Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, Llc

What Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, Llc does

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, LLC is a privately held boutique management consulting firm founded in January 2018 by Holly Cohen, a former VP/SVP at Nike, J. Crew, Claire's, and Gap, with a focus on the retail and commercial real estate sectors. The firm provides strategic advisory and consulting services to mid-to-large retail brands and real estate developers, covering growth strategy, international market entry, multi-channel brand leadership, portfolio optimization, turnarounds, IPO preparation, and store development. Deliverables are produced on a project-based or retainer basis, with fees customized to engagement scope. The firm has no proprietary technology platform; its value proposition rests on the founder's 30+ years of executive experience, C-suite relationships, and ICSC board-level credibility (Trustee since 2010). Clients include both Fortune 500 brands (Nike, Converse, Hurley, J. Crew, Madewell, Claire's, Icing, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy) and emerging ventures (Fourpost, ICSC programming). The company is headquartered in Miami, FL with a satellite office in Manhattan, New York, and serves clients across North America, Europe, China, Japan, and South America. The firm does not have any disclosed funding, parent company, or technology infrastructure.

Name

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, Llc

Legal name

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, LLC

Website

https://cohenras.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, LLC is a boutique consulting firm providing strategic advisory services to retail brands and real estate developers, covering growth strategy, international expansion, store development, and portfolio optimization. Founded in 2018 by Holly Cohen, the firm serves Fortune 500 and emerging retail clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real Estate Investment Advisory (Acquisitions/Dispositions, Capital Allocation) (BPAJANAA)

Keywords

• Retail advisory services
• Strategic retail consulting
• Retail real estate advisory
• Brand transformation consulting
• Store development consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Strategic Advisory and Consulting Services: The firm generates revenue by providing strategic consulting engagements to retail brands and real estate developers. Services include growth strategy, international market entry, portfolio optimization, turnarounds, IPO preparation, and store development advisory. Engagement types include project-based consulting and ongoing advisory retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, LLC is a boutique executive advisory firm providing strategic consulting to retail brands and real estate developers. Services span growth strategy, international market entry and expansion, multi-channel brand leadership, contract negotiation, portfolio optimization and transformation, turnarounds, IPO preparation, and end-to-end store development and construction advisory. The firm also created and runs the Retail in Focus program for ICSC, serving emerging retailers.

Product overview

Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, LLC is a global advisory services firm offering executive consulting rather than a technology product platform. The firm's primary offering is strategic retail advisory services encompassing growth strategy, international market expansion, multi-channel brand leadership, portfolio optimization, and store development. The company also developed the Retail in Focus program for ICSC, a specialized initiative for emerging retailers. These services are delivered as consulting engagements rather than software products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Advisory Services Executive consulting services providing strategic guidance for retail brands and real estate developers including growth strategy, concept development, go-to-market strategies, merchandising optimization, international market entry and expansion, multi-channel brand leadership, contract negotiation, portfolio optimization, turnarounds, IPO preparation, and end-to-end store development. Delivered as project-based consulting engagements and ongoing advisory retainer arrangements.
• Retail in Focus Program A specialized program developed for ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) designed specifically for emerging retailers. Provides emerging and growth-stage retail brands with strategic guidance, industry exposure, and access to premier retail real estate networks through ICSC's programming. Fourpost was a participating brand in the inaugural cohort.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $200M in projected revenue from flagship stores developed for Nike/Converse/Hurley in New York, Miami, Paris, and Shanghai
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2018Holly Cohen serves as a trustee on ICSC's board since 2010 and was the first trustee to chair RECon in 2014. She consulted for ICSC to design and implement new services for members, and developed and launched the Retail in Focus program for emerging retailers in December 2018 at ICSC's NY Deal Making event. ICSC is a global trade organization with over 70,000 members.
• FourpostcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Holly Cohen serves as an advisor for Fourpost (initially launched as RAAS — Retail as a Service), a startup with two North American locations open and a third opening mid-year. She provides strategic guidance on growth strategy and operational excellence, and served as the direct conduit for Fourpost's participation in the inaugural ICSC Retail in Focus initiative which she spearheaded.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cushman & Wakefield Retail: Global commercial real estate firm with a dedicated retail practice covering tenant representation, retail strategy, and store deployment advisory. Comparable for retail real estate advisory and global store rollout, much broader scope and scale.
• CBRE Retail Advisory: Largest commercial real estate services firm's retail platform offering tenant representation, retail real estate strategy, and store development advisory to global retail brands. Direct comparable for the firm's retail real estate advisory services.
• JLL Retail: Global commercial real estate services firm's retail division providing brokerage, site selection, and retail real estate advisory to enterprise retail brands. Comparable in retail tenant representation, flagship site selection, and global store development advisory.
• AlixPartners: Global management consulting firm with a strong Consumer Products and Retail practice delivering turnaround, transformation, and performance improvement services. Overlaps directly with the firm's turnaround, portfolio optimization, and IPO preparation offerings.
• Bain & Company Consumer Products and Retail Practice: Top-tier global management consultancy with a dedicated retail practice covering strategy, store growth, international expansion, and transformation. Closest comparable among major consultancies for retail growth strategy, though operating at vastly larger scale.
• A.T. Kearney Consumer Industries: Global management consultancy with deep Consumer and Retail practice covering growth strategy, retail operations, and international expansion. Comparable for retail strategy advisory at enterprise level, though much larger firm footprint.
• Newmark Group Retail Services: Commercial real estate services firm with a retail tenant representation and advisory practice serving global retail brands on site selection, lease negotiation, and store development. Comparable for retail real estate advisory at enterprise scale.
• Alvarez & Marsal Consumer & Retail Services: Global professional services firm with a dedicated Consumer & Retail practice offering turnaround, restructuring, and performance improvement advisory. Comparable as a senior-level retail and consumer advisory, but operates at much larger scale across multiple service lines.

Direct peers

• Telsey Advisory Group: Boutique consumer and retail advisory and equity research firm focused on retail, apparel, restaurants, and consumer brands. Comparable to Holly Cohen Retail Advisory in serving enterprise retail clients with senior-level strategic counsel, though larger and research-oriented.

Emerging players

• Marakon Associates: Boutique corporate strategy advisory firm specializing in growth, portfolio strategy, and value creation for consumer and retail clients. Direct comparable as a senior-level, boutique strategy advisory serving enterprise retail and consumer companies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holly-cohen-retail-advisory-services-llc

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 Holly Cohen Retail Advisory Services, Llc