2014 ICSC RECon Convention

The Intersection of Global Growth for Retailers: It’s Here, There and Everywhere
This fast paced panel composed of corporate executives from some of the global marketplace’s top performing retailers and nationally and internationally recognized “Wall Street” experts will explore and highlight the keys to successful penetration and growth in away-from-home-country markets. Among other topics, the panelists will explain the importance to their success of local partners (all real estate is local), maintaining nimbleness and flexibility to seize opportunities and changes as they present themselves (new trends are everywhere), why the pace of global expansion is accelerating (from maturing home markets to improvements in logistics and supply chain management) and for retailers, the ability to outsource production in the global market to which they are expanding their footprint. The world may not be flattening and it may not be shrinking (at least not physically – apologies to the contemporary author and New York Times columnist, Thomas L. Friedman), but don’t tell that to the market leaders and growth enterprises of our industry. They’ll tell you the world is doing both, at least metaphorically.

The New Frontiers: A Look Nack, a Look Forward
The Internet grows by gigabyte, as the brick and mortar world keeps expanding. Both sides have fully engaged with the other; no one has missed the internet-social media trend. Each side is now behind enemy lines as some Internet operators have opened brick and mortar stores while more and more brick and mortar operators are multi-channeling their offerings with a variety of Internet and social media initiatives. This fast-paced panel will discuss upcoming trends and initiatives, likely future scenarios between the Internet and the brick and mortar players and how the various participants will seek to enhance and grow their models through a combination of virtual and actual physical forays. Lastly, the panelists will suggest the likely future winners on each side. Don’t miss this panel if you want to better understand the impact of the intersection of brick and mortar and virtual retail.