Jeff Edison, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: PECO), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITworld: 2021 Annual Conference.
Edison discussed the REIT’s “grocery-centered, community-focused” strategy and said that for 30 years, Phillips Edison’s focus has always been to deliver goods close to people’s homes.
“Because of that [strategy], we have to be very community focused. We have to know what our consumer in that area is looking for and make sure we deliver it at our centers,” Edison said.
He also discussed how Phillips Edison went public via an IPO in July 2021, calling it “quite an adventure” and said the REIT raised money from friends and family, institutional partners, and the retail market.
“We have always believed having access to multiple sources of capital is important, and one of the important ones is being able to access the public markets at the right time,” Edison said.
He added that retailers must be omni-channel landlords in order to reach their customers wherever they are, and that Phillips Edison has been successful in this area.