The co-founders of Baskin-Robbins originally created the company’s 31 flavors marketing campaign in 1953. The idea was built on offering customers the ability to have a different flavor of ice cream every day of the month, thus giving them a reason to come back into the store more often.
Baskin-Robbins’ concept of mixing variety with familiarity has served the company well, strengthening its brand and allowing it to expand to more than 50 countries and 7,300 locations worldwide.
While not as tasty as a Pralines ‘n Cream cone, the REIT brand is also undergoing a global expansion centered on variety and familiarity.
There are now 33 countries that have enacted REIT legislation with several more on the horizon. The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index includes 481 companies from around the world with a combined equity market capitalization of $1.4 trillion, nearly three-quarters of which is from REITs. This provides investors access to a variety of real estate markets with different fundamentals and economic cycles and drivers.
The United States was the first nation to enact REIT legislation and remains the largest and most developed REIT market in the world. The U.S. has become the model many other countries emulate.
This has created familiarity for investors as they look to diversify their global real estate investments. Commonalities among REITs in various countries allow investors access to markets they may not have felt comfortable with in the past.
NAREIT and its partners in the Real Estate Equity Securitization Alliance (REESA) continue to work together to promote REIT-based real estate investment around the world, develop industry best practices and establish global standards. The collective work of NAREIT, the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, the Association for Real Estate Securitization in Japan, the British Property Federation, the European Public Real Estate Association, the Property Council of Australia and the Real Property Association of Canada is helping to make REITs the most effective and efficient method of real estate investment around the globe.
To learn more about the REESA members and read a Q&A with the head of each organization, visit REIT.com/REESAProfiles.
Matthew Bechard
Editor in Chief