ICSC New York Deal Making 2019 will embrace an evolving industry

The annual conference — the world’s second-largest devoted to retail real estate, after ICSC’s RECon — will attract hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees to the Jacob Javits Center on Dec. 10–12. Those in attendance — and indeed, the very show itself — will reflect all the things now under way in this rapidly changing industry, the organizers say.

“The retail real estate industry is now attracting all sorts of new tenants, new uses and new skill sets, which will provide a lot of the buzz at New York Deal Making this year,” said Karin Annus, ICSC’s chief content officer. “We have expanded the programming enormously, to match these exciting changes.”

Much of this programming will occur on the Main Stage and also on four “destination” stages: Retail in Focus; Health & Wellness; Tech Connect; and Food & Fun. For the very first time at New York Deal Making, all the interviews and presentations are to take place on the show floor, rather than being confined to a separate area. “This way the energies from the programming and the deal making will play off one another — as part of one integrated, seamless experience,” Annus said.

Main Stage attendees will hear executives from b8ta, Industrious, Nike, Shake Shack, Target, The Container Store, Toys R Us, Ulta Beauty and other leading companies speak about such diverse topics as the creation of mixed-use communities; the cannabis craze; capital markets; parking and transportation; international brands now entering the U.S.; sustainability; and security, to name only a few.

As for the destination areas, Retail in Focus will feature some of the emerging brands in retail, services and leasing that are now reshaping retail real estate. Among these companies are Fourpost and Leap (providers of space and a range of services to brands that are opening their first stores), Foxtrot (a new take on the traditional corner store, providing fresh food and home delivery) and WellBiz (which runs fitness, health and beauty chains). The panel discussions will cover such trends as the growing popularity of resale and rental models; the store as a service; what is next for direct-to-consumer brands; and some of the issues arising from omni-channel platforms, says Sierra Schaller, ICSC’s director of retail programming.

Register for New York Deal Making here.

The Health & Wellness destination will reflect major trends of its own: the convergence of retail and health care systems; the rise of boutique fitness; modern spa stores; and other concepts dedicated to human wellness in hitherto retail-only centers. Those taking center stage here will include Clean Market (a wellness store), Heyday Skincare (a facial spa concept), Kindbody (a fertility clinic), Rumble Fitness (a boxing studio), Sundays (an organic nail salon) and many more new concepts. Representing the health systems: Anchor Health Properties (developer), Buxton Co. (customer analytics), CityMD (urgent care), Intuitive Health (urgent care), RJW Barnabas Health (health network) and Rendina Healthcare Real Estate (development). Topics in this destination will include urgent-care facility site selection, the compatibility of gyms with other wellness-related tenants, health pop-ups and the myriad other services these companies bring to centers and cities.

New this year will be the Food & Fun destination, to showcase new dining and entertainment concepts, including the virtual-reality and social-gaming tenants that are catering to shoppers’ demands for experiences beyond the acquisition of merchandise. One company participating in this destination is Politan Row, a food-hall operator with one location each in Chicago and Houston. This programming will include a master class in using Yelp to promote properties and tenants; a look at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s partnership with The VOID and deeper dives into strategies for getting experiential retail right; how dining tenants can help with place making; the impacts that digital and automation are having on the restaurant industry; and more.

The Tech Connect destination will house the innovators serving landlords and retail with technology that is transforming the leasing, management and trading of retail space. The companies presenting there include American Tower (wireless infrastructure), Exteros (customer data), Guesst (innovative leasing), Locate.ai (site selection), Orbital Insight (customer-behavioral research), Placer.ai (foot-traffic analysis), Reonomy (commercial real estate data) and Virtual APT (virtual-reality marketing). The panels and presenters will discuss how technology is improving operations and energy efficiency at properties; ways to prepare for 5G connectivity; and “proptech” investment trends, among other topics.

On Dec. 12 Tech Connect will sponsor a Startup Showcase, which will introduce participants to about 15 early-stage technology companies whose platforms and products are reshaping physical retail and real estate, through a day-style demo pitch event and with networking opportunities. The featured startups include FaceNote, Forge, Occupier and several others.

Also new this year is the invitation-only Global Exchange, which will provide networking opportunities and exclusive matchmaking for domestic and international retailers and landlords looking to expand into new markets.

“Our industry is advancing at lightning speed,” Annus observed, “and New York Deal Making, like all of ICSC’s shows, is keeping pace.”