New England which has a strong history of mountain biking and road riding. I’d like to share some advice about combining a few passions many of us share – as my son says, “saving the world”, exercise, and something we all need to do: commuting to work…
The Greatest Party on Earth
Our client, Artists for Humanity, throws an amazing fundraiser every year in their headquarters facility, the EpiCenter, which Arrowstreet designed. In addition to being for a great cause, the spectacular event exhibits the work of a talent group of artists – from the paintings, to the break dancer,s to the decor, to the trapeze artists, to the food. These photos should give you a glimpse of what it’s like – hope to see you there next year.
State of the Industry: Brick and Mortar vs. Internet Retail
[Part 4 of a series of posts from ICSC’s RetailGreen conference. Posted in response to The Wall Street Journal’s article “Malls Get Face-Lift to Pull In Shoppers“, which stated that “the era of new-mall development in the U.S. is drawing to a close.”]
Brad Hutensky, ICSC Chairman, gave an interesting talk about the state of the retail industry, and he debunked a common refrain of the last five years, that the internet is killing bricks and mortar stores. His evidence was compelling. First, in 2012, retailers have opened over 5,000 stores, not a small number. And for good reason, as customers still value the human experience and the instant gratification of a cash purchase. Moreover, twelve of the top 20 online sellers in sales revenue have physical stores, among them Apple and one of Arrowstreet’s clients, LL Bean…
Green Thoughts from Walmart at ICSC RetailGreen
[Part 3 of a series of posts from ICSC’s RetailGreen conference.]
Last year, at ICSC’s RetailGreen conference, Don Moseley from Walmart gave an amazing 15 minute presentation on how codes differ from one municipality to another, and especially how they vary even more from the new International Green Construction Code (IgCC). Although it sounds wonky, Mr. Moseley used the specific example of how the prescribed number of plumbing fixtures can vary from code to code, with the delta being as much as 20 fixtures for the same size Walmart store. Same store footprint, same demands, totally different plumbing requirements. Importantly, when a retailer has thousands of locations across the world, it’s more difficult to plan, and it hits the bottom line in myriad ways.
This year, Mr. Moseley showed what Walmart has been doing on their roofs…
How Play and Humor Help Us Innovate
[Part 2 of a series of posts from ICSC’s RetailGreen conference.]
In a unique presentation at the ICSC RetailGreen conference, Professor Barry Kudrowitz of the University of Minnesota demonstrated “How Play and Humor Help Us Innovate.” My friend and fellow conference committee member Ed Doyle of Target discovered Mr. Kudrowitz at a company team-building retreat and was so impressed that he brought Mr. Kudrowitz to our conference. Now, this presentation was not directly about sustainability or retail development. Instead, it was about “innovation.” It was fantastic! Via a series of hands-on activities, Mr. Kudrowitz led the audience through mind-mapping exercises, word games, and even a game called “the bears and tigers”. The most interesting thing we learned was that more ideas equals better, more creative ideas…
Disrupt and Interrupt: Thoughts from Retail Green
[Part 1 of a series of posts from ICSC’s RetailGreen conference.]
In the first General Session of the ICSC RetailGreen conference in Phoenix last month, I moderated a panel discussion called “Disrupt and Interrupt”. Since it was the beginning of the conference, we wanted to speak broadly about sustainability issues that retail developers encounter when planning projects and business initiatives. The panel consisted of Audi Banny of Estée Lauder, George Caraghiaur of Simon Property Group, Jim Hanna of Starbucks, and Riggs Kubiak of Honest Buildings. Some of my questions were pre-planned, but we had fun taking live questions through an email account and a scrolling twitter-feed which we projected above the stage. It all worked quite well. Audience members kept me well-stocked with comments and questions.
Congratulations to Our Newest Titled Staff
We are pleased to announce the following members of the Arrowstreet team have been promoted. While each individual holds different responsibilities and talents, all are critical members of our team and should be commended for their contributions to our firm. We can’t say “thank you” enough!
Senior Associates:
Claes Andreasen, Stefan Chaires, Lauren Haggerty, Amy Korte, Matt Rice, Tina Soo Hoo
Associates:
Jessica Bessette, David Burn, Jason King, Sarah Mobraten