Inside View: Matt Friday, CBRE Group Inc.

First vice president at CBRE Group Inc.'s Minneapolis office

Veteran retail and restaurant broker Matt Friday, 45, has joined the Minneapolis office of CBRE Group Inc. as first vice president. Friday represents national and regional retailers and restaurants, advising them on strategic planning, site selection and disposition and acquisition strategies. His clients include Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which he helps with the disposition of surplus real estate in the Midwest and Northwest regions.

Most recently, the Madison, Wis., native was senior vice president for SRS Real Estate Partners' Twin Cities office, where he was a top producer. Friday also had stints at the Ackerberg Group, Grubb & Ellis and United Properties. When Blake Hastings took the helm as managing director of CBRE's local office in January 2013, he made growing the company's retail brokerage team a priority.

Q: Can you talk more about your work with Target?

A: I handle their surplus real estate on a national basis. So that includes if they close a store, have excess land or outlots or are selling a Target-owned shopping center — anything that falls under that excess arena.

Q: Why did you make the move to CBRE?

A: Because of the national focus of a lot of my work, specifically with Target, a large national platform was a benefit to me, because I'm working in multiple markets where CBRE has offices and a very large reach.

A: Tenants are demanding more and more information from their brokers today. So with a platform and company like CBRE, not only do we have the resources as far as people in offices across the country that we can lean on for information, but we also have some of the best technology and information services available in the marketplace, which is critical in supplying our clients with the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Q: Will you help build CBRE's retail group?

A: Yes. Part of the appeal of coming over to CBRE was to work with Blake Hastings in an effort to grow our retail brokerage team. That's absolutely a focus.

Q: What are your goals for your first year at CBRE?

A: Helping recruit and build the team and continuing to grow our portfolio of business.

A: We're doing work for DSW, Raising Cane's, Carter's/OshKosh and Aldi.

Q: What new retailers are you working with that are scouting the Twin Cities?

A: A number of new players are looking at the market and fall under several categories, including fast-casual restaurants. A lot of those are looking here due to strong restaurant sales. We're also working with several retailers that are starting to look here, including Equinox — which is a high-end fitness club — and Boot Barn.