ICSC begins its two-day European conference on Monday 24 April in Poland, where several new shopping centres have recently opened their doors, including the super-sized Posnania mall (100,000 m2) in Poznan which was developed by Apsys and is one of the biggest retail complexes in Europe.
The northern city of Gdansk saw the opening of two malls in 2016 – Morena and Galeria Metropolia – while the Polish capital Warsaw, already home to several malls, witnessed the opening of Fabryka Wolomin as well as an extension to Atrium’s Promenada mall.
As at Mapic last November, the importance of leisure and food & beverage to modern retail destinations will be hot items on the agenda in Warsaw as research finds that consumers increasingly value the wider shopping experience, beyond merely purchasing goods. Adding leisure and F&B to the retail mix drives footfall, dwell time, and – ultimately – sales, according to advisers CBRE and JLL.
The two-day ICSC conference will also explore how shopping centres can learn from the hospitality industry’s approach to the guest experience, from online reservations and F&B to loyalty programmes and 24-hour services. Another major theme under the spotlight will be how retail is driving urban regeneration, transforming communities and reinvigorating economies. Several retail-led, mixed-use developments currently taking shape around Europe testify to this trend, including Hafencity in Hamburg, St James in Edinburgh and Stratford City in East London.
Headline speakers at this year’s conference include the bosses of two of Europe’s heavyweight retail companies: Jean-Marc Jestin of French group Klépierre and Gerard Groener of Ikea Centres. The line-up also includes Annette Kröger, CEO of Allianz Real Estate Germany, and retail futurist Howard Saunders.
No conference programme at any real estate event in Europe this year would be complete without a session devoted to debating the impact of geopolitics – from Brexit and Trump to the series of parliamentary and/or presidential elections set to take place across Europe. France, Germany and the Netherlands are all facing elections which could see a swing to the political far right as populist parties gain influence.
In keeping with tradition, the conference will end with the ICSC European Shopping Centre Awards, now in their 40th year, for the most outstanding new and refurbished schemes.
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ICSC European Conference
Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Center
Warsaw
24-25 April 2017
