TESTIMONIALS

A&G Real Estate Partners helped facilitate a comprehensive analysis of our real estate portfolio, contributing to West Marine's effectuation of a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with our lenders. A&G's thoughtful approach in conjunction with a tenacity for getting results enabled West Marine to secure significant cost savings. This was a critical for West Marine's sustainability, and we are grateful for the expertise, determination, and professionalism that A&G provided. They are recommended highly by myself and the West Marine team.

–Rob Koch, Chief Customer Officer

During our bankruptcy process we partnered with A&G to realize value from stores we were closing and to optimize our lease portfolio for those stores we were keeping. A&G quickly developed a comprehensive strategy to achieve our objectives, relentlessly executed as a cohesive team, and adapted as the situation evolved to produce an exceptional result under extreme time constraints. Securing significant rent concessions from our landlords was a critical factor in David’s remaining a going concern and we are grateful for the expertise, determination, and professionalism that A&G provided. I would recommend them to anyone.

–Charles Lockyer III, CFO David's Bridal

Having never been through Chapter 11 before, there was a high degree of trepidation at the beginning of the process. Hiring the team at A & G from the start was one of the smartest decisions we made. After producing an in-depth analysis, their team provided us with a road map of how the process would play out and gave us guidance with realistic expectations. A & G was tasked with not just negotiations with our landlords but with our franchisor and our bank as well. All parties involved were impressed with the level of professionalism the team had during some very difficult times. In the end everyone agreed the relief that was ultimately provided exceeded expectations. I do not hesitate to recommend A & G to anyone who has a need for real estate services.

–Buddy Brown, CEO Summit Restaurant Holdings

After conducting a comprehensive analysis of our portfolio, we announced a move toward a smaller and more profitable store footprint and omni-always model that will enable Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. to serve our customers, where they are, well into the future. A&G have been thoughtful and collaborative partners, supporting the development and execution of our real estate strategy, refining our approach with our landlord partners, and importantly, delivering very strong results.

–Sue Gove, President & CEO, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc

As part of the chapter 11 I was asked to bring in lease restructuring specialists I turned to A&G Real Estate Partners. I’ve been involved with many outside advisory firms in the past, and nobody comes close to delivering results and exceeding expectations like A&G Real Estate Partners. They are results driven, handled our Landlords in a professional manner, and took a lot of stress off the table for Regal by handling a large number of deals in a short amount of time. I don’t think you will find another firm in this sector that is as tenacious, professional, organized, and educated on the bankruptcy process. They truly become part of your team! In my 26 years at Regal it was the best decision I have ever made.

–Todd S. Boruff, Senior Vice President, Real Estate

A&G was a key partner in Tailored Brands’ successful navigation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the successful Chapter 11 restructuring precipitated by COVID-19 and the post-emergence financing that solidified our financial position. Well in advance of the Chapter 11 filing, they advised on, and executed a lease portfolio strategy that created maximum flexibility and financial savings. This flexibility provided us valuable optionality in the face of the unprecedented uncertainty created by the pandemic. Our landlords could have made this an unmanageable situation, but A&G brought the necessary skills and resources to handle an unusually large number of leases and partnered very well with our internal resources. Post emergence, A&G continued to drive hard with landlords and skillfully utilized the continued COVID uncertainty to deliver meaningful value for the company and bolster lender and investor confidence in our post- COVID prospects. I highly recommend the A&G team.

–Dinesh Lathi, Former CEO of Tailored Brands

Our unique journey with A&G began when we acquired Papyrus’ stores out of Chapter 11 in February 2020. We initiated a short, impactful engagement for the four weeks between acquiring the designation rights for Papyrus’ leases and negotiating terms with their landlords to take over the top-25 stores and rebranding them as Paper Source. A&G worked very closely with us, reviewing store financials, establishing a strategy and executing a process to drive successful negotiations.

Unfortunately, within a week of the signings, the Pandemic forced closures of all stores. With 85% of our revenue coming from stores, the Pandemic forced us to file for Chapter 11 in March 2021. We re-engaged A&G to help negotiate leases on our entire fleet. A&G again worked at an incredibly fast pace with our COO to renegotiate leases with amazing savings and terms, putting us in a strong position coming out of Chapter 11. A&G’s team’s commitment to excellence, responsiveness and absolute doggedness was unparalleled in my experience with external partners.

–Winnie Park, Chief Executive Officer

In navigating a very complicated restructure at Tuesday Morning, the A&G team was a spectacular business partner and true problem solvers through each hurdle we faced. They listened, sought to understand our goals, very thoughtful with their real estate strategy and approach, patient negotiators and more importantly, rallied behind the mission to a very successful conclusion. The A&G team is respected in the industry, and that credibility opened many doors and conversations. Through detailed planning and unrivaled accountability, A&G worked with our internal team and external team of professionals through a highly successful plan of reorganization. The real estate process that was described was exactly what happened, and the results were even greater than we expected. We both shared the same vision: Anything is possible with the right team.

–Steven Becker, CEO, Tuesday Morning

A&G helped our company achieve positive desired outcomes for several of our locations, where rent restructuring was required.  Their experience in negotiating was evident and the aggressive and professional approach helped us achieve our goals very timely.

–Tim Mosbacher, Chief Development Officer

A&G Real Estate Partners collaborated well with both our NPC team and our landlords and proved to be a significant asset in our restructuring efforts.  Their efforts included an exhaustive approach to understanding store-level economics of our differing asset types which enabled productive discussions with our landlord partners.

–Dave Wahlert, CFO, NPC International, Inc. – Pizza Hut

Following the development of an aggressive and complex turnaround strategy for the business, we faced major hurdles with our real estate portfolio. What we needed was an innovative, results-oriented partner. We found that with A&G Real Estate Partners. They truly delivered the goods for us in terms of tens of millions of dollars in savings with impressive ROIs. Beyond being impressive problem-solvers and true partners in the process, they were a pleasure to work with. Thanks for your outstanding work and I look forward to working with you again in the future.

–Reid E. Simpson, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We retained A&G to assist our real estate team in the fall of 2017. We were in the process of restructuring our debt and had goals to achieve occupancy savings in a short amount of time. A&G was able to quickly integrate into our current team and work collaboratively and seamlessly with us to deliver the results we needed. Their credibility within the lender community helped us achieve alignment on strategy quickly, and their approach with our landlord partners was always focused on realizing the right outcomes for all. A&G’s “client first” culture was the added value that helped to protect our landlord relationships while reaching our savings goals.

–Emily A. Watkins, Head of Real Estate & Construction

In navigating a very complicated restructure at Mattress Firm, the A&G team was a spectacular business partner. They listened, sought to understand our goals, and rallied behind the mission to a very successful conclusion. The A&G team is respected in the industry, and that credibility opened many doors and conversations. Through detailed planning and unrivaled accountability, A&G worked with the Mattress Firm team through a very short and highly successful process, which many thought impossible. We both shared the same vision: Anything is possible with the right team, the right partners, careful planning, and a spirited attitude. For that vision and many other reasons, I highly recommend A&G as a business partner.

–Randy Carlin, Chief Real Estate Officer

Over the years, we have worked with A&G to restructure our retail portfolio, renegotiate leases, and conduct lease and warehouse sales. It is clear their strong relationships and credibility with landlords were paramount in achieving our desired occupancy costs savings. A&G acted as a true partner, handling things professionally and efficiently throughout the relationship.

–Steve Moroneso, Chief Executive Officer

I haven’t often had the opportunity to work with a team that delivers beyond the aspirations of their sales pitch. A&G worked with us as an extension of our team to clearly deem strategy, report the results, follow up, and successfully complete the project in a timely fashion. The process you described was exactly what happened, and the results were even greater than we expected. Thanks for a job well done.

–Chris D. Newman, EVP, CFO, and Treasurer

In connection with our acquisition of the Joe’s Jeans intellectual property, we partnered with A&G to implement a restructuring plan for the brand's retail locations. Our goal was to bring in a real estate partner to terminate and restructure leases for the buyer of the consolidated retail operations. A&G not only beat all of our expectations but made us "better buyers." Their professionalism, market intelligence, and credibility with the landlords helped make this a very successful transaction. We have found a terrific partner here and look forward to working with them in the future.

–Chad Wagenheim, EVP Strategic Development and Operations, Sequential Brands Group

We knew when we purchased Aerosoles that we had to restructure the company’s real estate portfolio, and engaged A&G to help us. Working closely with A&G, we were able to reach agreements with numerous large and independent landlords, closing unprofitable stores and restructuring rents and maturities on others. A&G’s knowledge of the market, strong relationships with landlords, and overall professionalism greatly facilitated this process. It is always productive and a pleasure working with the A&G team.

–Mark J. Schwartz, Chairman, Aerogroup International, Inc., CEO, Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, LLC

Despite strong headwinds due to the liquidation and mass store closures by other retailers at the time, with A&G’s connections and resilience, The Body Shop successfully landed its growth strategy with developers while pruning underperforming real estate. The engagement of A&G was critical in enabling The Body Shop to optimize its real estate portfolio in the United States.

–Todd R. Meyer, Esq., General Counsel, Secretary & Vice President of Real Estate – Americas Zone

As a part of our overall restructuring plan, a decision was made to close the 2b division of Bebe and we engaged A&G to assist us in the real estate disposition. A&G professionally assessed the exposure, had clarity and transparency in the process, and most importantly, executed in an outstanding way. They were great partners in helping us with this important decision.

–Liyuan Woo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer 

In an industry that has been going through dramatic change, our company needed to find creative and cost-effective solutions to our real estate portfolio. The team at A&G consistently exceeded expectations by successfully disposing of more than 200 underperforming locations. Their professionalism and quality of work exemplifies why they are leaders in their field.

–Jeff Elie, Vice President, Global Real Estate and Facilities

Pier 1 Imports reached out for an objective real estate firm to work with our internal team on real estate strategy and the restructuring of our portfolio. A&G Real Estate Partners has been strategic and very diligent in working as a part of our team in what was an important piece of our company’s turnaround. A&G has been a great partner, and they truly understand the real estate landscape very well.

–Cary Turner, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

While I was Controller at SuperValu, we needed highly experienced counsel to assist us in reducing the occupancy costs for 10 of our 13 brands. After an exhaustive interview process, we chose A&G Real Estate Partners. It was clear that A&G not only had extensive knowledge of the supermarket sector and our company, but also had a thorough understanding of the operations and real estate of every site. Their professionalism and negotiating skills were unparalleled, and their thoughtful strategy resulted in overall rent reductions and lease modifications that exceeded all expectations. Most importantly, A&G really understands what it means to be a partner.

–Keith E. Kravcik, Former Group Vice President and Corporate Controller

As part of our strategy to build rue21 into a world-class specialty retailer, we have taken a look at our operations in an effort to strengthen how we do business. A key area for us is our real estate strategy, to make sure we have the right number of stores in the most productive markets and the most cost- effective lease agreements with our landlords. With their significant market knowledge and contacts in the landlord community, we retained A&G Real Estate Partners in 2019 to partner with rue21 to handle our nearly 700 existing stores’ and new stores’ real estate strategy. The A&G team moved quickly to handle the numerous lease actions and to identify both short- and long-term opportunities. Their urgency to get the job done for us combined with their thoughtfulness and patience in negotiations on our behalf has helped us strengthen the rue21 brand and will be invaluable to us going forward as we execute our new store growth and remodel plans.

–Michael C. Appel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

We retained A&G to assist us with a lease termination for one underperforming location of a retail investment. From the start, it was clear to us that the A&G team would treat this small project like any other. They quickly set the right strategy, were very deliberate in their approach and successfully negotiated a buyout of this unit to improve our overall business operations. We truly appreciate our partnership with A&G.

–Mike Zappala, Vice President, Tengram Capital Partners

When we announced that we had reached an agreement to acquire Charming Shoppes, we also announced that we had made the difficult decision to cease operations at the Fashion Bug retail chain so as to focus our attention on higher growth divisions. After a thorough review of service providers that could assist us in our negotiations with landlords, we had confidence that A&G Real Estate Partners would be able to successfully execute this project, which required the resolution of complex lease negotiations covering approximately 300 store leases in a short amount of time. We appreciate how A&G worked with us to clearly define a strategy and how they kept us informed of their progress on a regular basis. The speedy and efficient termination of leases and the assignment of over 100 locations to various retailers exceeded our expectations. In addition, the team accomplished this while maintaining our important relationships with the landlord community. We appreciate the guidance and planning that A&G provided and believe our association was both productive and successful.

–David R. Jaffe, President & CEO, Ascena Retail Group, Inc.