Grace
Vranac
A good address is just the beginning. With 15+ years of retail real estate experience, Grace combines the art of her real estate expertise with the science of data backed intelligence to lead thoughtful real estate decisions to grow retail brands.
Retail Growth Strategy & Real Estate Leadership
A CAREER
ACROSS
RETAIL:
PANDORASIMON
claire’s
YELLOW ROSE
BY KENDRA SCOTT
KENDRA SCOTT
purebarreThe Strategy Behind Thoughtful
Retail Growth
The experience behind the strategy.
GRACE’S RESUME
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· Develop and execute market-by-market real estate strategies across store formats, guiding new store development, relocations, remodels and portfolio optimization in alignment with brand positioning and corporate growth objectives.
· Direct site selection through demographic, customer density, trade area and competitive analysis; partner with Finance to evaluate site economics and present investment recommendations to the Real Estate Committee.
· Lead negotiations for new leases, renewals, amendments and dispositions, securing terms that support financial and operational objectives while partnering with Legal to resolve complex contractual issues.
· Manage a 12–24-month development pipeline, collaborating with Construction, Store Design, Finance and Legal to advance projects from site selection through lease execution and store opening.
· Build and direct a national broker network and cultivate landlord and developer relationships to source strategic opportunities, strengthen market access and position the brand for future expansion.
· Evaluate retail, corporate and logistics portfolio performance to identify opportunities for reinvestment, consolidation, disposition and improved asset productivity
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· Strategically negotiated new, renewal and relocation leases across a portfolio of 500+ Claire’s stores within top-tier Major Landlord Accounts including: Simon, Tanger, Brookfield, Macerich, URW, Washington Prime and CBL, achieving a $1.7M reduction in rent obligations and aligning portfolio strategies.
· Partner cross-functionally with Construction, Legal and Finance to streamline lease execution and accelerate market strategies, ensuring alignment with operational goals.
· Serve as a trusted liaison between Claire’s and Landlord leasing teams, strengthening long-term partnerships and driving favorable lease outcomes across key markets.
· Conducted market-by-market site analysis using trade area data, customer demographics and performance metrics to optimize national store footprint.
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· Develop and manage real estate strategy to build retail distribution pipeline of 15+ new store locations annually
· Accelerate portfolio management by identifying relocation and expansion opportunities, maintaining capital expenditure budget while improving lease terms through renewal and lease renegotiations for fleet optimization
· Produce and present profit and loss data and develop approval package for bi-monthly Real Estate Committee meetings, generate sales projections through market data analyzation to solidify corporate real estate strategy and guide decision making, coordinate permitting timelines and build schedules with construction
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· Managed $43+ million of revenue generating assets consisting of over 3 million square feet in TX, KS and MO
· Initiated creative leasing strategies through negotiating new leases, renewals and assignments to increase occupancy and grow income for properties to create the highest return on assets
· Planned property budgets, maintained monthly rent forecasts and tracked financial performance to understand
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· Executed strategic leasing initiatives for a portfolio of 3 malls, totaling over $35M+ of annual revenue through tenant retention efforts and lease negotiations
· Led an asset revitalization project that involved remerchandising and optimizing property tenant mix; expanded relationships with key retailer and established new partnerships with brands and retail difference makers
· Generated ways to mitigate vacancy and create new income through redevelopments, downsizing or expanding existing tenants, relocations, temporary leases or pop-ups to grow occupancy.
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· Created a market development strategy for corporate studio expansion to execute store optimization plan
· Conducted market research to identify retail sites through demographic analysis, financial analysis and market tours
· Guided relationships with Franchisees, Brokers and Landlords to facilitate LOI’s and Lease negotiations
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· Directed a portfolio of 1,200+ Retail locations and facilitated lease transactions
· Sourced 28 New GameStop Retail Store transactions in 11 months and negotiated over 269 Lease Renewals during a 12 month period
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· Maintained and established relationships with Landlords to negotiate real estate leases
· Determined financial viability through running financial models to evaluate store operations for closure or renewal