Betting on Physical Retail with Sandeep Mathrani
From Leaning In by Trademark Property
May 11, 2026 · 54 min · Season 7 · Episode 3
About this episode
Terry Montesi interviews Sandeep Mathrani about his career in retail real estate and investment strategies.
In this episode, Terry Montesi sits down with Sandeep Mathrani to unpack a career defined by bold bets, operational discipline, and contrarian thinking in retail real estate. Sandeep shares how he got his start with a single apartment purchase and quickly evolved into a capital markets leader, eventually leading major turnarounds across the industry. The conversation explores his philosophy on investing in physical retail during periods of skepticism, including navigating bankruptcy, the rise of e-commerce, and the evolution of malls into experiential destinations. Sandeep also reflects on his time leading WeWork, drawing parallels between retail and flexible office, and offers a clear framework for evaluating assets, trends, and long-term opportunities. They discuss: How Sandeep’s early real estate wins shaped his long-term investment mindset Why investing heavily in top-tier malls during downturns created outsized returns The real impact of e-commerce on brick and mortar and why omnichannel has strengthened physical retail Lessons from turning around WeWork and applying the same operational playbook across industries What separates winning retail assets from those that decline…
People in this episode
Host: Terry Montesi
Guest: Sandeep Mathrani
Topics covered
- retail real estate
- investment strategies
- e-commerce impact
- mall evolution
- WeWork turnaround
- operational discipline
Keywords
- physical retail
- investment mindset
- top-tier malls
- omnichannel
- retail assets
- bankruptcy navigation
- experiential destinations
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: WeWork, Atlas Hills RE, Trademark Property, LinkedIn
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