As cross-border trade and burgeoning economies draw fashion and footwear companies to mine new revenue streams, new regions are presenting fresh opportunities.
The latest example comes from Los Angeles-based, commercial real estate services firm CBRE Group, Inc. The company has acquired a majority interest in the Tel Aviv, Israel-based Ramot Group, a facilities management provider. This is quite notable given that CBRE’s clients include retail giants like Gap Inc. and Forever 21.
“Ramot has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with CBRE over many years and has been an important part of CBRE’s service delivery in the region,” said one of Ramot’s founders, Harry Lipschitz. “This transaction will allow us to bring fully-integrated services and technological advantages to our Israeli and international clients.”
A spokesman for CBRE said that Ramot “will operate as part of CBRE’s ‘global workplace solutions’ (GWS) an occupier outsourcing business in Israel and adds an extensive suite of integrated facilities management and specialist technical capabilities for local and international clients.”
The move follows the real estate firm’s recent purchase of MAN Properties, a capital markets and leasing services provider also based in Israel. CBRE’s enlarged footprint in the country “will provide it with an extensive suite of services and the ability to serve occupier and investor clients’ needs at every stage of the property life cycle,” said the spokesman.
Israel appears to be on many businesses’ radar screens of late, and the footwear industry is no exception — think Nike Inc.’s recent acquisition reveal of Tel Aviv-based, 3-D body scanning-focused firm Invertex Ltd.
As Ian Entwisle, CEO of CBRE’s GWS EMEA region, summed up of the expansion, “This acquisition adds extensive and complementary facilities management expertise to our existing GWS capabilities as part of our integrated service offer for our occupier clients… We are now in an even stronger position to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients and to continue building a world-class offering in the region.”
The deal is anticipated to close in the third quarter of this year, noted the spokesman, and is “subject to customary regulatory approvals.”
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