ICSC thrives on making connections
Published: 09 March, 2011
Now in its seventh decade, the International Council of Shopping Centers has turned to speed dating.
Founded in 1957, the 60,000-strong International Council of Shopping Centers remains the pre-eminent global trade body for the shopping centre industry. Its annual convention in Las Vegas – now called RECON – is by far the biggest industry event of the year, attracting up to 50,000 delegates and housing as much as 2 million sq ft of exhibition space.
Reflecting its roots, the ICSC is strongest in the USA, but it has grown in recent years on the back of the boom in shopping centre development in emerging markets. Latin America and China now have thriving memberships.
Europe, it’s fair to say, has been a harder nut to crack. In the early 1970s a group of leading developers and agents, headed by the French developer Jean Louis Solal, set up a European council under the ICSC umbrella and in 1976 it hosted its first European conference.
Over the ensuing 20 years the event, with its trade exhibition and ICSC Awards running in parallel, became an annual fixture, but by the mid-1990s it faced a commercial rival in the form of the Mipim convention in Cannes.
As a result the exhibition faded from the scene and stripped of its major income stream the administration of the European council was merged back in with the New York-based organisation.
But the conference and awards continue, and this year it is being held in Paris from June 15-17, running in tandem with SIEC, the French National Council of Shopping Centers’ annual commercial real estate exhibition.
The boom in shopping centre development in Central and Eastern Europe proved to the ICSC Europe’s salvation. As recently as a decade ago membership stood at less than 500, but now it is over 2,000, with markets like Russia and Turkey growing at more than 15 per cent pa.
Reflecting that, 2011 will be an exceptionally busy year with over 100 meetings, educational and network events across Europe.
ICSC European managing director, Ermine Amies, says: “ICSC now holds more events across Europe than it has ever done in its 50-year history and it’s all driven by our members.”
Among the highlights for 2011 will be ICSC Retail Connections, at The Business Design Centre in London on March 31. Retail Connections is the only event dedicated to retail property leasing for shopping centre owner/developers, retailers and agents.
Amies says: “This is the best speed-dating game in Europe. We provide refreshments throughout the day to keep the atmosphere going. To cement new relationships, we host an after-event reception which seems to start later and later as delegates are determined to squeeze everything they can out of the day before relaxing.”
