ISG targets US retail clients

ISG is targeting high-profile retail and commercial clients in the US for the first time as part of a new strategy to win work with America-based businesses across the globe, writes Emily Wright.

The £972m-turnover fit out and construction company sent a team to New York this week to meet firms understood to include Morgan Stanley, Tiffany, Gucci and American clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch.

John Mawhinney (pictured), ISG’s business development and marketing director, said: “A small delegation of representatives from ISG met with prospective end-user
clients with plans to move into the London office market or the retail sector outside of the US.”

The delegation will include ISG’s MD of Europe, Neil Coales, and country manager of China, James Wong. Mawhinney said that US-based firms are looking to expand into the world market more than they had in the past and were keen to move into emerging markets such as China and Singapore.

He added that ISG would be well placed to assist growing US companies because it already did business across the globe, including Asia, Europe and the UK.

“We’re represented in 20 different countries. These are countries, therefore, where we already have supply chains in place and where we have relationships with contractors and consultants.

“As an example, we did the fit out for a company’s office block in Hong Kong. They liked it and so now we can go and talk to them about doing their offices in Paris,
Milan and Geneva because we already have a relationship.”

ISG will also sell other services including building surveying and due diligence work as well as pure fit out.

In September ISG revealed it was recruiting in every division except construction. The firm recorded revenue of £972m for the year ended 30 June 2010, down from £1046m in 2009. Pre-tax profit was £8.7m, down from £11.8m in 2009.