ICSC is introducing the Cities of the World Pavilion this year to give these entities a more affordable alternative to designing and building conventional booth space. The pavilion provides hard-walled enclosures ready for exhibitors to move in and set up shop, reducing their costs even as the pavilion creates a single, high-traffic destination. “As the economy is on the mend, public-private partnerships will play an even greater role in retail real estate development, so it’s important for the public sector and the private sector to work together to achieve both of their goals,” said Cindy Stewart, ICSC’s director of community relations. “ICSC understands the importance of cities to retail and retail development and wanted to give them a higher profile, which is why we created the Cities of the World Pavilion.”

Many of the pavilion’s roughly 70 exhibitors have made RECon attendance a priority for years. Ponca City (Okla.) Development Authority returns for its fifth year, with plans to target restaurants and retailers, children’s apparel sellers in particular. At past RECon meetings, foot traffic past the Ponca City booth generated many productive encounters with developers and retailers, says Rich Cantillon, president of the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce. And each year the mayor visits retailers that already have a presence in Ponca City to thank them for their business. Budget tightening has made RECon attendance essential to economic growth, Cantillon says. “We need to be out there hustling retailers to locate in our communities, because of the [diminishing] tax base,” he said. “That’s why we attend: We want to be competitive.”

RECon offers cities a networking opportunity like no other, says Kate Ham, financial manager for economic development with the city of Auburn, Ala. “It’s the one time of year when all of the developers, retailers, municipalities and industrial boards are all together in one place, so you can arrange meetings you probably wouldn’t otherwise be able to facilitate,” Ham said. The Auburn team wants to promote both new retail development and redevelopment of existing retail real estate. Representatives will be touting the city’s favorable tax environment and strong educational offerings. “We’re home to Auburn University, a large South East Conference school, and we reap the benefits of having a very high educational focus in our community,” Ham said. “Our public schools are highly ranked nationwide and are some of the top schools in our state.”

Some communities join forces to increase their clout with a regional approach to economic development. The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership includes some 30 cities and unincorporated communities among its members and is exhibiting at RECon for its third year to promote its Southern California markets. “We’re promoting the San Gabriel Valley not only as a place to work, but to live, work, play,” said Antoinette Lou, the partnership’s director of marketing and operations. “We’re an hour from the beach, an hour from the mountains and an hour from the desert.”

Vancouver, British Columbia–based Linx BC, that province’s economic development team, is another example of several communities working together. “We represent most of the communities in British Columbia,” said Dale Wheeldon, CEO of Linx BC. The team’s exhibit will be hawking the region’s competitive tax rates, pro-business government and strong economy as it invites retailers and developers to join one of the fastest-growing regional economies in North America. Wheeldon says he is pleased to see the city exhibits gathered together where they will all benefit from the pavilion’s traffic. “Those people that are going to be going through that section are the people that are going to be really interested in exploring the opportunities throughout the different areas, so you know your audience is targeted,” he said.

Hesperia, Calif., is pursuing its marketing goals along several fronts, with advertising, Twitter tweets and literature all coordinated to promote its Hesperia Headliners: local retail and real estate personalities who will be at the booth sharing testimonials about the benefits of doing business in the community. “We’ve taken big advantage of what ICSC has been able to offer in terms of marketing opportunities,” said Lisa LaMere, an economic development management analyst for the city of Hesperia. Relationships Hesperia formed at previous RECons have resulted in numerous restaurant and store openings in the city, including a Golden Corral, an IHOP, a Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store, a Super Target and a Walmart Supercenter. “We invest heavily in marketing for the event, and without a doubt the investment pays off,” LaMere said.

Even a community that cannot spare the cost of sending a representative to RECon can draw attention to its development sites and retail opportunities by participating in the Cities of the World Showcase. Located in the Grand Lobby, the showcase presents graphic renderings and literature provided by cities from around the world, highlighting retail activity and directions to the booths of those that have one.

RECon attendees can learn about the latest development incentive practices and trends in public-private partnerships at the general session at 4 p.m. on Monday. In “America’s Cities: Rebuilding, Revitalizing, Redeveloping,” mayors will share success stories in a discussion of economic development programs with a focus on shopping centers.

“Cities continue to be proactive in their retail recruitment,” said Stewart. “They may be getting more creative in their incentives with today’s economic challenges, but they still understand the value of retail development to their communities.”

Through ICSC’s University Partnership Program, Florida International University’s Chapman School of Business will be offering at least one scholarship, in the amount of $5,000, to an ICSC member to be applied to his or her tuition for the school’s Master of Science in International Real Estate (MSIRE) program. Any ICSC member in good standing will be eligible for the award, assuming he/she has met the academic and professional requirements for admission into the MSIRE program.

In order to be considered for the scholarship, the prospective student must be a member at the time of his/her application to the degree program. The award will be based on merit, and the winner will be selected by the real estate department’s admission committee. To be considered for the scholarship, interested applicants must provide a short statement (no more than 500 words) on how they would benefit from the scholarship and the MSIRE Program. No other documentation (beyond those required for the standard application process) is required. Applications for the MSIRE program and ICSC Scholarship must be submitted by June 30, 2012.

Additional information is available online. For questions, please contact Matthew Rothstein, Marketing & Development Manager MSIRE at 305-348-7277.

Based in Miami and South Florida, Florida International University’s Chapman Graduate School of Business is one of the top business schools in Florida and in the country. No matter what your educational objectives, at the Chapman School, you’ll find a portfolio of innovative graduate business and international business programs that provide you with the knowledge and skills to advance your career in today’s dynamic, global marketplace.

Some new and expanded offerings at the show are a response to the busier business environment. The Finance Pavilion, for one, which is on the upper level of the South Hall, is twice the size it was last year. “For anyone in need of speaking with someone in need of financing, it’s a one-stop shop,” said Noelle Nicula, office administrator of Boise, Idaho–based A10 Capital, which returns to the pavilion this year to promote its bridge-loan program. “It’s the most important global retail real estate event in the calendar,” said Kercheval. “More people will be there, and they’ll be a lot busier.”

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This year’s summit will build on the globalization theme introduced at previous summits — in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2005, and Cape Town, South Africa, in 2007. The speakers and panelists include business, political and humanitarian leaders. “It is a much more global business today,” said Sandeep L. Mathrani, co-chairman of the summit, and CEO of General Growth Properties. “All of us can learn from each other as it relates to methods of doing business, capital markets, retailers, design and development.”

The conference is expected to draw about 1,000 attendees, including a large representation of executives from major companies around the world. ICSC has several goals for the summit. One is to examine the impact that the shopping center industry has had on the global economy. Another is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and knowledge about the investment shifts between developed and emerging markets, and a third is to enable networking among real estate investors, shopping center developers and expansion-minded retailers. “The globalization of retail is a topic vital to all industry players seeking to grow in a turbulent global economy, with emerging markets rapidly challenging established, developed markets in respect of both the extent of growth and the scale of the economies,” said Michael Rodel, co-chairman of the summit, and COO of the Rebosis Property Fund, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The topics are four: the macroeconomic and political conditions affecting the industry globally; retail development trends; investment trends around the world; and retail real estate industry best practices. The event incorporates a variety of viewpoints and subjects, from the newest retail concepts to the future of shopping center development in such places as China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. “It is very healthy to get people from around the world to present, so we can understand from their perspective how they see the world,” said Mathrani. “We want to be able to learn from each other — versus teach and say: ‘This is the right way.’ ”

The keynote speakers include Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer; and Jon Wright, head of global retail research at Euromonitor International. Some of the discussions will focus on the shopping centers of tomorrow, with emphasis on transit-oriented development, sustainability, community-building, incorporation of public space as shopping center anchor, and social responsibility. Attendees will get to see and experience Shanghai’s rapidly growing retail market and to tour notable retail projects and sites — such as Nanjing Road, Plaza 66, Raffles City Shanghai, Super Brand Mall and Xintiandi. Said Mathrani: “It is imperative to see the innovation across the world.”

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The association is projecting that this category will see a larger increase than the others this year, up perhaps 8.4 percent, representing some $4.1 billion. Supplies and over-the-counter medications grew significantly too last year, at some $11.7 billion, up 7.6 percent from the previous year. Pet sales and adoptions are flat, though, says Bob Vetere, president of the association. Some 62 percent of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to about 73 million homes. That percentage has remained essentially unchanged since 2008 because of the recession, Vetere says. “As the total pet population continues to grow, despite a slower pace, we still see the overall industry expanding year after year,” he said in a prepared statement. “As pet owners continue to treat pets like members of the family, we see positive growth and a response to consumer demand for more products and services which we expect to see through 2012.” The association is projecting an increase in pet spending of 3.8 percent this year, to about $53 billion.

Through the rest of 2011 Facebook and Twitter use among the shopping centers surveyed grew just 1 percent. Some, such as the mixed-use New Roc City, in New Rochelle, N.Y., actually terminated their Facebook pages in the past year. Babbage says the adoption of social media is likely to slow considerably this year, at least as concerns Facebook and Twitter, the most popular platforms.

Outlet centers now have the largest social-media presence of all retail property types (83 percent use Facebook and Twitter), followed by super-regional malls (73 percent use Facebook and Twitter).

Glimcher Realty remains the most active social-media user among shopping center owners of 20 properties or more. All of Glimcher’s properties have Facebook and Twitter accounts. General Growth Properties, Macerich and Simon Property Group are close behind, with 90 percent of their properties on Facebook and Twitter. Westfield Group has 100 percent of its properties on Facebook, and 56 percent on Twitter.

ICSC’s Western region was home to the most properties on Facebook. Some 75.5 percent of centers in that region use Facebook, according to Babbage, up from 56.1 percent a year ago; 65.1 percent use Twitter, up from 51.5 percent a year ago. The Midwest had the lowest percentage of social-media-active properties — 62.8 percent of properties on Facebook and 50.4 percent on Twitter.