When real estate decisions
cannot be improvised.
Strategic advisory in complex, high-impact environments
where real estate becomes a driver of performance.
Selected track record
Real estate decisions shape more than space. They shape outcomes.
Retail is not dead. It is often misread. We advise investors, operators and institutions facing complex, high-stakes decisions, where networks, locations and assets demand more than partial financial indicators or short-term reasoning.
No two situations are alike. A place is never just an asset. It is shaped by usage, constraints, flows and human dynamics. Value cannot be decreed: it is built at the intersection of territory, real use and coherent strategy.
"Strategy is clarity under pressure: when it matters most. The field is not an execution phase: it is a tool for understanding, interpretation and decision-making."
Thinking long term is not a theoretical stance. It is a strategic requirement. Short-term pressure may produce rapid action, but rarely sustainable value.
APC Advisory is an independent strategic decision advisory structure, not a standardised consulting firm. Its role is to enable decisions that are sound, assumed and sustainable over time.
Supporting decisions where choices have lasting impact
Understand the real stakes
Full diagnosis of context, constraints and leverage points: observation of locations, understanding of real uses, analysis of operational constraints, perspective on local context and network dynamics.
Frame the right decisions
Structuring decisions at the right level. APC Advisory connects local and global, operational and strategic, short-term and long-term. This elevation allows priorities to be clarified and real risks to be assessed.
Drive execution until resolution
APC Advisory does not intervene to produce standardised reports. The objective is to drive execution by confronting scenarios, assessing consequences, and helping leaders arbitrate with clarity.
Real estate. Retail. Complex transformations.
Types of decisions supported
- Location, expansion & repositioning strategies
- Opening / closure arbitrations
- Real estate strategy restructuring
- Complex lease negotiation & renegotiation
- Asset management & value optimization
- Logistics & supply chain real estate strategy
- Franchise model evolution
- Urban planning & CNAC authorisation strategy
Environments
- International groups (COMEX / Executive Committee level)
- Retail brands & franchised networks
- Investment funds & institutional investors
- Real estate developers, players and landlords
- Growth, restructuring and transformation contexts
Group Real Estate Director, Executive Committee
Led global real estate strategy across Europe and the US at executive committee level. Supervised a portfolio of several hundred stores and over 1M m² of logistics facilities. Delivered significant rental savings and logistics optimization through subleasing, restructuring and footprint rationalization. Designed the strategic framework for transitioning from company-owned stores to a franchise model, reshaping the portfolio structure and unlocking a new growth trajectory.
European Real Estate Coordinator & Development Director, CODIR
At Bata: led the complete European portfolio restructuring: 350 closures and 180 new openings, including sale & leaseback strategies and the real estate framework for the PSE (Livre IV). At Le Duff Group: directed expansion across 5 brands (Brioche Dorée, Del Arte, Fournil de Pierre, Bruegger's, Ker Soazig) with 20+ openings per year and a new European concept rollout.
Real Estate & Construction Director, France & Europe
At Gap Inc.: directed the European portfolio transformation: 50 closures and 35 openings, with new concept deployment across France & UK. At Orange/France Telecom: led the post-merger network densification (Orange + Photo Service), orchestrating 200 store openings and the unification of overlapping distribution networks into a single coherent retail footprint.
Development, Investment & Advisory, France & Europe
The other side of real estate: at Bouygues Immobilier, retail park & shopping centre development, tenant mix design, commercialisation to national brands, and sale to institutional investors. At Cushman & Wakefield, retail-investment portfolio transactions including 54 Haussmann, Marks & Spencer, Bally and CGU/Heron portfolios, plus strategic studies on leisure-retail concepts (Heron City) and urban restructuring (Marseille city centre, Toulon Arsenal). At CBRE, industrial & logistics brokerage.
Intervening when decisions cannot be improvised
Location & expansion strategy
- Location selection and prioritisation
- Territorial arbitrations
- Expansion strategies
- Network and usage coherence
Network restructuring
- Network restructuring
- Site closures & redeployments
- Difficult but necessary arbitrations
- Asset repositioning
Lease & asset negotiation
- Retail and office leases
- Rental conditions & contract terms
- Value / use / risk assessment
- Asset repositioning
Franchise & network growth
- Franchise model structuring
- Affiliation and commission schemes
- Franchisor / partner balance
- Sustainable network growth
Strategic perspective & speaking
- Professional conferences
- Academic interventions
- Executive seminars
- Strategic reading of markets
Local strategic representation
- Exclusive local representative for international brands
- Stakeholder engagement
- Market entry & development support
- Trusted, on-the-ground presence
When the position cannot wait.
There are moments when an opinion is no longer enough: what is needed is someone who holds the role, makes the decisions and answers for their execution.
“Never four hands on the wheel!”
Interim management follows that rule: for the duration of the assignment, one person accountable, a clear scope, a handover prepared from day one.
Philippe Chaumais takes on interim management assignments with direct responsibility, for a defined period, inside the company's team. More than twenty-five years leading corporate real estate (retail, offices, logistics) and store-network development, up to executive committee level, allow him to take charge within the first weeks, and then to hand over in good order. Over his career, he has managed more than one million square metres of retail, as much again in logistics, and more than 30,000 m² of offices, including headquarters consolidations in Paris and the regions. He also leads, more broadly, business transformations and manages the teams dedicated to the assignment.
Vacant position
Holding the real estate function (retail, offices, logistics) or the development function while the recruitment is completed, with no break in ongoing files.
Restructuring
Closures, lease renegotiation, sale & leaseback, rationalisation of a network or of an office and warehouse estate, with care for teams and timelines.
Accelerated expansion
Structuring and leading the ramp-up of a network, including the move to franchising.
Post-merger integration
Bringing portfolios (stores, offices, warehouses) and networks together into one coherent footprint.
Each assignment starts with a precise framing: scope, duration, objectives, handover. Initial discussions are confidential and carry no obligation.
Discuss an assignmentMandates where the stakes were real
A point of view on what matters.
It is a performance lever.
They are continuously arbitraged.
a real estate decision.
They are being misread.
Philippe Chaumais
Philippe Chaumais advises on complex real estate situations at decision level, supporting leaders, investors and organisations in decisions that have lasting impact on asset value and network coherence. With 25+ years across every dimension of real estate: retail networks, logistics, investment, development, advisory, and the management of cross-functional teams of up to 50 people at COMEX level, he brings a rare 360° perspective that connects strategy, operations and finance. Independent by structure. Committed by conviction.
His career has been built at the intersection of retail, real estate, territories and development models, from investment advisory at Cushman & Wakefield, retail park development at Bouygues Immobilier, to leading European-scale transformations at Bata, Gap Inc. and Le Duff Group, and nine years directing the real estate strategy of a major listed international retailer at executive committee level. Trained in law (Paris XI) and financial analysis (ESPI), he combines operational depth with analytical rigour.
A rigorous reading of reality: the field always comes before the model
A deep understanding of economic balances across retail, real estate and networks
Constant attention to human and operational impacts: decisions engage people, not just assets
Start a confidential conversation.
For strategic situations where real estate decisions materially impact performance, capital allocation or risk exposure.
Initial discussions are confidential and without commitment.
Some situations require distance, clarity and speed.
Based in France · Working across Europe