Shopping center trade show returns with renewed enthusiasm

RECon, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ commercial real estate trade show that has been a fixture in Las Vegas since 1986, returns next week with a pep talk from a National Football League star and optimism the group hasn’t felt since before the Great Recession.

The event that runs Sunday through Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Westgate Las Vegas is expected to draw between 33,500 and 35,000 people — about 1,000 more than last year — with hundreds of the largest retail brand names in the world exhibiting.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates the show will result in a nongaming economic impact of $96 million on Southern Nevada.

“We’re expecting a lot of activity at this show because the industry is in a considerable place of strength,” said Jesse Tron, a spokesman for the New York-based council that brings shopping center developers together with a broad collection of retailers.

The convention is also an educational and motivational session for industry professionals.

Tron said 2014 ended on a positive note for commercial real estate professionals and 2015 has started with a vitality the industry hasn’t experienced since markets crashed and business crumbled in 2008.

He said the key themes for this year’s show will include how to embrace technology for better sales and returns and how to incorporate entertainment and food options as a magnet to the retail experience.

Tron said many retailers looked at technology and the Internet with trepidation, worrying that millions who had made their way to shopping centers and malls would instead do all their buying online.

“But that doesn’t seem to be where things have gone,” he said.

Now, shopping center developers are working to retrofit Wi-Fi hotspots into their facilities, knowing that many shoppers will do initial Internet research, then go to their smartphones to find which stores have the products they want to buy. The final touchpoint, he said, is to actually see and feel and product before making the purchase.

Technology can also be used as a marketing tool, he said, with deals and promotions pushed to consumers when they arrive at the center.

“Many of our members are seeing the role dining and entertainment play in shopping,” Tron said. “Shopping centers have become social epicenters within the community. They shop there, but they also like to hang out there. They’re coming in to dine, but in some cases, they’re coming in to eat before they shop. Either way, they’re coming to the center.”

Like many industries, commercial real estate came out leaner, but stronger and wiser following the recession. Tron said industry leaders have used the experience as a platform to learn how to deal with inevitable future downturns.

That fits in with RECon’s education program, which opens in earnest on Sunday.

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos is the opening speaker for the conference. Manning’s motivational address will be followed later in the day by best-selling author John C. Maxwell who has written several books on leadership, including “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” and “Developing the Leader Within You.”

Other event speakers will include Commander Rorke Denver, a former Navy SEAL, on working under pressure; Michael Francis, chief global brand officer for DreamWorks Animation SKG; and Stefan Larsson, global president of Old Navy.

DreamWorks will be exhibiting at the trade show with the Shrek Experience, an immersive-themed entertainment experience that is attracting crowds to retail outlets.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.