When you're standing in a packed convention center in Cannes, France, attending a retail real estate conference, drinking champagne at noon in the "Belgian cities" booth, it's hard to imagine that there is a serious economic crisis taking place on this continent.
Of course, being in a convention atmosphere is not indicative of the health of a number of countries, and people are known for enjoying the good life here even in bad times. But no one seems like they are in a crisis mode.
We had a video interview today with Per Wendschlag, a managing director at IKEA, who spoke about how the downturn is helping his company. Look for that video on GlobeSt.com next week.
And we covered a speech by the director in charge of Marks & Spencer's international expansion plans, and that retailer isn't pulling back. Marks & Spencer returned to France after a 10-year separation from the country.
Granted, this place doesn't have the buzz of an ICSC conference in 2007, but it's certainly more hopping than Vegas was in 2009. Tomorrow's meetings might sober things up, though, with perspectives from CB Richard Ellis and Cushman & Wakefield on the overall market.
Until then, though, sant
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
