John O'Shea, manager of the Freeport Braintree outlet mall in Essex, is the top-rated manager in the entire Realm portfolio, according to the company's leasing manager Gordon Gabbani. And the Braintree centre's performance during 2005 shows why this is the case.
Centre turnover was up 11.1 per cent with like-for-like turnover up 7.3 per cent. Footfall grew by a massive 32.6 per cent and the average spend hit £59.93 per visit, the highest of any Realm centre.
Last year saw the opening of a Marks & Spencer outlet store at Braintree, and Mark Ashman, head of M&S Outlets, said: "We would not have been so successful if it was not for John's help and commercial aggressiveness."
Like all Realm managers John takes a very hands-on approach to his retailers' operations. He organised training for more than 400 store staff in highly motivational customer service techniques. This clearly paid off as 10 stores went from double digit sales decreases to double digit sales increases.
John has also been at the forefront of Realm's policy of 'Responsible Property Investment'. Reflecting this he has played an active role in 46 different community projects and in addition, he now sits on the boards of directors of six influential local business groups.
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