The Kimco Difference - Part II
Solid Investment Strategies
The linchpins of our business strategy are maintaining our portfolio, increasing cash flow and creating value from our shopping center holdings. Yet, there are other dimensions of our business that differentiate Kimco and create avenues to enhance value for shareholders – areas where we have developed a strong franchise, a first-mover advantage, and a history of capturing successful opportunities.
Investment Management
We remain committed to expanding our investment management business by forming mutually advantageous joint ventures and commingled funds with first-class domestic and foreign institutional partners. This is a business for which we have built a strong reputation and franchise over the past ten years. Joint-venturing with strong institutions keeps us competitive in the business of acquiring high quality retail properties and enhances our earnings through long-term, recurring asset and property management fees.
International
Our international investments in both Canada and Mexico will provide long-term benefit to our shareholders. In addition to diversification and important synergies with many of our largest U.S. retailers, both Mexico and Canada are significantly under-stored when compared to similar U.S. statistics. Anchor tenants, such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowes, Costco and HEB have recognized the long-term advantages embedded in both of these sizeable markets and continue to expand aggressively. Many other U.S. and multi-national retailers are also planning to enter these markets over time. We have excellent potential to create value as rents rise to reflect the more limited supply in these international markets.
Opportunistic Retail Investment
We have a long and profitable tradition of opportunistic acquisitions of both vacant and occupied real estate portfolios owned by retailers. In numerous instances we have capitalized on the Kimco advantages of relationships, underwriting expertise and leasing skills to realize value embedded in the real estate, while structuring a business transaction that benefited all parties involved. Our long-time shareholders recognize the highly profitable transactions we concluded with Albertsons, Montgomery Ward, Hechinger, Venture Stores, Strawbridge & Clothier, F.W. Woolworth, Gold Circle, and Franks Nursery & Crafts.
Michael Melson
Vice President, KRC Mexico
