LAS VEGAS—Perhaps the greatest takeaway of the now-concluded ICSC RECon meeting in Las Vegas is the sense of quiet confidence I felt and others expressed around the halls. Meetings were serious and intense, several attendees said, especially on Monday when most of the decision-makers were on site. Activity was good well into Tuesday afternoon.
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The great bogeymen of recent conferences—the recession and e-commerce—are either over or being dealt with, some money is available for projects (particularly expansions) though with very tight criteria, and even the possibility of store closings isn't throwing anyone into a panic.
That's because there are a number of new entrants in the mix, including natural grocer Sprouts, as well as continued expansion from TJX Cos. and Walmart, which is opening more than a store a day in its various formats, outgoing CEO Mike Duke said at the concluding luncheon.
“We've made a huge focus on re-tenanting,” Matt Schuler, Director of Communications at DDR Corp., told GlobeSt.com. DDR's big-box portfolio is 98 percent leased. “We have so much demand we look forward to these opportunities. “
It wasn't the euphoria of the pre-recession era, but it sure was a nice shift from the panic of recent years.
I think we'll all take it.
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