KAREN M. SOLHEIM, COMPANY PRINCIPAL
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Karen Solheim is the principal and founder of Solheim Research. Her broad research background includes experience working within major retail organizations AND the shopping center industry. Clients benefit from her insider expertise and her understanding of retailer real estate research coupled with shopping center research. This “both sides of the fence” background is quite unique in retail consulting and offers significant value to the client in the assessment of retail opportunity.
She started her career at Target Corporation's predecessor company, Dayton Hudson Corporation, in the retail research department. In that capacity, she conducted numerous total market strategies as well as site-specific forecasts for the company’s fashion department stores, Target stores, electronics stores, specialty apparel stores, and book stores.
Twice she established new retail research departments, first for W. R. Grace - Home Centers Group and then for General Growth of California, the western U.S. development division of General Growth Properties, with the title Vice President in both departments. Pulling from this broad and diverse background, she established Solheim Research.
Ms. Solheim is a long time member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the professional association for shopping center developers and retailers that locate in centers. She has presented research findings at several ICSC Research Conferences, and is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Association of American Geographers, Applied Geography, Retail subgroup.
She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she did both undergraduate and graduate work.
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