Jules and Jim Cocktail and Bottle Shoppe Wins 2015 EDENS Retail Challenge and the Opportunity to Bring Retail Concept to Life

NEW YORK, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- EDENS, one of the nation's leading retail real estate owners and developers, announced that Jules and Jim Cocktail and Bottle Shoppe led by Rob Pietroforte and Jesse Jahr from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has won the 2015 EDENS Retail Challenge, a nationwide university student competition seeking the most compelling new retail concept.  The competition culminated with final presentations in New York City on Monday, March 2^nd.

Jules and Jim is a craft cocktail and bottle shoppe seeking to change the way people experience cocktails at home through retail stores that provide custom cocktail curation and education as well as a subscription service.

"Jules and Jim embodies innovation, passion and a keen understanding of the retail landscape," says Jodie McLean, EDENS President and Chief Investment Officer.

The founders of Jules and Jim will receive a monetary award as well as additional support from EDENS' in-house team of financial, marketing and design professionals as they continue to build their brand. Past retail challenge winners include Follain and Artis, which are successfully open for business and growing rapidly—a testament to the value of the support and resources the program provides.

"Jesse and I are humbled by the victory and incredibly grateful to have been Finalists among great competitors," said Pietroforte. "We're thrilled to be a part of the EDENS family and look forward to working together as we take the next steps towards launching of our first retail location in the fall of 2015."

Jules and Jim was selected after an intensive, six-month process of competition, which evaluated some of the best and the brightest concepts from colleges and universities around the country. 

The final pitch, which took place this morning, was made to a panel of industry luminaries:

• Simon Dallimore - Founder of Dallimore & Co.,
  www.dallimoreco.com
• Alex Faherty - Founder and co-CEO at Faherty Brand,
  www.fahertybrand.com
• Tara Foley - Founder of Follain
  www.shopfollain.com
• David Hall - Director at Revolution Ventures
  www.revolution.com

The other finalists of the 2015 EDENS Retail Challenge were Dagny Scott (Columbia University), a fashion-forward, groundbreaking women's golf apparel brand, and T&Co (Babson College), a forward-thinking tea service company with a modern take on the traditional high tea.

For more information about the EDENS Retail Challenge, please visit www.edensretailchallenge.com. For more information about EDENS, visit www.edens.com.

About EDENS:
EDENS develops, owns and operates community shopping centers in primary markets across the country. Focusing on innovative development and redevelopment together with key acquisitions in urban areas, the company has built an institutional-quality portfolio of 136 retail centers. EDENS has regional headquarters in Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston and Columbia, SC. For additional information about the company and its retail real estate portfolio, please visit www.edens.com.  

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SOURCE EDENS