Real Estate Location Intelligence

John Fox

Fox Real Estate Advisory

Retail location strategy and analytics for brands that grow with discipline.

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20+
Years Experience
100+
Sites Evaluated Annually
50+
Institutional Clients

Services

What the practice delivers

Engagements are structured around specific business needs — from discrete market studies and investment research briefs to full-cycle expansion analytics support for growing brands.

Retailers & Restaurants
Growing brands that need institutional-grade site selection, market prioritization, and expansion analytics — whether building internal capability or supplementing it.
Investors & Analysts
Buy-side and sell-side analysts, hedge funds, and PE firms evaluating retail or REIT investments. Current ground-level intelligence on store performance, market saturation, and expansion runway.
Landlords & Developers
Property owners, developers, and REITs assessing tenant demand, trade area feasibility, and retail repositioning. Twenty years on the retailer side of the table informs every recommendation.
Municipalities
Cities and economic development agencies identifying retail demand gaps, attracting commercial development, and assessing market viability for community planning initiatives.
01
Site Selection & Scoring
Geospatial modeling and trade area analysis to identify, rank, and prioritize development opportunities. Integrates demographic data, foot traffic intelligence, and competitive density into a coherent site score framework calibrated to your brand.
02
Market Entry & Greenfield Strategy
Systematic identification of underserved markets with expansion potential. Includes county-level demand analysis, DMA mapping, competitive white space assessment, and sequenced market entry recommendations.
03
Investment & Diligence Research
Retail real estate intelligence for investors evaluating store-level performance, portfolio quality, market saturation, and expansion runway. Delivered as phone consultations, investor webcast presentations, written research briefs, or structured diligence support for PE and capital markets teams.
04
Portfolio Strategy & Triage
Systematic review of existing store portfolios to identify performance outliers, lease renewal priorities, and relocation candidates. Benchmarks real estate quality against actual sales performance to surface what the standard metrics miss.
05
Competitive & Market Intelligence
Mapping and analysis of competitor footprints, market concentration, and whitespace opportunity. Delivered as geocoded datasets, density maps, or strategic narrative summaries for executive presentations, investment memos, or development prospectuses.
06
Retail Feasibility & Development Advisory
Trade area demand studies, tenant mix analysis, and retail feasibility assessments for landlords, developers, and municipalities. Grounded in retailer-side analytics — the perspective that determines whether a center succeeds or struggles.

Areas of Expertise

Built for destination retail

Most site selection frameworks were designed for impulse retail. The practice specializes in brands and investors where consumer intent drives location performance — healthcare, specialty services, personal care, specialty food, and growing restaurant concepts — where trade area behavior is fundamentally different from standard retail scoring models.

Eye Care & Vision QSR & Fast Casual Specialty Retail Natural Grocery Health & Wellness Franchise Development Off-Price Retail Beverage Concepts Retail REITs Mixed-Use Development Investment Research Economic Development
Analytical Capabilities
Mobile & Foot Traffic Analytics  ·  Site Location Modeling  ·  Market Screening & Prioritization  ·  Portfolio Analysis & Strategic Positioning
Research Methods
Geospatial & GIS Analysis  ·  Demographic & Trade Area Modeling  ·  Competitive Mapping  ·  Sales Forecasting & Benchmarking
Deliverable Formats
Executive Committee Presentations  ·  Investment Research Briefs  ·  Market Feasibility Studies  ·  Strategic Expansion Roadmaps
Professional Affiliations
ICSC — Former Chairman, Research Conference
Urban Land Institute — Research Committee

Selected Results

Work that moved decisions

Engagements are confidential by nature. What follows are representative outcomes across client types — the specifics are real, the clients unnamed.

Retailer  ·  Multi-Market Entry
Greenfield Market Prioritization — National Specialty Retailer
Built a 261-county underserved market analysis across 31 states identifying priority expansion targets. Developed an annotated 866-location national expansion map serving as the strategic roadmap for long-range portfolio growth. Currently leading simultaneous 4-store and 3-store market entry programs representing approximately $20–25M in aggregate capital deployment.
Outcome Active expansion program in execution across multiple new markets
Retailer  ·  Portfolio Analytics
Real Estate Quality Paradox — 1,100+ Store Portfolio Analysis
Correlation analysis across a major specialty retailer's full store portfolio revealed a counterintuitive finding: higher-rated real estate locations systematically underperformed while carrying elevated rent burdens. The pattern held consistently across 10+ years of data and multiple model iterations.
Outcome Redirected lease renewal strategy and informed portfolio triage prioritization
Developer  ·  Feasibility
Market Study — Regional Mall Development, South Florida
Conducted trade area demand analysis, competitive landscape assessment, and retail feasibility study for a proposed regional mall development. Analysis addressed retail demand gaps, trade area capture potential, and tenant mix viability for the proposed program.
Outcome Provided proof of concept supporting client decision to move forward with development
Investor  ·  Market Intelligence
Grocery Share of Market Analysis — Northern California
Delivered a competitive share of market analysis for a grocery investment in Northern California, assessing competitive density, trade area demand, and market saturation relative to the client's investment thesis and return objectives.
Outcome Aligned client investment objectives with market realities, informing go/no-go decision
Investor  ·  Repositioning
Regional Mall Repositioning Study — Texas
Assessed trade area dynamics, competitive positioning, and tenant mix performance for an underperforming regional mall. Identified demand gaps and repositioning opportunities relative to the evolving retail landscape in the subject market.
Outcome Analysis supported mall repositioning decision and informed tenant mix adjustment strategy
Investor  ·  Risk Analysis
Regional Mall Performance Grading & Future Risk Assessment
Developed a performance grading framework and forward-looking risk assessment across a regional mall portfolio, evaluating anchor tenant stability, trade area demand sustainability, competitive exposure, and lease maturity risk across multiple assets.
Outcome Clarified investment risk profile across the portfolio, supporting capital allocation decisions

About

Where analytics meets real estate judgment

Fox Real Estate Advisory provides independent retail real estate strategy, location analytics, and market intelligence consulting to retailers, investors, developers, and municipalities. With over two decades in the field — from Simon Property Group and Kite Realty to leading the analytics platform at National Vision — the practice brings institutional-grade rigor to every engagement. Available for project work, advisory retainers, investment research, and fractional strategic advisor relationships.

For retailers and restaurant brands, that means site selection and expansion analytics grounded in how consumers actually behave — not just how a trade area scores on paper. For investors and capital markets clients, it means current, ground-level intelligence on store performance, market saturation, and portfolio quality that no financial model alone can provide. For landlords, developers, and municipalities, it means retailer-side perspective on what drives tenants to choose — or avoid — a location.

That perspective is built on analysis across 1,100+ store locations and the conviction that healthcare, specialty services, and destination retail behave as need-driven formats — requiring a fundamentally different analytical lens than standard retail site selection models.

2015 –
Present
Head of Real Estate Strategy & Analytics
National Vision, Inc. — America's Best
2009 –
2015
Founder & Principal
Fox Real Estate Advisory
2006 –
2009
Vice President, Research
Kite Realty Group Trust
1997 –
2006
Real Estate Research Manager
Simon Property Group

Contact

Let's discuss your next project

Available for phone consultations, investor webcast presentations, project-based engagements, and advisory retainers. Use the form below or reach out directly by phone.

Phone
Email
jfox@foxreadvisory.com
Location
Atlanta, Georgia Area
Engagement Types
Phone Consultations
Investor Webcast Presentations
Project Engagements
Advisory Retainers
Fractional Strategic Advisor