Retail Retold Podcast Por DLC Management Corp. arte de portada

Retail Retold

Retail Retold

De: DLC Management Corp.
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The Retail Retold Podcast highlights community retailer stories from across the country and gives a behind-the-scenes perspective from business leaders in both retail and real estate industries. The show’s episodes contain valuable insights that help solve the needs of entrepreneurs and real estate pros. Each week our guests share stories of what worked, what didn’t, the ups and downs – giving the audience a critical set of tools needed for business success. Join host Chris Ressa and new guests weekly for amazing insights and thought-provoking stories. Brought to you by DLC Management Corp.917824 Economía
Episodios
  • FunBox Bouncing Into a Vacant Box Near You

    FunBox Bouncing Into a Vacant Box Near You
    Oct 2 2026
    What does it take to scale kids entertainment nationwide?

    Family entertainment has become a major part of the retail real estate conversation. But as the category gets more crowded, the concepts that grow will need more than a good idea.

    Suat Gokmen, co-founder and part owner of FunBox, joins Chris Ressa to talk about the growth of the kids entertainment brand and what it takes to scale a concept in today’s retail environment. Built around large-scale inflatable play parks, FunBox primarily serves kids ages two to 10 and has found a particularly strong business in birthday parties.

    The concept started outdoors following COVID before gradually moving indoors, a shift that opened the door to a much larger retail expansion strategy. Today, FunBox has eight operating locations, 10 under construction, six signed leases and more deals in the pipeline.

    But growth brings a different set of questions.

    As FunBox expands nationwide, the team has to balance the right markets, the right real estate and the right franchisees. A location can look great on paper and still not work. Gokmen still visits potential sites himself, combining data with what he sees and experiences on the ground before moving forward.

    There is also a bigger shift happening across family entertainment. After years of rapid growth, Gokmen sees a category beginning to face some growing pains. Rather than respond by adding more attractions or complexity, FunBox is staying focused on the experience that built the business.

    Ressa and Gokmen discuss what FunBox has learned as it scales, the realities of growing through franchising, what landlords should understand about the concept and where kids entertainment fits into the next phase of retail real estate.

    What You’ll Hear

    • How FunBox is scaling from outdoor parks to indoor retail
    • Why birthday parties are a major part of the business
    • How FunBox evaluates new markets and locations
    • Why a 16-foot ceiling opens up more retail opportunities
    • How franchising is shaping where FunBox expands next
    • Why FunBox is staying focused as the FEC market gets crowded

    Chapters

    01:04 — Meet Suat Gokmen and FunBox

    Meet the entrepreneur behind FunBox and the experiences that led him to kids entertainment.

    01:57 — From real estate and cars to FunBox

    Suat shares his path through real estate, auto dealerships and other ventures before FunBox.

    04:04 — How FunBox got its start

    How an outdoor bounce park concept during COVID evolved into an indoor entertainment business.

    06:09 — Finding FunBox’s core customer

    Why FunBox stays focused on younger kids and the families bringing them through the door.

    07:55 — Finding the right retail space

    The size, ceiling heights and market characteristics that can make a location work.

    10:00 — Scaling through franchising

    How FunBox is using franchise growth to expand its footprint across the country.

    12:09 — The economics behind FunBox

    A look at startup costs, insurance and the economics that shape the model.

    13:49 — Standing out in family entertainment

    How FunBox thinks about competition as the family entertainment category gets more crowded.

    16:03 — Proving the concept

    How an early indoor location helped validate the model and create momentum for expansion.

    18:00 — Getting the right locations

    Why data matters in site selection, but seeing a potential location firsthand still matters too.

    20:06 — Building the FunBox experience

    How birthday parties and private events have become a major part of the business.

    21:53 — What’s next for FunBox

    Suat shares where FunBox is headed and his outlook on the future of family entertainment.
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    26 m
  • The People Are the Plot

    The People Are the Plot
    Sep 25 2026
    The People Are the Plot

    What does it take to make a retail real estate deal work? Ask Chris Ressa, and he’ll tell you it starts with people.

    In this episode, University of Alabama student Asa Moran, host of CRE Simplified, interviews Chris about the lessons he has learned across his career. Digging into the fundamentals of the business, Chris offers lessons for anyone working in commercial real estate.

    Chris takes Asa inside a complicated grocery deal involving an underperforming store, two competing grocers, a pharmacy that had to remain open during construction, two new leases, and a refinancing. It took far more than finding replacement tenants. It took relationships, coordination, and a team that could keep every piece moving.

    What stalls a deal? Chris points to an issue that can be easy to miss: knowing who actually has the authority to say yes. Even when the people negotiating agree, a deal can lose momentum if the final decision makers have not been part of the process. His advice applies whether you are working on your first lease or your hundredth.

    Asa also asks Chris how he found his way into retail real estate, why he moved from leasing into leadership, and what he looks for in new hires. Chris shares the role mentors played in his career and the habits that helped him learn the business: reading widely, building relationships, working hard, and making life easier for his teammates.

    It is a conversation grounded in the realities of getting deals done and building strong teams. Asa brings a student’s curiosity. Chris brings experience. Together, they get to the point that holds up at every stage of a career: behind every location are people making it work.

    What You’ll Hear

    • Why the people behind the real estate are what make it work
    • What a complicated grocery deal taught Chris about relationships, coordination and getting to the finish line
    • How Chris learned to shorten the learning curve through reading, relationships and curiosity
    • Why effort became the career advantage Chris knew he could control
    • What wrestling taught Chris about the danger of bad habits that still get results
    • Why having the right decision-makers involved can keep a deal from losing momentum
    • What Chris has learned about building strong teams and spotting potential in young talent

    Chapters

    00:38 — Real estate is a people business

    Why Chris believes the people behind the property ultimately make the real estate work.

    01:41 — Life as a COO

    How teammates, real estate and clients shape Chris’s day-to-day role.

    02:50 — From athlete to leader

    How wrestling, coaching and mentorship influenced Chris’s move from leasing into management.

    05:07 — Learning through complicated deals

    Chris walks through a grocery transaction involving multiple tenants, a termination, refinancing and a pharmacy transition.

    09:11 — Know who can actually make the decision

    One of Chris’s biggest dealmaking lessons: understand the decision process before you get too far down the road.

    11:10 — The danger of bad habits that work

    Why getting results doesn’t always mean you’re doing things the right way.

    14:13 — How Chris found commercial real estate

    A first job at Sherwin-Williams unexpectedly turns into a career in the industry.

    15:25 — Cut the learning curve

    Why reading, networking and being intentional about learning can accelerate your career.

    17:51 — Make yourself valuable

    Chris explains why he focused early on making everyone else’s job easier.

    19:46 — Books that shaped his leadership

    Three recommendations that influenced how Chris thinks about people and teams.

    21:00 — What Chris looks for in young talent

    Humility, hunger, communication, adversity and the traits that stand out beyond experience.

    24:01 — Why commercial real estate stuck

    The appeal of an industry where the results of your work are visible and measurable.
    Más Menos
    24 m
  • Retail Retold Replay: One deal, 100 calls later

    Retail Retold Replay: One deal, 100 calls later
    Sep 18 2026
    Persistence, scarce retail space and the fundamentals behind the right deal.This Retail Retold replay brings us back to a conversation with Kevin Nassimi, Vice President of Real Estate at Nassimi Realty, about a question that still matters: Does America actually have enough physical retail space?For years, the industry talked about the U.S. being over-stored. Chris Ressa and Kevin challenged that assumption, looking at the forces already reshaping retail supply, from intense demand for pad sites and limited big-box availability to former retail space being converted to multifamily, industrial, and self-storage.It’s a conversation worth revisiting because the fundamentals behind it go beyond one market cycle.Kevin shares what he was seeing across Nassimi Realty’s portfolio, including significant demand for freestanding pad sites and fewer available big-box spaces. Chris digs into why. Former 100,000-square-foot boxes have increasingly been divided among multiple tenants, expanding the pool of potential users while reducing the amount of true large-format space available.They also discuss how limited new construction and the repurposing of obsolete retail have further constrained supply. As former retail properties are converted to multifamily, industrial, self-storage, and other uses, that square footage leaves the retail market altogether.But the conversation isn’t only about supply and demand. Kevin shares the story behind bringing Burlington to a former Kmart space in Clifton, New Jersey, after reaching out close to 100 times over four years. The deal is a reminder that persistence matters, but so does knowing your asset, understanding the trade area, and recognizing when the right tenant belongs at the right property.From changing store formats and limited supply to retailer demand and the fundamentals of dealmaking, this replay takes another look at a question retail real estate is still navigating: How much physical retail space do we actually need?What You’ll HearWhy demand for retail pad sites has become so intenseHow big-box availability reached levels Kevin hasn’t seen in his careerWhy splitting former Kmart-sized boxes is changing retail supplyHow conversions to multifamily, industrial, and self-storage are removing retail space from the marketWhy high construction costs are making new retail supply even harder to deliverWhat nearly 100 calls over four years taught Kevin about persistence in leasingWhy knowing the asset and trade area matters more than accepting a retailer’s first “no”How a major wave of store closures could temporarily disrupt today’s fast leasing environmentWhy retailer optimism remains high despite broader economic uncertaintyChapters0:00 — Meet Kevin NassimiKevin shares his role at Nassimi Realty and the family-owned company’s approach to suburban shopping centers.4:53 — Clear the AirA difficult residential conversion, construction blind spots, and Kevin’s surprisingly generous philosophy on broker commissions.9:12 — 100 calls later: the Burlington dealKevin explains why he kept pursuing Burlington for years—and what finally changed.12:27 — Persistence only works if you know the real estateChris breaks down the fundamentals behind the Clifton deal, from trade-area knowledge to tenant critical mass.15:27 — What’s happening in retail right now?Kevin shares what he’s seeing across markets after reconnecting with retailers and brokers at ICSC.15:59 — Why pad sites are kingDemand for freestanding buildings and drive-thru opportunities is creating fierce competition for limited space.18:50 — Where did all the big boxes go?Chris and Kevin examine why large-format availability has tightened and how former boxes are being divided among multiple tenants.22:09 — Retail supply is disappearingConversions to industrial, multifamily, and self-storage are taking former retail square footage permanently out of the market.22:35 — Is America under-stored?Chris challenges the old assumption that the U.S. has too much physical retail.23:00 — Smaller boxes, more tenants, less riskWhy breaking up former Kmart-sized spaces has expanded the tenant pool and diversified landlord exposure.25:39 — The impact of the next major store closureChris and Kevin discuss why a large bankruptcy or closure wave could slow leasing activity far beyond the affected properties.27:07 — Retailer optimism is still highDespite economic uncertainty, Chris says the confidence among physical retailers at ICSC was hard to miss.27:51 — RadioShack, Bloomingdale’s and a serious salt toothKevin closes with the retailers he misses, how he shops, and the Target aisle
    Más Menos
    33 m
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