ICSC: This Time I Think You Missed the Mark

I attended the Western Region ICSC Conference in San Diego last week. While most I encountered seemed confident the economy had bottomed out and that business is improving, the typically high-energy ICSC conference was hardly evidence. Registered attendance was down to about 3,000 from 5,000 in 2008. (As I recall, registered attendance in 2007 was near 7,000.) There were considerably fewer tenant booths, and one could only surmise from the notable, large developers who hosted meetings at nearby hotels that the $300+ per person ICSC registration fee made on-site participation cost-prohibitive. The conspicuous absence of new development projects, typically unveiled in celebratory fashion at this conference, was another sobering observation. And, sadly, many of the proposed projects that have been on the boards for the past few years remain noted as “future.”

Count me as an ardent supporter of the ICSC. I know most of us respect the association and the benefits it provides our trade. But I think the ICSC missed an opportunity last week to step-up, assert itself as the leading business platform we know it is and provide an evocative and inspiring conference centering on the matters of the economic situation. Why not a downturn economy-specific show theme? We’re all in this together, right? Aren’t we all looking for an edge, if nothing more than reasons to believe things are getting better?  What if exhibitors and speakers had been asked to address ways we can work around such difficult times? What if attendees could have hoped attending would send them home rejuvenated, with new ideas to stimulate business? Even discounted fees for exhibitors and attendees would have made a difference. Goodness knows we need it. By anyone’s measure, it’s no time for business as usual.