ICSC Holds Retail Connections Leasing Fair
Their participation followed ICSC’s Africa Summit, held before Christmas, where industry professionals from Africa discussed future collaborations in the region. Retail Connections presented a new opportunity for developers from across Sub-Saharan Africa to talk to some of the most well-established global retail brands about the vast opportunities opening up across the continent.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that in 2014 Sub-Saharan Africa’s real GDP growth rate will be +6%, well ahead of the world’s expected real GDP growth rate of +3.6%.
Amanda Stops, CEO of The South African Council of Shopping Centres, who also attended Retail Connections said: “There are a number of international retailers already in South Africa, such as Topshop, Zara, Build-A-Bear and Louis Vuitton. H&M has also signed their first deals, and plan to open in 2015, but there are many opportunities for more. The ICSC Retail Connections event in London was a welcome opportunity for landlords and developers from across Africa to present their projects, and I was delighted to see so many of them take full advantage of the new opportunity offered to them by ICSC in London. South African retailer Woolworths and food concept Spur were also in attendance at the leasing fair, as they are looking at opportunities to bring their retail concepts from South Africa to Europe.”
Mike Morrissey, ICSC managing director, said: “It was evident from the number of retailers in the Africa Pavilion throughout the day, that they are indeed very interested in future opportunities in this region. We are now in the process of establishing an ICSC sub-Saharan Advisory Board as a strong foundation for developers and owners to build long lasting relationships with retailers who are keen to seize the new opportunities that this huge new market offers, as well as supporting the industry with education and research initiatives.”
Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co estimates that by 2030 Africa’s top 18 cities will have a total spending power of $1.3 trillion.
About ICSC
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 63,000 members in over 100 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. For more information, visit www.icsc.org.
