Magazines Archives - 2008 September

Asia Expo 2008: Growth sustainability urgent for retail operators
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SHOPPING-CENTRE operators will determine the direction they will take, going forward, after taking stock of the region’s recent retail and retail realestate developments at the three-day Asia Expo 2008 next month.

Organised by the International Council of Shopping Centers Inc (ICSC), the conference-cum-exhibition will run from October 14-16 at the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. Panel discussions and conferences at the event will focus on the sustainability of growth in the Asian retail sector as well as look at opportunities in India, China and Vietnam.

Part of the conference programme will discuss luxury retailing in the region’s developing markets, retail opportunities and strategies in the gaming environment. There will be a forum as well on strategies towards sustainability in the midst of spiralling energy costs.

“Sustainability is a growing and urgent necessity. In the US and parts of Europe, it has begun to yield concrete, bankable results, particularly against the bottom-line impact of spiralling energy costs,” the ICSC said. “The question is, how do we get these initiatives to take off in Asia?”

A separate session on green retailing will be hosted by RETAIL ASIA on the last day of the show to tackle the issue of sustainable practices alongside positive customer-value proposition. This year, the ICSC will introduce additions to its annual event. Retail Runway, a platform allowing brands new to the region to introduce their concepts, will be presented “in a dynamic, fast-paced, and dramatic fashion”, ICSC officials said.

“These brands, some new to Asia, some established internationally, are looking to create a greater presence [in the region],” the organiser said. The ICSC will also have its inaugural Asia Shopping Center Awards for Design/Development and Marketing in conjunction with the annual Asia Expo Gala Dinner.

The awards will be given for outstanding achievement in marketing and design/development of retail properties, the ICSC website stated. Entrants will include shopping-centre owners, developers, management companies, architects and designers, and retailers. “In our first year, we have a total of 91 entries,” an official of the council’s Asia-Pacific representative office told RETAIL ASIA.

In addition, the ICSC will bring back the Chairman’s Gold Circle Retailers Programme, which brings together property developers, managers, investors and retailers. The programme also gives incentives to selected retailers or brands. Other highlights will include a study tour of retail sites in Macau for participants.

“Our plan is to work with the industry to organise a tour of the territory and get a first-hand perspective of the current situation and future plans of Macau. This is an opportunity to find a niche in Asia’s new entertainment-and-destination powerhouse,” the ICSC said.

The council expects this year’s show — its third in the series for Asia — to outdo the past two in terms of size and attendance. “At this point, the exhibition is already bigger than 2007’s. We anticipate over 600 attendees at the conference,” an official said.

Among the exhibitors named by the ICSC are Japan’s Daiso, US firms Arquitectonica and Wal-Mart, and Singapore’s CapitaLand.

The ICSC is a non-profit global trade and professional association for the retail real-estate industry, with 75,000 members in 100 countries. Members include shopping-centre owners, developers, retailers, managers, marketing specialists, leasing agents, researchers, academics, architects, contractors, consultants, investors, lenders, brokers and government officials.

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