Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/654213
+1 646 728 3800 Fax: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Publisher PATRICIA NORINS Editor in Chief EDMUND MANDER +1 646 728 3487 E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor BRANNON BOSWELL +1 646 728 3488 Copy Chief DAVID S. ORTIZ Copy Editor KRISTINA ELDREDGE Art Director JOhN D. LEWIS Contributing Editors STEVE BERGSMAN MARÍA BIRD PICÓ JOEL GROOVER MATT hUDGINS BETh MATTSON-TEIG STEVE M c LINDEN REBECCA MEISER ANNA ROBATON SPENCER RUMSEy BENNETT VOyLES A D V E R MIChAEL BELLI +1 714 313 1942 mbelli@icsc.org ShEILA ChARTON +1 646 728 3545 scharton@icsc.org AMIE LEIBOVITZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org SALLy STEPhENSON +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Manager DAVID STACKhOUSE +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org I C S C O F F I C E R S Chair man STEPhEN D. LEBOVITZ President and CEO TOM M c GEE Vice Chairman ELIZABETh I. hOLLAND Past Chairman ROBERT F. WELANETZ, CRX, CSM Treasurer GLEN hALE For article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com S H O P P I N G C E N T E R S T O D A Y SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is pub lished monthly. VOLUME 37, ISSUE 4 © 2016, International Coun cil of Shop ping Cen ters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and ad di tion al mailing offces. Sub scrip- tions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single- copy price $10 (May issue $20). For subscription informa- tion call +1 727 784 2000. POST MAS TER: Send address changes to Shopping Cen ters Today, Sawida Worley, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return unde- liverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. A m e s s A g e f r o m t h e p r e s i d e n t Accelerating into the future together — as one Dear ICSC Member: I AM VERy ENThUSIASTIC ABOUT communicating with you, our valued members, on an ongoing basis in SCT. In this first note, I would like to share a high- level summary of ICSC's recently launched As One strategy, which was developed to better position ICSC to serve you, our mem- bers, with excellence as we collaboratively navigate a future full of new opportunities. I will also share updates on the progress we are making as well as information about new and emerging industry trends. Our strategy is focused on advancing three overarching strategic priorities: to become a preeminent voice in the marketplace by rede- fining the role of retail real estate in the public mindset; to serve as a strategic partner to our industry by embracing a world-class service cul- ture; and to become best in class by responsi- bly investing in people, systems and processes to build a high-performance culture. A sum- mary of the strategy can be found on ICSC's website, at www.icsc.org/strategy. To support our strategy, we simplified our organizational structure and recruited some new leaders, including Margaret Wigglesworth, executive vice president of membership and volunteer services; and Rae Logsdon, senior vice president of communications, marketing and publishing. Membership and volunteer services is a new area to us, and its development is critical to achieving our priority of delivering world-class service. A few of our leaders, while not new to ICSC, have been placed in different roles. The entire leadership group looks forward to collabo- rating closely with you. We have begun critical activities such as developing a multi-year, broad-based public- relations plan focused on redefining retail real estate industry in the public mindset. We are evaluating the quality and effectiveness of our existing programs and events and developing best practices for 2017 and beyond. Finally, we are reviewing our existing volun- teer leadership structure and related roles, responsibilities and training to ensure our structure is not overly complex and that we are supporting our volunteers appropriately. I look forward to updating you on these and other initiatives in the months ahead. Shifting gears to the state of our industry, I would like to share a few statistics that speak to the strength of retail real estate and the oppor- tunities for the future. Certainly, the retail real estate industry is a competitive one, like many others, but it's also a staple of our culture. Cur- rently, occupancy rates stand at 94 percent, and we've seen 1,500 new shopping centers over the past few years. Similarly, though the lines between digital and physical are blurring and convergence is a trend, 93 percent of retail purchases occur in a physical store. Further, our research shows that retailers with a physical presence capture over 50 percent of all e-com- merce sales, and during the holiday season, 32 percent of shoppers purchased an item online to be picked up at a store, with 69 percent of those shoppers making an additional purchase in-store once they retrieved their item. Clearly, the physical store plays and will continue to play the central role in the shopping experi- ence, even as retailers focus on growing their omni-channel platforms. I hope to get the chance to meet many of you as I travel to meetings around the globe. My goal is for you always to be as proud of ICSC as I am to lead it. Tom McGee, president and CEO A p r i l 2 0 1 6 / S C T 5