General Growth Looks Into Retail Technology, Innovation

Scott Morey, EVP of General Growth, with Liz Bacelar, founder and CEO of Decoded Fashion.

LAS VEGAS—In one of Monday morning sessions here at ICSC’s RECon event, Scott Morey , EVP of General Growth out of Chicago, along with Liz Bacelar , founder and CEO of Decoded Fashion out of New York City, chatted about how technologies are revolutionizing the retail landscape and improving operational efficiencies and customer experiences. Morey pointed out that if you go back to 2002, there was a lot of money spent on technology in malls. But then “everything kind of died and there was a fundamental shift in consumer behavior,” he said. “Now we are back to the innovation game,” added Bacelar. The advantage now, at least for General Growth, Morey pointed out, is that the company has an advantage in its size and is about to take greater risk. “We can do things that are more creative or different than others, but the value has to be there at the property level.” As for areas of interest that General Growth is going to apply innovation to? “We engaged outside firms to figure out what was happening with consumer behavior and why they chose one thing over the other,” Morey explained. “We also went out and surveyed 100,000 people, which is where we better understood what mattered to people.” That, he said, has ultimately driven the firm’s strategy on a retail experience and digital basis. In addition, he noted, when talking about “from the couch to the store,” General Growth asks questions like “how do I make it a better experience? How do we engage?” Morey said it is all about figuring out how a consumer wants to get their product. “We have gotten smarter creating awareness around the products we have in our malls and are more aware of what channels consumers shop on.” Another big thing on the company’s radar is parking. “How do you solve open surface parking lots? Our format is that 90% of our parking is open surface lots.” He added that one thing the company wants to figure out is what value physical stores are providing within the journey of what consumers are doing. And when looking at working with new innovative company, Morey said that “There aren’t many original ideas.” So he said that when looking at new companies to work with, they ask themselves if the company is really fundamentally solving something. “We look at the management team, their track record, how they can execute etc. And we look at how far are they in their journey.” Though not a speaker at the session, Simon too is looking to improve its malls. “We continue to deploy capital in our most powerful assets and develop new centers that will be strong economic engines for their markets,” said the firm’s David Simon, chairman and CEO, at ICSC RECon. In the regional mall portfolio, growth is occurring through transformational expansions, selective new developments, and acquisitions. In addition, Simon continues to add impact restaurants and anchors throughout all three platforms. Check back with GlobeSt.com for more coverage from ICSC’s RECon 2016 event.