 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shopping Centers Today -> April 2002
 PRINT THIS STORY: |
  CHANGE TEXT SIZE: |
CONVENTION TO FOCUS ON PUBLIC/PRIVATE
 |
ICSC’s annual Spring Convention, with its theme “Building the Future: Partnerships and Progress,” will highlight the increased role government has come to play in getting successful retail projects built.
The Convention, which runs May 19-22, will host a roundtable discussion on the subject among mayors from Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities. Confirmed for the panel, which will be chaired by James Maurin, president of Stirling Properties, are Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn, Orlando Mayor Glenda E. Hood and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also been invited to participate.
This year’s big Convention speakers include Wal-Mart Stores President and CEO H. Lee Scott Jr., who will address Monday’s luncheon, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, founder and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, who will speak at Tuesday’s luncheon. Other speakers that are lined up include Michigan Gov. John Engler, who will address the Monday breakfast, and, for Tuesday’s breakfast, Dr. Jerry Linenger, the U.S. astronaut who spent more than four months on the Mir space station.
Scott, who was named president and CEO of Wal-Mart in January 2000, oversaw the company’s expansion in 2001 to the point where, with sales revenue in excess of $200 billion, it surpassed ExxonMobil Corp. as the world’s largest corporation, according to Fortune magazine. His session, “The Wal-Mart Success Story,” will address Wal-Mart’s ever-improving distribution network as well as the company’s approach to building management teams.
Former National Basketball Association star Johnson has parlayed his fame into a highly successful venture that brings movie theaters and such name-brand chains as Starbucks and TGI Friday’s into inner-city developments. Johnson also recently launched a new endeavor, the Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, which will finance and develop shopping center projects. The team’s first center is being built in Milwaukee, with a second planned for Cleveland.
 |
For the second-straight year, the Spring Convention will have its three main components — the Leasing Mall, Trade Expo and educational sessions — run concurrently on Monday and Tuesday.
The lone structural change for this year’s show deals with registration: For the first time, attendees that registered before April 1 are having their badges mailed to them ahead of time rather than having to pick them up on-site. However, these attendees will still need to get their badges validated on-site.
April 30 is the deadline to take advantage of the lower advance-registration rate; full-rate registrations will be accepted on-site.
Monday’s Blockbuster General Session, “Spending Trends — Wall Street on Retail,” will feature Rebecca L. Maccardini, SCMD, a past chairman of ICSC and president of Rebecca Maccardini Resources, facilitating a panel discussion between Gary J. Nay, a vice president of Federated Department Stores; Richard S, Sokolov, Simon Property Group’s president and COO; and Dana L. Telsey, Bear Stearns & Co. retail analyst.
All education sessions, except the final round of concurrent sessions on Tuesday afternoon, will take place at the Las Vegas Hilton. The sessions will take up such topics as how capital markets are reacting to retail properties in today’s economic climate; issues, challenges and opportunities in the operation of small centers; an update on insurance, including terrorism coverage for shopping centers; and the future of airport retailing.
The Expo and Leasing Mall have sold out well in advance of the convention once again, with more than 850 exhibitors taking part in the Leasing Mall. Municipalities will be heavily represented as well, with 26 being featured in a Partners in Progress area and four others taking booths in the main Leasing Mall area.
Meanwhile, ICSC is expected to name Gary D. Rappaport, SCSM, SCMD, CLS, to be its chairman for 2002-2003. He will take over from Chairman John Ingram, vice chairman of the Mills Corp., Arlington, Va. Rappaport, 51, is president and CEO of Vienna, Va.-based The Rappaport Cos., which builds, buys and manages shopping centers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
 | Current Issue November 2008 |