Countdown to BCSC

Written on: 29 October 2010

It comes but once a year, THE premier shopping centre industry event. So, who will be there but more importantly, who should be there?

Austere measures means the big letting agencies no longer send hundreds of delegates to make up the numbers with generally only Heads of Departments getting the delegate pass. However, the BCSC for many agents is a major networking opportunity and I can guarantee that there will be plenty of agent activity on the periphery. The Midland Hotel and Radisson are good hot spots for off conference agent spotting. You will be able to see a huddled crowd around a harassed retailer whose agent has kindly prepared a long list of meetings. What a great opportunity to grab so and so for a half hour chat. It's a pity though that a hotel reception is deemed to be the perfect spot for some deal brokering.

It would be great if more retailers attended, at those discount prices, it is certainly something that BCSC encourages. To have more retailers at the Showcase rather  than the periphery industries of suppliers of car park equipment would certainly give the conference a massive boost and appeal. The retailers need to feel welcome and encouraged to present their side of the story. We must not forget that it is the retailers that play the most important part of all in the shopping centre industry and its direction and growth. Their participation should continued to be encouraged if the BCSC is to live up to its name and actually promote what is the vital ingredient for a successful shopping centre.

And then there are the Landlords. There are never many of these in evidence save for the big guns showing off their polished assets. But what about the secondary Centres? The distressed Centres? The Centres where owners are in breach of 101 banking covenants? Shouldn't some of those big banking types be there to see the industry in action rather than scratching their heads over a spreadsheet somewhere in the City? With the number of distressed shopping centres increasingly coming to the market, the bankers need to understand the living breathing beast that defines a Shopping Centre. Generally, those handling the toxic debt at the coalface are limited in their shopping experiences, let alone their ability to grasp the concept of service charges, rates, turnovers and tenants profitability. They see a lease term and an income stream. They do not see this in context of the whole Shopping Centre, let alone how that Shopping Centre fits into the rest of the towns hierarchy. Its a hell of a steep learning curve for these guys, and the BCSC could be  the perfect place for an introduction to this brave new world.

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