Recently, several PiinPoint team members joined a LinkedIn community that’s gaining traction: the Corporate Real Estate Opportunities Forum. This group, managed by John Thys of Driven Brands, serves as a space where he shares weekly site listings with members, creating a unique opportunity for retailers to collaborate in ways rarely seen in the industry.
The group is designed to foster collaboration, share opportunities for site dispositions, and even help brands partner up to secure prime real estate that might otherwise be out of reach for a single tenant. In an industry where site selection has historically been a closed-door process, this initiative is breaking new ground by encouraging retailers to work together.
We’re excited to connect with John and learn more about how this group came to be—and most importantly, how retailers like you can get involved! Read our Q&A below:
Can you tell us a bit about your role and what led you to create this LinkedIn group?
I am currently VP of Real Estate overseeing the team that supports store growth for Take 5 Oil, Meineke and Maaco. At the time that I created the group, I was just overseeing Meineke and Maaco but had an opportunity to start listing several of the brands' disposition sites. These were sites that were previously listed with brokers but their term ended and I asked to get a shot at trying to figure out how to be a listing broker. I focused on email campaigns and testing LinkedIn.
Through some discussions with leaders from our brands, a constant theme came up: it was more beneficial to have the actual brand interested in one of our disposition sites versus a developer that does not have a tenant in place. Also, if there was a way to collaborate directly with real estate managers of other brands, we can partner up on sites. For example, Take 5 Oil needs 0.5 acre. There are a lot of coffee brands that also need a half acre. So if we can partner, that opens up sites that are an acre + that is usually a pass. So, I wanted an outlet that I can highlight the dispositions that we are listing as well as a forum to find partners to open up more development opportunities.
At the same time, we internally started doing email marketing to support our franchisees by finding sites for them. The program is very successful but it’s a numbers game. So, we had driven a few thousand sites into our portal that were DQ’d as not fits.
My thinking was, it is a win-win for everyone if I just share these leads. Perhaps that will keep the brands coming into the group, it will help the brokers that sent the site get them in front of the brands and developers that could be interested. Another goal is to get people to send sites to Driven Brands. So, if they know it will get vetted by Driven and if it’s not a fit, it will be shared with a bigger group. Perhaps that gets people to automatically think of us with their listings.
Traditionally, retailers have been highly secretive about their location strategies. What inspired you to take a more collaborative approach?
We all have data. It seems silly to think that we can’t map a competitor and then figure out where they are looking in a matter of minutes. We think there is bigger upside in giving our franchisees visibility into more sites to help them make the best decisions.
How does your group operate, and who benefits most from this shared approach?
It's just an open forum. Anyone can post, find different ways to collaborate, etc. Truthfully, there is not as much chatter as I have envisioned but I know there is activity. Every Friday, I add 200 new sites to our group map and smartsheet. We have topped over 7,000 views, which is not much. But it does speak to a small group of the right people. People that fit in the groups of brand real estate personnel, developers and brokers.
Have you seen any surprising or unexpected success stories come from these shared site listings?
I haven’t surveyed other people for success stories. For myself, I feel like it’s the right target audience for promoting Driven Brands and finding buyers for our disposition sites. I don’t have to create a LinkedIn influencer persona (which is something I hated doing). Instead, I know I can post in the group and it will get traction. I have sold a number of dispositions as well as kicked up a bunch of activity and sites for our Meineke, Take 5 and Maaco brands.
You’ve used this group to find co-tenants for sites that may be too large for your brand. Can you share any successes you’ve had in collaborating with other retailers?
Yes, we are building relationships with a number of brands that we hope will lead to opportunities in the future. Not where I want it yet, but a goal to build these relationships in 2025.
How do you handle submissions from brokers? Do you have any criteria for what gets shared?
The brokers use a link to upload directly to our portal. There is an option to opt out of the LinkedIn page if they do not want it shared. The only criteria is that Driven Brands vets first and needs to be declined before we share.
What challenges did you face in launching this initiative? Were there skeptics?
It's kind of a weird thing to just try and sell some disposition sites and it does go outside the scope of what you typically see from a brand's internal real estate team. Not much in terms of skeptics but I wanted to make sure that my executive team understood the advantages to Driven Brands and the big picture goals.
Do you think this type of collaboration could become more common in retail real estate? Why or why not?
I hope so. I cringe every time I see a broker posting about how a relationship with another broker got them a deal. I get that’s the way things go, but when working with our franchisees my goal is to get them everything on and off market so they can make the best decisions. To do that, we need visibility. It’s the best thing for buyers and sellers.
How do you see technology playing a role in making retail site selection more transparent and efficient?
I have over thousands of sites sitting in a portal that were manually vetted. I am looking forward to technology that allows us to hit all of those sites with AI and have it spit out the 20% that may have potential, which will then go to our real estate managers for further vetting. Also, if someone can figure out how to automate building aerials for marketing and approval packages.
What advice would you give to other retail real estate professionals who might want to adopt a similar open-sharing model?
It's very easy to do. We built this out using Smartsheets and Google Maps. The LinkedIn page took 45 minutes to put together. I would encourage it.
If you could change one thing about how site selection and location sharing happens in the industry today, what would it be?
Open things up, we will all do more and better deals.
John’s initiative is a great example of how collaboration can create new opportunities in retail real estate. We've heard similar feedback from customers with multiple brand concepts—many are looking for creative ways to navigate site selection, co-tenancy, and real estate challenges.
If there’s one thing you can do today, we encourage you to join John’s LinkedIn group and see how the retail community is coming together to share insights and unlock new opportunities.
🔗 Join the Corporate Real Estate Opportunities Forum here.
