Retail Brokers Network

What Retail Brokers Network does

Retail Brokers Network (RBN), founded in 1992 and headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, is a private membership organization that operates the largest network of independent commercial retail real estate brokerage offices in North America. It connects more than 60 member brokerage firms representing over 700 retail specialists across the United States and Canada, enabling cross-market referrals, information sharing, and collaboration on tenant representation, investment sales, landlord representation, and project leasing transactions. End-clients include retailers, restaurant chains, developers, and real estate investors seeking local expertise with national reach.

RBN's product surface consists of a core networking platform (retailbrokersnetwork.com) supplemented by a searchable Members Directory, an interactive Member Map for geographic broker discovery, a Property Listings module for sale and lease inventory, an Industry Partner program with Silver and Bronze sponsorship tiers, and eight specialized councils (Executive Committee, Advisory Board, Regional Leadership, Investment Sales, Landlord Rep, Restaurant, Tenant, and Women's). Technology is built on a standard WordPress stack with a member login portal; no proprietary AI, data, or platform differentiation is disclosed. Cumulative member-broker throughput exceeds 9,970 completed leasing transactions representing more than $6.2 billion in transaction value.

RBN generates revenue through two recurring streams: annual membership dues from member brokerage firms (quote-based, not publicly disclosed) and Industry Partner sponsorship fees from CRE service providers. Go-to-market is community-led — new members join via request, existing members access resources through a login portal, and deal flow is generated through referrals and council activity rather than direct sales. The organization is governed by an Executive Committee led by President Beth Patterson (CCIM) of Bradley Company, with Callie Elmore serving as Executive Director managing day-to-day operations.

Name

Retail Brokers Network

Legal name

Retail Brokers Network

Website

https://retailbrokersnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Retail Brokers Network is a private membership organization founded in 1992 that connects 60+ independent commercial retail real estate brokerages and 700+ retail specialists across North America, enabling cross-market referrals and collaboration on tenant representation, investment sales, and leasing transactions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Network

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Brokerage (BPAJABAB)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate network
• Retail brokerage services
• Real estate referrals
• Tenant representation
• Investment sales brokerage

Headquarters

HQ city

Tacoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: RBN generates revenue through annual membership fees from independent commercial retail real estate brokerage firms that join the network. The membership provides access to the referral network, council participation, and industry partner connections.
2. Industry Partner Program: The Industry Partner program is a premium partnership program where companies in commercial real estate invest in RBN each calendar year in exchange for access to RBN decision makers. Partners are categorized as Silver or Bronze tiers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Retail Brokers Network (RBN) is a membership-based networking organization that connects over 60 independent commercial retail real estate offices and more than 700 retail specialists across North America. The network facilitates business referrals, information sharing, and collaboration among member brokers serving retailers, developers, and investors in tenant representation, investment sales, and project leasing. Revenue is generated through annual membership fees and a tiered Industry Partner program (Silver and Bronze).

Product overview

Retail Brokers Network (RBN) operates as a unified networking platform rather than a modular software product. Founded in 1992, RBN connects over 60 independent commercial retail real estate offices representing more than 700 retail specialists across North America. The core RBN Platform serves as the central hub enabling broker collaboration, information sharing, and business referrals. This platform is complemented by supporting services including the Members Directory for finding and contacting member brokerages, the Member Map for geographic broker discovery, Property Listings for commercial real estate transactions, the Industry Partner Program for strategic partnerships, and RBN Councils providing specialized networking groups. The network has facilitated over 9,970 leasing transactions valued at over $6.2 billion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RBN Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 9,970 leasing transactions completed with $6.2 billion+ in transaction value
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered bronze and silver.

• Highstreet Milestone Risk ManagementbronzeGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Highstreet Milestone Risk Management is a Bronze Partner providing risk management services to RBN's commercial real estate network.
• Investors Title Exchange CorporationsilverGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Investors Title is a Silver Partner in the RBN Industry Partner program. Matt Linville serves as I.P. Captain on the Investment Sales Council. The partnership provides title services and promotes the partnership to RBN's network of retail brokers and their clients.
• CompFoliobronzeGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024CompFolio is a Bronze Partner in the RBN Industry Partner program, providing commercial real estate technology services to the network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SVN International Corporation: SVN operates a similarly structured franchise/network model for commercial real estate brokers across multiple property types, including retail. Both organizations monetize through member firm relationships and aim to provide independent brokerages with national reach, comparable in scale and GTM approach to RBN.
• NAI Global: NAI Global is a commercial real estate network of independent brokerage firms worldwide, operating on a similar affiliation/membership model. Both RBN and NAI connect independent brokerages to provide multi-market coverage and cross-referral capabilities to retail and commercial clients.
• TCN Worldwide: TCN Worldwide is a global network of independent commercial real estate firms offering a comparable affiliation structure to RBN. Both serve as referral and collaboration networks for independent brokerages covering retail, office, industrial, and investment sales across markets.

Broad incumbents

• ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers): ICSC is the leading industry association for retail real estate globally, providing networking, education, and events. While not a brokerage network per se, ICSC serves overlapping members (retail CRE professionals) and shapes the same retail real estate community in which RBN operates.
• CCIM Institute: CCIM Institute is a leading commercial real estate designation and network serving investment and brokerage professionals. It overlaps with RBN's broker base (Beth Patterson herself holds the CCIM designation) and offers similar networking, education, and credentials within commercial real estate.
• NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association): NAIOP is a large commercial real estate industry association serving developers, owners, brokers, and investors. While broader in scope than RBN's retail focus, NAIOP addresses overlapping membership (including retail developers served by RBN member brokerages) with similar networking and education offerings.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield is one of the largest global commercial real estate services firms with a significant retail practice. As a broad incumbent, it competes for retail brokerage mandates that RBN member firms also pursue, though from a centralized corporate model versus RBN's federated independent structure.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): JLL is a major global commercial real estate services firm with a dedicated retail practice serving landlords and retailers. It competes for many of the same retail tenant representation, landlord representation, and investment mandates that flow through RBN's member brokerages.

Others

• CoStar Group: CoStar is the dominant commercial real estate data, analytics, and listings platform (LoopNet, Apartments.com, CoStar). It is a key ecosystem player whose listings and data infrastructure RBN brokers rely on, and could be seen as either a future technology partner or competitive threat to RBN's nascent listing platform.

Emerging players

• Crexi: Crexi is a digital commercial real estate marketplace focused on simplifying CRE transactions through technology. It is comparable to RBN as a transaction-enabling platform for the brokerage community, particularly for retail and investment sales listings that RBN member firms handle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/retailbrokers
• Facebookfacebook.com/rbnmaketingcouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retail-brokers-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Retail Brokers Network