PROFILE–Robert Soroka, chairman of Robinsons-May

Robinsons-May chairman robert m. soroka found himself THROWN UNWILLINGLY INTO POLITICS when the LAUSD threatened to seize his hEADQUARTERS One day last September, Robert M. Soroka picked up his daily newspaper and learned that the Los Angeles Unified School District had designated the North Hollywood headquarters of Robinsons-May the company Soroka heads for possible acquisition as a new school site. Desperate to find locations for about 100 new schools by June 30, or lose $1.5 billion in state funding, the school district had latched onto Robinsons-May because of its ample space and location close to communities projected to experience severe school overcrowding. The chairman of Robinsons-May, a 56-store division of May Co. headquartered on a 24-acre parcel along with one of its stores, could not have been more surprised or less equipped for the political arena into which he was thrust. His career had been devoted solely to retailing since high school, when he got his first job as a part-time television and appliances salesman in a May Co. store in Akron, Ohio. Soroka had little exposure to, or understanding of, the L.A. school district bureaucracy and the officials who run it. Nonetheless, he was determined to launch a counter-offensive in an effort to dissuade the LAUSD from taking his headquarters property. Within weeks, Soroka engaged public relations firm Marathon Communications to help get out the company’s message; real estate brokerage Charles Dunn & Co. to locate alternative sites for schools; and demographic consultants Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschule Inc. to analyze the projected population growth and pinpoint areas with the greatest need for new schools. By mid-November, Robinsons-May had presented its report to the school board with the findings from its effort. Since then, Soroka has waited for a determination from the LAUSD. Question: Where does the situation stand now with LAUSD? Answer: In our (most recent) communication with members of the facilities committee, they told us our location has been put on the table so they can understand it, along with alternate sites. I think they understand that the needs they have are for sites farther to the north, and that there are sites that are more economically feasible for them. (But the school board has not announced any resolution.) Q: What problems would you face if the LAUSD were to decide in favor of acquiring your property? A: This location houses 1,750 corporate associates who are instrumental in running 56 stores and responsible for $2.2 billion of merchandise a year. Some people view it only as a disruption for the (on-site) retail store, but it is really a disruption to 56 store locations. To try to identify another site where we feel we would be successful would be very difficult to accomplish. The biggest reason is, we get an average of 300 vendors that visit us every month and we can work with them on the selling floor on how to best present the merchandise. Q: What would it take to relocate? A: We have not considered relocation, and we would fight eminent domain to the limit. Q: What did you do when you first learned that the school board was considering acquiring the Robinsons-May property? A: From day one, we felt we needed to work very hard to establish a way for us to get off the district’s list. The day I read about their interest in our site, I scheduled a meeting with (LAUSD Chief Executive) Howard Miller. In that meeting Howard said, “If you find me another site, we’ll leave your property alone.” From that day forward, we have focused 100 percent of our effort on finding another site. Q: What else have you done? A: I’ve met with six of the seven school board members and presented alternate sites. I had several meetings with some of them. I invited Howard Miller and (board member) Caprice Young and took them through the alternate sites we’d developed. When the activity first started in September, I was meeting with people from the Economic Alliance (of the San Fernando Valley), the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (and others). I was trying to find the right way to help us communicate better. All the communication was initiated by us, so I used the methods available to me, which were these alliances and neighborhood groups. Q: How has this process differed from other negotiations that you typically engage in as a business executive? A: I was chairman of the California Retail Association, so I’ve had the opportunity to be very close to other retailers that operate in this region and work with a number of state representatives in order to support retail development in the state of California. (In most negotiations) I have found an open-door policy where I was invited to be part of whatever discussions they were having. (With the LAUSD) there have been no negotiations. They had basically made a decision on what they wanted to do. The process since then was how they could make that happen without discussion with us. Q: How much time have you had to spend on this issue and how has that affected you? A: When the activity started in September, I was spending an enormous amount of time on it. I would say I was spending about a third of my time. I think the thing that’s important to mention also is that, as you could probably imagine, the Christmas season is the most profitable and most valuable season for retailers and preparation for that season occurs during that September and October period. For me to have to take my time during that period was a major disruption to the business. Q: How have your employees reacted to the situation and how have you handled it? A: To me, that’s one of the most frustrating aspects of the lack of communication from the LAUSD. We get a lot of inquiries from our associates because they read in the newspaper about the desire of the LAUSD to take the site, and it’s difficult for me to get them an answer. They’ve invested a lot of time (working for the company), and they’re concerned about what would happen. Q: What have you learned from this process? A: Certainly, I’m not a politician and Robinsons-May is not a political organization, but I think the thing I’ve learned the most is the importance of developing relationships with the business community and the neighborhood in order to help me and this organization get its message out to the district officials and the public. I’ve met some really terrific people as a result of this activity, particularly the (people at) the Economic Alliance. Valley College has been very supportive because of the number of jobs that this location offers their students. Chances are (I would) never have the opportunity to meet with those people. I think I’ve gained some valuable experience as a result of this activity. It has been an eye-opener to me about the value of forming these alliances at a local level, as well as the state level.