NEW YORK CITY—Two themes dominated the conversation Monday and Tuesday at the International Council of Shopping Centers' New York National Deal Making conference, which was held at the Jacob K. Javits Center for the first time ever.
First, retailers were thrilled with the change of venue for the conference, which historically was held at the New York Hilton and had some events at other properties around town. Second, industry executives are embracing online shopping and the creation of the omni-channel experience, rather than running scared from it.
“I'm finding this to be an exceptional event,” Rick Chicester, CEO and president, Faris Lee Investments, told GlobeSt.com. “ICSC is finally getting its venue and that makes this event very different than it was because of the ease there is in moving around. If ICSC can maintain attendance, this will become the second most important ICSC conference.”
Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Douglas Elliman's retail group, told GlobeSt.com, “ICSC made a move and it's exciting. It gives retailers a bird's eye view of what's coming in the market because more developers are participating and the landlords are able to show projects in one place—they didn't have booths before, they had tables.”
Here in New York, she added, “We're in the retail capital of the world, we should have the best deal making show possible.”
The Deal Makers conference appeared poised to become just that, with a record 9,500 attendees taking part in this year's inaugural event at the Javits Center, which carried the tag line of “Bigger. Better. Javits.”
Connecting in person is key to business but the Internet's place in the world of ecommerce isn't all negative, according to leading industry players.
“There's less fear of the Internet and more of an understanding of the role it plays,” said Joanne Podell, vice chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, to GlobeSt.com. “It's not going to replace business, it will support it.”
In fact, there's an upside to online shopping, she noted. “We're seeing retailers take advantage of it to bring customers to the store. If you want to return something you bought online, you can physically bring it to the store, at no cost, and then you'll likely shop, creating an increase in the number of ticket sales on those returns. That's something we're going to see more and more.”
Additionally, ecommerce business providers are staying relevant by adding a surprising element to their mix. “Online companies are entering the bricks-and-mortar space because they are seeing the value of creating an in-person experience,” said Michael Oliverio, VP of real estate at Polo Ralph Lauren.
Watch GlobeSt.com over the next few days for more ICSC coverage.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
