“You never know when opportunity will strike,” says Joey Venezia, the operations director for Tanger Outlets Rehoboth Beach. Joey mentioned that phrase several times during our recent sit-down meeting. It’s also an idea he ensures his staff at Tanger Outlets embraces. He wants them to understand they will likely never know what person they meet, what situation they face or what decision they might make that presents them with that unique opportunity to make a significant impact on someone or something.
Joey grew up in Pennsylvania in what is known to many as The Sweetest Place on Earth, Hershey. Joey grew up playing football, which honed his competitive nature and instilled the importance of being part of a team. He attended Lebanon Valley College where he played football, but also thrived in the academic environment. He enjoyed the smaller classroom sizes and especially the diversity of degree offerings. He graduated with a degree in digital communications in 2006, and later obtained his MBA in 2012.
After graduation, while on the career hunt to make some money, he was a bartender at the Hershey Hotel. It helped him appreciate that you truly never know when opportunity will present itself. A group of executives came into the bar, unhappy with how long it would take them to get a table for dinner. Joey took the initiative to get them seated sooner rather than later. The group were from the soon-to-be Hollywood Casino, and so appreciated his sense of customer service and initiative, they offered him a job as marketing manager. He worked there for five years, then two more years at the corporate level for Penn National Gaming and its 20 properties.
Joey prospered in that role and was subsequently recruited to a consulting firm focused on Ahold USA, which owns Giant Food and Shop ‘n Go stores. In his new role, he was tasked with looking at consumer buying habits, and developing strategies to drive trips and customer spending for Giant grocery stores. Knowing buying habits of customers enabled Joey and Giant to better customize the shopping experience for consumers while enhancing revenues for the store.
While at Ahold, Joey married his wife Amanda, who grew up in Sussex County, and they started a family with twin girls. As Joey and his wife discussed where they wanted to raise their family, they gravitated toward Sussex County. Amanda was able to secure a position with Indian River School District, while Joey was recruited to become the assistant general manager for Tanger Outlets Rehoboth Beach in 2014.
It's a good thing that Joey believes opportunities are always out there, because retail shopping has been truly challenged, first with the emergence of e-commerce and then the COVID pandemic. Taking advantage of what Tanger has to offer – outdoor shopping, convenient parking and tax-free shopping – Joey and his team have worked to create a pleasant customer experience for those who come to the outlets to shop.
Supporting our local community is a priority for Joey and the Tanger team. Recognizing the unique environmental challenges of a community close to the water, Tanger is pursuing LEED Gold Certification for its buildings in its efforts to become environmentally sensitive. Additionally, Tanger hosts job fairs for its stores and has developed the Tanger Kids grant program in which local teachers can apply for grants to help fund educational initiatives for students. Tanger also raises money for breast cancer awareness. Last year, the sale of pink cards and the local Pink Golf Classic enabled Tanger to donate $46,000 to Beebe Healthcare in support of its breast cancer education and treatment programs. And more recently, Tanger developed a partnership with Schell Brothers to create Schellville, which is a unique holiday experience they hope becomes a family tradition for many years to come.
Joey’s vision for the future of the outlets is that they will continue to grow and evolve, looking to bring brands to the area that are important for local shoppers, as well as for visitors to the beach. While recognizing many of Tanger’s store-brands are national, they also want to be viewed as a location for local business owners who want to enlarge existing stores or create an additional location.
One thing we know for sure is that with Joey’s passion, Tanger Rehoboth Beach will continue to identify opportunities to enhance the successful brand that Tanger has become. While change and adversity are inevitable, Joey believes over time they will only strengthen his team as they strive to do things better every day for their shoppers and their stores.
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This column provides an opportunity for readers to connect with the personal side of business leaders in area communities. Many of our local business owners and CEOs are thought leaders in their community, and they can provide valuable insights and ideas on issues of common interest to all of us. Successful businesses are essential for a healthy and growing society, especially as people continue to move to this area looking for employment opportunities. This column will highlight leaders who are not only successful, but also making a difference in our communities.
Jeffrey Fried has been an executive in the healthcare industry for over 40 years, including serving as the president/CEO of Beebe Medical Center for 24 years. After leaving Beebe Healthcare, Jeff started his own consulting and executive coaching company, and has coached executives in a variety of industries. In addition, Jeff has partnered with a company called Vistage, the oldest executive coaching company in the country, where he serves as a local chair on the Delmarva Peninsula and leads/supports a group of medium-sized business owners and CEOs. Jeff and his wife Sherry reside outside Lewes and between the two of them have three children and five grandchildren. Last but not least, they are the parents of two rescue dogs.
