Kimco partners with nonprofit to train retail entrepreneurs

Kimco Realty Corp. wants a deep pool of talented local retailers to draw from for its small-shop tenant space, so the landlord is supporting a program that helps mentor retail entrepreneurs. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Kimco will help the nonprofit SCORE Foundation in developing new educational services focused specifically on entrepreneurs who are starting, operating or managing small businesses in the brick-and-mortar retail, service or restaurant industries.

Kimco will assist SCORE in the creation of educational services benefiting entrepreneurs in the retail, restaurant or service industries. Tenants and prospective tenants who wish to take advantage of the program will have access to a SCORE “concierge service” – a dedicated contact providing tenants an appropriate mentor based on their individual needs and access to SCORE training, counseling and other services that will be available through SCORE’s local chapters throughout the United States or through convenient web-based modules.

The program and sponsorship align with Kimco’s goals to support its small shop tenant base and to enrich local economies by helping to build and grow small businesses, including veteran, minority and women-owned retailers, says David Jamieson, Kimco’s Executive Vice President, Asset Management and Operations. “Kimco is thrilled to be working with SCORE to assist small businesses not only in our portfolio, but across the country,” Jamieson said. “Small shops are part of the fabric of our communities, and it’s vital to local economies that small businesses thrive. We are passionate about doing our part to help.”

“SCORE is teaming up with Kimco so more brick-and-mortar small business owners can have the help they need to find success,” added David Bobbitt, President of The SCORE Foundation and Vice President of Development at SCORE. “We know that small businesses counseled by SCORE mentors have a higher rate of surviving and, indeed, thriving. Brick-and-mortar small business owners face a changing marketplace, yet an experienced SCORE mentor can help them negotiate this new terrain with confidence."