Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. has promoted Leslie Swanson from executive vice president of operations to chief operating officer, and has appointed Andrew Wingrove to chief commercial officer, a new role in the company.
In addition, Justin Stein recently joined Tanger as executive vice president of leasing. Formerly senior vice president of leasing at the Simon Property Group, Stein’s primary responsibilities are managing the leasing strategy across Tanger’s portfolio as well as expansions and new developments, and leading the leasing team. He succeeds Lisa Morrison who is consulting to the company and stepped down from the day to day operations.
Commenting on the appointments, Tanger’s president and chief executive officer Stephen Yalof said Swanson “has led our transformation from being a centralized company to being field-driven. But she’s not only a field-driven leader. She a great mind for developing additional revenue sources,” including marketing partnerships and sponsorships. Yalof said Swanson plays “a broad role” at Tanger.
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Swanson will have direct oversight of operations, marketing partnerships, and specialty leasing and will develop ways to lift revenues. The role of chief operating officer was held by Yalof starting in April 2020 when he joined Tanger as president and chief operating officer, until Jan. 1, 2021, when he stepped up to president and CEO.
Yalof explained that Swanson has built up the field team and that becoming “field-driven” entails empowering general managers at the outlet centers to function as if they’re CEOs of the individual properties they oversee. “If a store space is unoccupied they’re finding retailers even for just a short period of time between two permanent leases. They understand the importance of maintaining the vibrancy and activating common areas,” of the outlet centers.
Tanger’s big picture strategy revolves around evolving from a real estate company to also being “customer experience” oriented, Yalof said. “Starting with the shopper and working our way backwards, we want to provide a great experience and that means anything from a better food and beverage offering to an electric car parking facility, and a loyalty program that is meaningful.”
Wingrove, a marketing executive, previously was a senior vice president for travel at Clear. Earlier, he worked in the marketing departments at Bonobos, Macy’s and Delta. “He’s really a customer experience manager,” said Yalof. “He makes sure shoppers have frictionless experiences,” whether they’re on the Tanger app or interacting with Tanger reps and stylists. “He owns that whole customer journey. His experience and fresh perspective will be an important factor in maintaining the company’s growth momentum,” said Yalof. He said Wingrove will be working on strategies to modernize marketing programs and beef up loyalty strategies, supporting efforts at customer centricity. “We’ve always done a great job with our loyalty program. We have over a million and a half loyal Tanger Club members,” though there is room to “elevate” communications with and benefits for customers.
“Throughout my career, I have been immersed in the brands and the consumers that Tanger is focused on,” said Wingrove. “I look forward to modernizing the way we operate to reflect a forward thinking and more digitally native community; synthesizing the way our customers view, shop and connect with Tanger’s brands.”
Tanger, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., operates and owns or has an ownership interest 36 upscale shopping centers in 20 states and Canada.
