Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Adam Stupak is Looking forSpace for Buffalo Exchange
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Friday, December 7, 2012
ADAM STUPAK _ TASK _ WHO WE ARE
Monday, October 22, 2012
ADAM STUPAK does the most POP UP STORES IN NY.
ADAM STUPAK does the most POP UP STORES IN NY.
www.taskrealestate.com
Sales From the Crypt (or Whatever Space He Can Manage to Rent)
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Every year, Todd Kenig struggles to persuade Manhattan landlords to accept his money.
Mr. Kenig is the chief executive of Ricky’s, a chain of 23 beauty supply stores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island and Miami Beach. For years, Ricky’s has made a specialty of selling Halloween costumes — a niche so profitable that in 2004 it began setting up temporary Halloween shops in September and October.
This year, Ricky’s has 19 such stores, each stocked with more than $150,000 worth of Halloween merchandise. But securing the locations was not easy, Mr. Kenig said. He generally offers lump sums — from $25,000 to $50,000 — for the spaces, which he uses for about eight weeks.
Outside New York City, he said, landlords are happy to make the extra money. But in the city, it is another story.
One location he wanted, on 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, is still vacant, months after Mr. Kenig offered to rent it for Halloween. The building is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which, according to Mr. Kenig, did not want to bother with such a small transaction. (A Hearst vice president, Paul J. Luthringer, confirmed Mr. Kenig’s account, saying his company is “only interested in entertaining long-term lease proposals.”)
When corporations decline his offers, Mr. Kenig said, he tells them: “I’ll write the check to your favorite charity. Or I’ll give it to Sloan-Kettering.” But even that, he said, tends to fall on deaf ears.
Ricky’s already has a permanent store on 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, which is precisely why Mr. Kenig wanted a Halloween store there. The permanent store, he said, does so well selling beauty products that he does not want to hide that merchandise behind Halloween displays, even for a short time. Hence the idea of opening a kind of Halloween annex.
When he could not get the spot he wanted from Hearst, Mr. Kenig found an alternative around the corner, on Eighth Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets. There, in a space that had been a Chinese restaurant, his crews undertook a quick makeover that involved putting wallboard on some walls and smoothing out a concrete floor. Then they installed about $10,000 worth of fixtures, mostly black metal grids for hanging costumes. Electricians installed lights and other equipment, which cost Ricky’s an additional $5,000, Mr. Kenig said.
Workers then began bringing in merchandise, ranging from fake blood ($1.99) to elaborate costumes that can cost as much as $199. Some costumes are made specifically for Ricky’s. This year, they include Client 9 (a reference to Eliot Spitzer of New York) and Miss Alaska (a nod to Sarah Palin).
Ricky’s is owned by Mr. Kenig; his brother, Ricky, for whom the chain is named; and two other partners. Over the years, the partners discovered that Halloween merchandise accounted for about 20 percent of yearly sales.
So for Mr. Kenig, Halloween starts in June or July, when, he said, he begins walking the city, block by block, looking for vacant storefronts. He takes notes on possible locations and then turns the list over to a broker, who, he said, “calls around and sees what deals we can make.”
This year, the broker was Adam Stupak of Winick Realty Group. Mr. Kenig said that Mr. Stupak did such a good job for him last year that he offered him an exclusive for 2008.
Mr. Stupak found 16 of the chain’s 19 Halloween locations, Mr. Kenig said. But Mr. Stupak will earn commissions from the landlords only if the stores become permanent — which is why, he said, “I have an incentive to find very good Halloween stores.” Mr. Stupak said some landlords, after initially saying no to Ricky’s, called back in October — when it was too late — to say they had changed their minds.
In general, Mr. Kenig said, he is willing to pay the rents that landlords are asking — but only for two months. He said he had the easiest time making such short-term deals with landlords who knew him. One Halloween location, on West 23rd Street, is in a building owned by Joseph Moinian, from whom Mr. Kenig has rented in the past.
Owners who have not heard of Ricky’s may be reluctant to sign short-term leases, though Mr. Kenig offers to pay the rent upfront. If the owner is a man, Mr. Kenig suggests he ask his wife or girlfriend about Ricky’s. Every woman in New York, he says, knows Ricky’s.
Some owners of vacant stores, Mr. Kenig said, think the presence of a Halloween store will drive potential tenants away. But Mr. Kenig says he believes the opposite is true. In the days leading up to Halloween, his locations will be mobbed, he said — “and that’s the best time to show the store to a prospective tenant.”
“When there’s a line out the door, it creates a vibe,” Mr. Stupak agreed.
(Halloween’s being on a Friday this year is not optimal for business, Mr. Kenig said. When the holiday falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, many New Yorkers will attend parties on the previous weekend and then again on Halloween itself, and consequently buy a lot more merchandise, he said.)
Sometimes, Ricky’s itself will become the permanent tenant. One reason Mr. Kenig likes the temporary stores — in addition to the money they bring in — is that they give him a chance to test locations.
Last year, three of the 15 temporary Halloween stores indirectly led to permanent outposts, he said. In each case, the space he rented for Halloween was not available for a permanent store, at least not at the price Mr. Kenig wants to pay — in Manhattan, no more than $125 a square foot annually— so he settled on nearby locations.
“We’re studying the results at each location very carefully this year,” Mr. Kenig said. “If we like the locations, hopefully we will be able to pull the trigger on them.” He said he expected four or five of this year’s Halloween stores to become permanent.
And then, in June, the process will begin again.
www.taskrealestate.com
Sales From the Crypt (or Whatever Space He Can Manage to Rent)
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Annie Tritt for The New York Times
Todd Kenig sets up temporary Halloween stores. Mr. Kenig, the chief executive of the Ricky’s beauty supply chain, says he sometimes has trouble getting landlords to agree to short-term leases for his Halloween stores.
Annie Tritt for The New York Times
A Ricky's temporary Halloween store on Broadway at 19th Street in Manhattan.
This year, Ricky’s has 19 such stores, each stocked with more than $150,000 worth of Halloween merchandise. But securing the locations was not easy, Mr. Kenig said. He generally offers lump sums — from $25,000 to $50,000 — for the spaces, which he uses for about eight weeks.
Outside New York City, he said, landlords are happy to make the extra money. But in the city, it is another story.
One location he wanted, on 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, is still vacant, months after Mr. Kenig offered to rent it for Halloween. The building is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which, according to Mr. Kenig, did not want to bother with such a small transaction. (A Hearst vice president, Paul J. Luthringer, confirmed Mr. Kenig’s account, saying his company is “only interested in entertaining long-term lease proposals.”)
When corporations decline his offers, Mr. Kenig said, he tells them: “I’ll write the check to your favorite charity. Or I’ll give it to Sloan-Kettering.” But even that, he said, tends to fall on deaf ears.
Ricky’s already has a permanent store on 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, which is precisely why Mr. Kenig wanted a Halloween store there. The permanent store, he said, does so well selling beauty products that he does not want to hide that merchandise behind Halloween displays, even for a short time. Hence the idea of opening a kind of Halloween annex.
When he could not get the spot he wanted from Hearst, Mr. Kenig found an alternative around the corner, on Eighth Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets. There, in a space that had been a Chinese restaurant, his crews undertook a quick makeover that involved putting wallboard on some walls and smoothing out a concrete floor. Then they installed about $10,000 worth of fixtures, mostly black metal grids for hanging costumes. Electricians installed lights and other equipment, which cost Ricky’s an additional $5,000, Mr. Kenig said.
Workers then began bringing in merchandise, ranging from fake blood ($1.99) to elaborate costumes that can cost as much as $199. Some costumes are made specifically for Ricky’s. This year, they include Client 9 (a reference to Eliot Spitzer of New York) and Miss Alaska (a nod to Sarah Palin).
Ricky’s is owned by Mr. Kenig; his brother, Ricky, for whom the chain is named; and two other partners. Over the years, the partners discovered that Halloween merchandise accounted for about 20 percent of yearly sales.
So for Mr. Kenig, Halloween starts in June or July, when, he said, he begins walking the city, block by block, looking for vacant storefronts. He takes notes on possible locations and then turns the list over to a broker, who, he said, “calls around and sees what deals we can make.”
This year, the broker was Adam Stupak of Winick Realty Group. Mr. Kenig said that Mr. Stupak did such a good job for him last year that he offered him an exclusive for 2008.
Mr. Stupak found 16 of the chain’s 19 Halloween locations, Mr. Kenig said. But Mr. Stupak will earn commissions from the landlords only if the stores become permanent — which is why, he said, “I have an incentive to find very good Halloween stores.” Mr. Stupak said some landlords, after initially saying no to Ricky’s, called back in October — when it was too late — to say they had changed their minds.
In general, Mr. Kenig said, he is willing to pay the rents that landlords are asking — but only for two months. He said he had the easiest time making such short-term deals with landlords who knew him. One Halloween location, on West 23rd Street, is in a building owned by Joseph Moinian, from whom Mr. Kenig has rented in the past.
Owners who have not heard of Ricky’s may be reluctant to sign short-term leases, though Mr. Kenig offers to pay the rent upfront. If the owner is a man, Mr. Kenig suggests he ask his wife or girlfriend about Ricky’s. Every woman in New York, he says, knows Ricky’s.
Some owners of vacant stores, Mr. Kenig said, think the presence of a Halloween store will drive potential tenants away. But Mr. Kenig says he believes the opposite is true. In the days leading up to Halloween, his locations will be mobbed, he said — “and that’s the best time to show the store to a prospective tenant.”
“When there’s a line out the door, it creates a vibe,” Mr. Stupak agreed.
(Halloween’s being on a Friday this year is not optimal for business, Mr. Kenig said. When the holiday falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, many New Yorkers will attend parties on the previous weekend and then again on Halloween itself, and consequently buy a lot more merchandise, he said.)
Sometimes, Ricky’s itself will become the permanent tenant. One reason Mr. Kenig likes the temporary stores — in addition to the money they bring in — is that they give him a chance to test locations.
Last year, three of the 15 temporary Halloween stores indirectly led to permanent outposts, he said. In each case, the space he rented for Halloween was not available for a permanent store, at least not at the price Mr. Kenig wants to pay — in Manhattan, no more than $125 a square foot annually— so he settled on nearby locations.
“We’re studying the results at each location very carefully this year,” Mr. Kenig said. “If we like the locations, hopefully we will be able to pull the trigger on them.” He said he expected four or five of this year’s Halloween stores to become permanent.
And then, in June, the process will begin again.
CALL ADAM STUPAK
We are pleased to offer the following retail opportunity:
SIZE: 1,500 sq ft – NO COOKING
POSSESSION: Immediate
ASKING RENTS: Upon Request
Steps from FIT
Seven-day-a week traffic
NEIGHBORS: FIT,Radio Shack, RARE, American Apparel, Verizon Wireless,
Pret A Manger,Starbucks,Fresh &Co,Mustang Harry’s
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Adam Stupak Dustin Roccaforte
646-820-6759 646-820-6759
516-313-6688 516-241-7394
Adam@Taskrealestate.com Droccaforte@Taskrealestate.com
Monday, April 2, 2012
RENTED HOBOKEN, TASK REAL ESTATE, COOL AND HIP,Adam Stupak
222 Washington Street Hoboken, NJ- 3,500 sq ft. Great Spot, need to check out.
Adam Stupak is caled the KING OF POP UP's
HALLOWEEN is here- Over 150 stores opened in past 6 years. More to come!
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