Shopping Centers Today

MAY 2012

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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THE COMMON AREA Boosting Web sales top goal for chains in 2012 American retailers will put more time and money into their e-commerce and smartphone operations than into their physical stores this year, according to the National Retail Federa- tion. About 85 percent of respondents to a survey of nearly 250 retail executives said they expect their websites will be their most important selling channel this year, with their primary focus being the growth of online sales. Mean- while, 38 percent said the focus would be on boosting mobile- commerce sales, up from 29 percent that said so last year. Most retailers said enhanc- ing handheld technol- ogies, such as mobile points-of-sale, will be a focus over the next 18 months. Movie malls 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment signed a year-long deal with Taub- man Centers to install virtual storefronts called Fox Movie Malls at 18 proper- ties around the country. A smartphone app enables shoppers to scan a QR code and make an online pur- chase that can be shipped to their home. Participants can save up to 50 percent on their purchases and get ac- cess to games, movie trailers and more. The parties dis- closed no financial terms. Community spirit Ancar Ivanhoe's Shopping Nova America, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, won the 2012 Latin America Com- SCARBOROUGH TOWN CENTRE, OUTSIDE TORONTO tons of goods were col- lected and donated to over 18 cities through- out Brazil. Ancar Ivanhoe's charity, Cruzada do Menor, will receive a $5,000 donation from the ICSC Foundation, and Ancar Ivanhoe will be eligible for the Foundation's 2012 Albert Suss- man International Community Support Award, which honors the best community support program worldwide. munity Support Award for its "Making the Difference" social campaign. The shop- ping center developed the campaign in response to the floods that hit Rio de Janeiro last year. Over 100 community members came together to volunteer and collect water, medication, food and clothing for the victims. In total, some 350 From the food court to the flower beds Toronto's 1.4 million-square- foot Scarborough Town Centre is finding some in- novative ways to cut waste and increase sustainability. The center devised a high- tech recycling program that turns tenants' food waste products into reusable water via a machine called the ORCA (Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative) food digester. Uneaten food products from the center's restaurant tenants goes into the ORCA and nutrient-rich gray water comes out, which is then used to nourish the plants and exterior landscap- ing. The ORCA is expected produce 200 gallons of water daily and significantly reduce food waste and food disposal transportation costs, says Steven Minielly, operations manager at the center. "We are proud to be the first shop- ping center in North Amer- ica to implement the ORCA, demonstrating that putting green practices into corporate policy benefits shoppers, retailers, employees and investors," he said in a press release. In addition to reduc- ing the need for costly waster transportation, The ORCA will decrease the amount of methane gas released at waste disposal sites. Scarborough Town Center will provide its food court tenants with spe- cial containers and will pick up and recycle the waste. MAY 2012 / SCT 29

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