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Shopping Centers Today -> April 2002
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EUROPEAN CONFERENCE TO ADDRESS GLOBAL RETAIL
By Debra Hazel
Exploring “Retailing in a New World Order” will be the theme for ICSC’s 27th Annual European Conference & Exhibition, to be held this year in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The program, focusing on the issues and challenges facing shopping centers around the world, will take place April 23-26 at the Grimaldi Forum.
Retailers, developers, property owners, managers and others connected to the industry from Europe, Asia and North America will gather for presentations that include topics titled “Retailing — High in Fashion”; “Profitable Partnerships: Do They Exist?”; “Designing for the New World”; “Strategic Store Design: Gaining a Competitive Edge in Three Steps”; “The Changing Face of Retail”; and “Innovation in Consumer Management.”
Speakers and panelists will include retail executives from Nike, developers from Prague (Czech Republic) Investments, architects from London-based John Herbert Partnership and Eric Kuhne Associates (the latter designed Britain’s acclaimed Bluewater mall, outside London), and executives from Jones Lang LaSalle, Lend Lease and apparel retailer Austin Reed.
“The theme itself, ‘Retailing in a New World Order,’ is consistent with one of the many areas challenging retail today,” said Chris Igwe, managing director of ICSC Europe, London. “I am particularly excited about the last session on Friday,” he added, referring to a discussion during which industry leaders will air their “hopes, fears and expectations” for the future.
The conference also will feature a newly reformatted Exhibition, at which developers, retailers and designers can meet to discuss projects and business opportunities.
The Design Trends Exhibition will allow shopping center professionals to display their newest projects to the international audience. New to the conference will be “A Taste of Monaco,” offering samples of Monegasque culture and cuisine, and a special Retail Pavilion, a session in which retailers will present their strategies.
Once again this year the European Shopping Centre Awards will honor outstanding new and redeveloped projects. Nominees include centers from the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain (see 2002 EUROPEAN SHOPPING CENTRE AWARDS NOMINEES). Also scheduled are the annual Jean-Louis Solal Marketing Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in marketing and management.
“We have plans to make them more attractive both in presentation and content and are working to make the European Awards in particular more upbeat, as well as maintaining the seriousness of the content of each nomination,” Igwe said, adding that ICSC wants to leave its mark as “the premier organization recognizing the achievements of the industry across Europe.”
The event will be co-chaired by Marc Guermonprez, president of both French property manager Immochan International and the French Council of Shopping Centres. The other co-chairmen are John Bywater, managing director of London-based developer Hammerson, and Maria Teresa Palomino, manager of Sisim, Barcelona, Spain.
The program will also include 12 workshops in a variety of languages to allow smaller groups of between 20 and 40 attendees to meet and discuss topics in their own tongue, Igwe added.
In response to suggestions, the conference has also been reformatted to include more speakers from outside North America, with the conference starting midmorning on Wednesday and ending midday on Friday for easier travel.
 | Current Issue November 2008 |