Eye on Asia retail assets

Singapore is among the top 20 cities in the world where international retailers have the largest presence and is the most targeted market in Asia for European retailers.  And it continues to be one of the preferred first ports-of-call for retailers new to Asia.

For these reasons, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) says Singapore is the ideal location for RECon Asia 2014, which will host the region’s largest gathering of global retail real estate professionals in November at Marina Bay Sands for a two-day conference and exhibition.

“Asia is the most sought-after region for global retail brand expansion. As the retail sector continues to grow, we can expect real estate investors from all over the world to focus their attention on retail assets,” says Tan Guan Heng, director of ICSC. “RECon Asia reaches out to more retail-related professionals from the region and around the world than any convention in the Asia-Pacific. 

“The ICSC, as representatives of the industry, is committed to delivering a solid conference crafted for retail real estate professionals, who can look forward to a robust exchange of information, sharing of best practices and exploring optimal opportunities for enhancement of their business,” Tan says.

This year, RECon Asia breaks new ground with several new features.

A Retailer Outreach Programmehas been designed to include preferential fee structures for retailers registering to attend RECon Asia 2014, incentives for retailer delegations/groups, VIP programmes jointly produced by ICSC and its partners, and other incentives for exhibitors, sponsors and partners to co-invite retailers as guests to RECon Asia.

“Our task is to bring centre owners, retailers, investors and service providers under one roof and the Retailer Outreach Programme will advance that objective,” says Tan.

Retail Pop-Ups will make their debut at the RECon Asia 2014 exhibition. Pop-ups are fast becoming a retail channel in their own right for retailers who want to test the market conditions in new geographic areas, for new brands and labels or for new permanent or temporary retail locations. Retail property owners and managers are increasingly utilising Pop-ups to provide variety and fresh retail environments for discriminating shoppers.

RECon Asia Retail Runway is a special feature. Retail brands new to Asia or those that are looking to expand operations in Asia can take to the stage and provide a dynamic 10-minute presentation of their concepts, plans and requirements.

For the first time in Asia, the ICSC will be introducing Retailer Row, where retail brand representatives who register to attend RECon Asia 2014 will have access to a special area to meet with prospective business partners.

Design Trends Exhibitis a specially created area for shopping centre owners, developers, architects and designers to display their vision and latest concepts. Prominently located in high traffic areas throughout the exhibition hall, Design Trends Exhibit provides an ideal avenue for new and existing players to expand their presence at RECon Asia.

Also new at RECon 2014 is theFinance Pavilion,a place for participants to discuss current economic trends and opportunities, identify mutual goals across Asia and make deals. According to ICSC, this is “where money meets projects”.

In conjunction with RECon Asia 2014, the 7th Annual Asia-Pacific Shopping Centre Awards ceremony will be held on November 11.

RECon Asia 2014 Conference

Each year, RECon Asia attendees look forward to attending the high value RECon Asia Conference. Highlights of this year’s programme include the following speaker presentations.

Consumer: Mega Trends That Will Shape Consumption
By Tara Prabhakar
Regional Managing Director
Retail and Shopper Asia Pacific, India
TNS

Diversity in the Retail Real Estate Industry
By Shanti Flynn
Vice-President
Walmart Asia
Hong Kong

State of the Industry Address
By Michael P. Kercheval
CEO and President
International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc.
USA

The Mobile Revolution in Retailing
By Jason Chiu
CEO
Cherrypicks Group
Hong Kong

How a Local Brand Can Take On Global Competition
By William Tan Untiong
Chief Real Estate Officer
Jollibee Foods Corporation
Philippines