The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)'s Baltic States National Committee is holding its third Baltic States Retail Real Estate Conference at the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel, Tallinn, Estonia on Thursday 22 October 2009, following the huge success of last year's event, held in Vilnius.
As the shopping center industry's global trade association, ICSC has 60,000 members in 80 countries worldwide include shopping centre owners, developers, managers, retailers, investors, other professionals and public officials. The ICSC Baltic States National Committee, supported by ICSC, is helping to support the region's industry in surviving the current recession.
Whilst the shopping center industry is well-established in many Western European Countries, it is only around ten years' old in the Baltic States, during which time the region saw rapid growth. With the current challenging economic environment this is the first time the industry has had to deal with recession.
Industry Experts from across the Baltic States and Europe will be speaking at the conference on a range of issues including 'The Availability of Finance', 'Targeting Consumers during the Economic Downturn' and 'Ways to Improve Retailers' Cost Structure'. Hot topics including the macroeconomic outlook and future perspectives of the region, will be covered, and case studies of two of the three latest major shopping center openings in the Baltics will also be presented.
Marcis Budlevskis, Director of Lease and Business Development at Linstow Center Management Ltd in Riga, Latvia and chairman of the ICSC Baltic States National Committee, said: "Companies are becoming more protective as sharing of key performance indicators through media has become rare and few are talking to each other. To survive this recession, we must work together. Last year the conference attracted many more delegates than expected: A clear sign that people want to share information. This year it is even more important to feel the pulse of our countries, network with fellow professionals and move our industry forward. We hope that our Tallinn conference organized by ICSC and its Baltic Committee will provide the necessary forum for such interface."
The ICSC Baltic Static Committee organizes networking and information-sharing events for its members, and provides information to retailers and investors considering new markets.
For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.icsc.org/2009BSC.
Source: Nicky Godding Communications
