A team from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Bloomington campus triumphed at the ICSC & UNC Retail Real Estate Case Competition at ICSC LAS VEGAS last month.

This marked the first time ICSC hosted the annual student competition with The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School, thanks to an introduction by ICSC Foundation board member Ivy Greaner, executive vice president and COO of Bedrock. Each team had five days to work on a case study written by UNC academics. The competition asked students to devise a plan to maximize the long-term value of a center in Mandeville, Louisiana, including a financial analysis of each option and the pros and cons of each. It was based on a deal supplied by Stirling Properties co-founder and past chair Jimmy Maurin and PMAT founder Bob Whelan, both ICSC Foundation board members, and by Stirling senior vice president of development and finance Justin Landry.

Coinciding with the ICSC LAS VEGAS event, 11 teams competed on Sunday, May 21: Indiana University Bloomington, UNC, The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business, The University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, California State University Northridge, University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business, Indiana University Kelley School of Business Indianapolis campus, The University of Mississippi, The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, Tulane University and Villanova University.

“Some of these schools have a long history of competing in case competitions around the country, whereas some of them were up-and-coming programs experiencing their first major case competition,” said ICSC Foundation senior manager of student experience and University Partners James Dulin. “Academic programs that are newer to case competitions grow from these experiences, helping them to build strong foundations for future case competition teams.”

Three teams moved forward to the finals on Monday, May 22. As winner, Indiana University Bloomington received $10,000. UNC took second place and $6,000, and Villanova won third place and $4,000.

“We took a rather different approach to our method of presentation,” said Indiana University Bloomington’s Joe Luebker. “Our team spent many hours crafting a story that would clearly and concisely convey our solution while utilizing research, financials and 3D renderings to support our storyline. Finally, our team conveyed confidence throughout the presentations, especially when asked thought-provoking questions by the panel of judges.”

After the competition, Landry reviewed and discussed the real-life deal with the competitors. “The UNC & ICSC Case Competition was an incredible experience and allowed us the opportunity to mimic what real investors and advisors must do when analyzing real estate,” said  Maxwell Northrop, another member of the winning team from Indiana University Bloomington. “We focused on taking more than adequate time to ensure we understood the entire dynamic of the site and worked hard to create a pitch that came across as coherent to the judges and guests. It was a blast, and our team certainly learned more than we could have asked for.”

A panel of industry professionals selected the winners: Greaner, Metro Commercial principal Rod Castan; JLL Retail managing director and director of property management Janine Christian; Sterling Organization COO of retail Bob Dake; Peaceable Street Capital co-founder David Henry; The Lamy Group founder, president and CEO Kenneth Lamy; RPT portfolio and Investments manager Mikayla Lynch; Russell Glen CEO Terrence Maiden; JLL president of retail property management Kristin Mueller; Citi director Jared Nutt; Rappaport CEO and past ICSC chair Gary Rappaport; Rite Aid senior vice president of store development Angele Robinson-Gaylord; Starwood Retail Partners COO Brian Ross; Brixmor executive vice president and South region president Matthew Ryan; and T. Dallas Smith & Co. principal and COO Dexter Warrior.