CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (“PECO” or the “Company”), an internally-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers, announced today the launch of PECO Connect™, a comprehensive initiative designed to help its tenants prepare to reopen as states begin to relax social distancing and stay at home requirements necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PECO Connect™ comprises a collection of omni-channel solutions intended to drive education and furnish retailers with important resources, including digital marketing tools, practical guidelines and recommendations to consider as they prepare to safely reopen their doors and resume serving their communities. PECO has created a webpage that serves as a central repository detailing resources and initiatives related to PECO Connect™. These initiatives include, among others:
- Front Row To-Go. This program gives shoppers front row access for easy curbside pick-up, facilitating this offering for tenants and their customers with clearly marked parking spaces.
- Outdoor Dining. PECO is working with some restaurant tenants to add outdoor seating, where feasible, as many states are allowing for restaurants to serve customers outdoors before allowing them to open their dining rooms.
- Digital Tool Kit and On-Site Signage. This toolkit includes downloadable social media graphics; printable signage including grand opening signs and banners; customizable flyers and coupons; and useful industry guides and blueprints to help tenants communicate with customers both on-site and online.
- Educational Webinars. This curated webinar series features information and creative ideas from respected authors and digital marketing experts. Topics range from how to engage customers while getting ready to open to social media tips to employ during COVID-19.
- Tenant Rewards. This program provides PECO’s local small-shop tenants with credit towards their PECO account. Rewards are given for things like applying for small business loans through the CARES Act, reopening within 30 days of being allowed per state mandates and leveraging social media to share the ways they are helping their communities.
- Consistent Communication. PECO’s proprietary internal communications platform, DashComm, has proven invaluable in delivering important updates and information to tenants, as well as responding to their questions and concerns, quickly and efficiently.
“We refer to our tenants as our neighbors given the nature of our relationships and how closely our businesses rely on each other,” said Jeff Edison, PECO’s Chairman and CEO. “Part of being a good neighbor is offering help and information during times of need, and this is what PECO Connect™ is designed to do – our goal is always to function as a true partner. Through this program, we will continue to maintain a regular dialogue with our neighbors, helping them reopen for business safely and quickly so they can return to profitability as soon as possible during this period of great uncertainty. We look forward to doing all we can to support the successful reopening of stores across our portfolio.”
PECO Connect™ is part of the Company’s broader efforts to provide its tenants with support and guidance as they work to navigate the challenges associated with the public health crisis. These efforts have included providing educational resources for tenants to apply for loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act.
About Phillips Edison & Company
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (“PECO”), an internally-managed REIT, is one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers. PECO’s diversified portfolio of well-occupied neighborhood shopping centers features a mix of national and regional retailers selling necessity-based goods and services in fundamentally strong markets throughout the United States. Through its vertically-integrated operating platform, the Company manages a portfolio of 312 properties, including 285 wholly-owned properties comprising approximately 31.9 million square feet across 31 states (as of March 31, 2020). PECO has generated strong operating results over its 29+ year history and has partnered with leading institutional commercial real estate investors including TPG Real Estate and The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. The Company remains exclusively focused on creating great grocery-anchored shopping experiences and improving the communities it serves one center at a time. For more information, please visit www.phillipsedison.com.
