A retail team par excellence: Charlie Aug and Peter Botsaris.

Charlie Aug's business cards read -- in navy blue type, all caps beneath his title: THE STORE MAVEN.

The subtext -- though tongue in cheek -- is right on the mark. This is the man who brought the Gap to New York City, after all.

As the Aug in Garrick-Aug, one of the highest-profile store-leasing firms in the city, he has a quarter century of retail experience. As Chairman Aug relates the span of his career, his mannerisms and body language do little to insinuate that the speaker is a lofty figure in the theater of retail leasing.

His manner is atypical of many who have earned a hard-won position in the upper echelons of their field. And his approach is seemingly devoid of condescension or ego-induced swagger.

When Aug founded the firm in 1975 it was, according to Aug, the only brokerage in the country devoted solely to retail. Perhaps it is because he knows the business so well that Aug can articulate his own mission in such unadulterated terms. He shows no self-conscious concern for impressing his audience.

"We are in the bridge building business," said Aug. "We are always looking to make permanent relationships with our clients."

Given the size of the firm -- there are 57 people (and growing) on the sales force now -- Aug counts on his sales force to deliver service to a wide range of clients all over the region.

His strategy consists of dispatching brokers to particular regions, and he feels that many large firms do not take the time necessary to establish these crucial local ties whereby the broker can acquire a level of expertise and familiarity in that community.

"That way we have a broker assigned to certain areas in the city and, for example, other areas in the region," said Aug, who pioneered this approach for Garrick-Aug.

The Garrick-Aug database is also a key element in their sales arsenal. Over 20,000 tenants are in the database. It is Aug's belief information is invaluable to his organization -- and that explains why he began collecting data over twenty years ago. This information is not gathered via phone calls and e-mails, either. Much of it is trademark shoe-leather work where brokers are sent into the field to gather information.

According to Aug, the firm represents three to four million SF of exclusive space in the tri-state area. Even though the market is breaking records every day with many predicting a slowdown, Aug's view is less dire.

"Our business is recession-proof," said Aug.

His partner -- Peter Botsaris, president -- couldn't agree more. Botsaris has 15 years of experience at Garrick-Aug.

"I grew up in the restaurant business," said Botsaris.

"Garrick-Aug was the only game in town when I went into the business."

Botsaris credits Aug for being a "very down-to-earth guy who is always accessible" as well as someone who knows both sides of the business.

"It takes more to be a retail broker, you know. That's why Charlie has a keen sense of both the landlord and the tenant," said Botsaris.

Botsaris, like Aug, is a straight-talker.

With his black moustache and gruff manner that belies a street-smart native of New York City, Botsaris speaks in a short, clipped fashion that is frequently punctuated by the expression you know".

But his theoretical view of the business would be just that--adrift in a bar graph somewhere--if it weren't for a simple fact. Botsaris has used these theories successfully for 15 years and grounded them in practice. In that time, the execution has been remarkably potent and the track record no small achievement.

When Aug and Botsaris talk, the volume of ideas exchanged resembles a fusillade of industry jargon, quips and laughter. If the topic is strategy, Botsaris articulates a Garrick-Aug adage that sums up perfectly why it works and how. Aug will then jump in with an example of that strategy in action.

There are few questions, it seems, that they are unable or unwilling to answer. Such is the extent of their joint expertise, a combined 40 years in the making.

But the real proof is in the eyes of their colleagues.

"Charlie invented the retail brokerage business," said Daniel Geller, who has worked for Garrick-Aug a total of nine years. He is currently a director at Garrick-Aug where he is head of the New Jersey team.

"I happen to remember the first time that I met Charlie Aug," said Geller.

"I loved him from the moment we met. He is, in many ways, a mentor to me," said Geller.

"More like a father, really," he added.

He said that Aug has "a genuine interest in his employees".

When asked to define the Garrick-Aug crew itself, he paused for a moment.

"I don't want to use the term 'family' because that gets bandied about too much," he said. "We operate more as a team."

He credited Aug for "starting the company out very small" in the 1970s. "Then he saw the potential in the outer boroughs. Before the others really noticed it."

Nick Kalomeris is the director of the outer borough leasing team at Garrick-Aug. For the past fifteen years, he has worked with Charlie and Peter.

"I came straight out of college, which isn't uncommon here at Garrick-Aug," said Kalorneris.

His first impression of Aug?

"I was really amazed by how flamboyant Charlie Aug was. But beyond that, he has a sincere desire to see everyone around him succeed," said Kalomeris.

And Botsaris?

"Botsaris has an amazing background," said Kalomeris.

"He is a very good communicator and he is also a good listener."

A lethal combination -- for Garrick-Aug's competitors -- and a royal flush for those who work with this team.