To Occupy Former Blockbuster Space
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Whitestone REIT (NYSE-Amex: WSR – “Whitestone”), a real estate
investment trust that acquires, owns and operates Community Centered
PropertiesTM, today announced that SKECHERS USA has leased 7,000 square
feet of space for a new warehouse outlet store at its Sugar Park Plaza
location in southwest Houston. With direct access to highway US 59,
Sugar Park Plaza serves the densely populated and affluent Fort Bend
County area, with nearly 50,000 households within a three mile radius.*
“We are pleased to welcome SKECHERS to our tenant mix at Sugar Park
Plaza in a highly visible location, a former Blockbuster space that was
vacated on December 31, 2010,” said James C. Mastandrea, Whitestone’s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The addition of SKECHERS as a
shopping destination, alongside Marshalls, SuitMart and Carter’s Country
will add traffic into an already busy Center – a gateway to fast growing
Fort Bend County neighborhoods of Stafford, Missouri City and Sugar
Land, with many new residential developments in the area.”
“The new southwest Houston store, scheduled to open in December, comes
as part of a worldwide retail licensing expansion for SKECHERS, with the
total number of SKECHERS stores at more than 400 worldwide, including
ten other Houston locations. Every SKECHERS retail store is a highly
effective outlet for consumer interaction with our brand," said George
Zelinsky, SKECHERS President of Retail.
Rafael Melara, Senior Leasing Agent at Whitestone REIT, represented the
landlord; Christopher Campion of The Ainbinder Company, and Leslie Mayer
of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant, SKECHERS USA, Inc.
About SKECHERS USA, Inc.
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX, “SKECHERS”), an award-winning global
leader in the lifestyle footwear industry headquartered in Manhattan
Beach, California, is a billion-dollar-plus company that designs,
develops and markets lifestyle footwear that appeals to trend-savvy men,
women and children. With more than 3,000 styles, SKECHERS meets the
needs of male and female consumers across every age and demographic.
Internationally, SKECHERS sells its products to department and specialty
stores via subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, the Benelux region, Brazil
and Chile, as well as a joint venture with China, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Singapore, and Thailand. For additional information, please visit www.skechers.com.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone REIT is a fully integrated real estate company that owns,
operates and re-develops Community Centered PropertiesTM,
which are visibly located properties in established or developing
culturally diverse neighborhoods. Whitestone focuses on value-creation
in its Centers, as it markets, leases and manages its Centers to match
tenants with the shared needs of surrounding neighborhoods. Operations
are structured for providing cost-effective service to local
service-oriented smaller space tenants (less than 3,000 square feet).
Whitestone has a diversified tenant base concentrated on service
offerings such as medical, education, and casual dining. The largest of
its over 800 tenants comprises less than 2% of its rental revenues.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas and founded in 1998, the Company is
internally managed with a portfolio of commercial properties in Texas,
Arizona, and Illinois. For additional information about the Company,
please visit www.whitestonereit.com.
The investor section of the Company's website has links to SEC filings,
news releases, financial reports and investor newsletters.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein that state the Company's or management's
intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future
are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which by their nature, involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results,
performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed
or implied by these statements. Reference is made to the Company's
regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for
information or factors that may impact the Company's performance.
*Source: Sites USAJuly 2011, 2010 Estimate
Source: Whitestone REIT
Contact:
Whitestone REIT:
Anne Gregory, 713-435-2219
Vice
President Marketing & Investor Relations
agregory@whitestonereit.com
or
SKECHERS:
Jennifer
Clay, 310-937-1326
Vice President of Corporate Communications