The Value of the Boutique Agency in Commercial Real Estate

Northern Nevada Business Weekly recently ran an article featuring an interview with the owner of an established local ski shop. One question posed to the owner was about the impact of big-box retailers on his business and any strategies he employed to counter their entry into the market.

As I read the shop owner’s reply, the parallels to Miller Industrial Properties and our challenges with national franchised agencies in the northern Nevada market quickly became obvious. Miller Industrial has been working with firms moving into the area since 1976 and exclusively handling their real estate needs since 1991. Just like the ski shop, this longevity qualifies us as the longest standing active industrial real estate agency in the area, by far.

The owner’s answer to another question brought another similarity into focus. When asked what differentiated his shop from the big box retailers, the ski shop owner explained that these competitors couldn’t compete with the knowledge and expertise of his staff when it came to fitting and knowing the right product. The same applies to Miller Industrial Properties. Our longevity in the local market gives our clients the advantage of a team with the most awareness of what northern Nevada has to offer to best serve your needs. It is our longevity in the local market that sets Miller Industrial Properties apart from the franchised agencies. And just as the local ski shop, a familiar name in the local economy for decades, is not motivated by big box retailer influences to sell certain brands or push certain equipment, we have no affiliations with large national landlords that influence our advice and service to our clients. Instead, we have the luxury – and the client has the benefit – of showing the entire spectrum of suitable locations, which helps our clients get into the best fit.

Ask yourself what your preference would be for the custom fitting of your expensive new ski or snowboard boots – an employee at big box store or a skilled technician with years of experience fitting boots who has been to the appropriate clinics and schools? The same applies to Miller Industrial Properties and the local branches of national franchise firms. Our agents have the specialized skills of the boutique shop employees. We only work in industrial real estate. We only represent tenants. During our many years in the northern Nevada market, we have developed specialized skills that best serve our clients’ needs and not only streamline the process, but yield the very best results time and time again.

Since tenant representative agent fees are paid through a sharing of the fees the landlord pays their agents, why settle for less than the best? For more reading on the topic of national franchised agencies and their service in a market like ours, read our post, “Do National Franchised Industrial Real Estate Agencies Provide Better Service in a Market like Northern Nevada?”

If you have a web subscription to Northern Nevada Business Weekly, read the full article, “In His Own Words: Bobos Owner Steve Sheehan.”