How I Brought Azat Mard Into Bloomingdale's, and What It Taught Me About Deals

Most people think deals start with capital. This one started with a fitting room.

I was working as a personal stylist at Bloomingdale's in Glendale, a city with one of the largest Armenian communities in the country. Every day I watched customers walk past racks of brands that had nothing to do with them, while one of the biggest clothing brands in the Armenian world, Azat Mard, had zero presence in the United States. Not one door.

That gap was the deal.

On one side was a department store that needed foot traffic, community connection, and brands that gave people a reason to walk in. On the other was a brand with a massive, loyal following and no American footprint. They needed the right first door, not just any door. Both sides needed the same thing and neither could see it.

I made the introduction. I vouched for the brand to the store, and for the store to the brand. Azat Mard came into Bloomingdale's Glendale, its first store presence in the United States, and the first Armenian fashion brand the department store had ever carried.

It sold out within six weeks.

Here is what I took from it, and it applies to every deal I have done since, in real estate, in business, all of it:

1. 1

   The best deals are gaps, not auctions.

   Nobody was competing for this. There was no bidding war, no broker package, no process. The opportunity existed because I was standing close enough to see both sides clearly.

2. 2

   Being the trusted middle is the whole game.

   The store trusted my read on the customer. The brand trusted that I understood what a first US door had to be. Capital is replaceable. Trust is not.

3. 3

   Community is distribution.

   Azat Mard did not need an ad budget in Glendale. It had a community that showed up. When I underwrite anything now, I look for the version of that: built-in demand that does not need to be manufactured.

People overcomplicate dealmaking. Find the gap. Understand what both sides actually need. Be the person both sides trust. The rest is execution.