Retail-focused developer returns to CEO role of prominent firm

The retail industry was on fire when Greg Sembler led the development of a St. Augustine outlet center in the late 1980s. The economy was in expansion mode and branded fashion — hello, Reebok and Champion — was having a moment.

In preparation for that opening Sembler, with St. Petersburg-based Sembler Development, recalls reading a report that around one-third of all retail sales nationally came from a department store. That industry model, once a strength, has changed dramatically. Today, Sembler says, that figure is closer to 3% — a metric that crystallizes the challenges the firm faces in 2020 and beyond.