Jones Lang LaSalle poaches Colliers retail team in Russia

Russia has become the centre of a furious race for retail talent as the country revs up its development engine and international retailers flock to the country. Jones Lang LaSalle is poised to announce it has hired a team of 25 retail experts from Colliers International in Moscow to strengthen its own Russian retail team.

The move comes hard on the heels of news that Cushman & Wakefield has hired a nine-strong retail team in Moscow previously employed with Jones Lang LaSalle. The new C&W team is headed by Maxim Karbasnikoff who joined the firm from JLL earlier last month. C&W now has 21 retail staff in Russia.

The JLL retail department will be headed by Tatyana Kluchinskaya who previously worked in a similar position for Colliers International. The new recruits at JLL have boosted the total number of staff at its Russian retail unit to 40.

In her new position at JLL, Kluchinskaya will be charged with expanding the retail portfolio and managing the existing and new structural units established within the department. Following the new hires, JLL has created two new business lines in Moscow: retail tenant representation and concept development.

The two new activities will be added to existing units including shopping centers agency and high street retail. Vladimir Alexandrovsky has been appointed head of Retail Tenant Representation while Marina Malakhatko will assume the post of Head of Concept Development. Other new hires include Tatyana Malyanova who will head the Shopping Centres Agency unit.

Charles Boudet, managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle Russia & CIS, said the appointment of the new retail team was aimed at reinforcing JLL’s leading position in the retail sector and meeting the challenges brought by the rapidly growing market. ‘We need to bring new expertise, new practices and new people to the team. Tatyana’s personal experience and our corporate retail intelligence practice are a win-win combination for Jones Lang LaSalle and our retail clients.'

Robert Bonwell, CEO EMEA Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle, added: ‘With disposable incomes increasing and a growing middle class, Russia is predicted to become Europe’s leading retail market. Our own European retailer attractiveness ranking show Moscow third after London, Paris, and St Petersburg’s eighth. Jones Lang LaSalle continues to invest strategically in Russia and retail as the market represents 25% of European retail development pipeline, with 3 million sq m additional retail space by the end of 2013.'

JLL has 500 staff in its EMEA retail unit, excluding 500 shopping centre management staff. C&W has 300 retail staff across EMEA, excluding shopping centre management staff.