Simon Group Markets New Strategy
GlobeSt.com, US
In an attempt to create buzz around its properties, Simon Property Group Inc. has put in place a marketing plan that will include hosting 11,000 events this year at its various locations. The activities will include expos, fashion shows, charity events, community and school activities and cultural programs …

Retailers record best sales for more than a year
The Independent, UK
UK retailers posted a surprise increase in sales in the first half of April – the first uplift for more than a year – in a further sign that trading conditions are improving on the high street …

Shopping centers can sell energy
SCT Newswire
Even within the most challenging economy the world has seen in 60 years, shopping centers can help lead the drive for environmental and economic sustainability. That was the message delivered on the opening day of this year’s ICSC European Conference by economist Jeremy Rifkin, founder and president of The Foundation on Economic Trends, a Bethesda, Md.–based think tank. Rifkin challenged his listeners to use their shopping centers, roofs, car parks and heat-exchange systems to become energy creators rather than just consumers. He said the world is currently facing three crises: climate change, recession and energy …

Teens, Too, Are Tightening Budgets
AdAge, US
In a recession, one group can usually be counted on to keep spending: teens. Their parents often pick up the tab for necessities, leaving them free to spend the income they earn from part-time jobs and birthday money from grandma on themselves. But in this downturn, a rather surprising phenomenon is emerging: tight-fisted teens …

Simon Tried to Buy General Growth Malls, Chief Says
Bloomberg, US
Simon Property Group Inc., the largest U.S. shopping-mall owner by stock-market value, tried to buy real estate from rival General Growth Properties Inc. before it filed for bankruptcy, Chief Executive David E. Simon said …

Dubai mall co eyes growth, says market hit bottom
The Guardian, UK
Sales at Dubai malls fell up to 20 percent in the first quarter, Al Ghurair Group, one of the Gulf emirate’s biggest mall developers, said on Monday, but the market has hit bottom and the time is ripe for regional growth. Chief Executive Majid Saif al-Ghurair said his company was looking “seriously” at expansion and acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa, but declined to name targets or dates …

Retailers facing tenancy crisis – ARA
Inside Retailing, AU
Retailers are facing “a tenancy crisis” says the Australian Retailers Association, which has urged the Federal Government to take action. ARA’s executive director Richard Evans said the Federal Government must act on the advice in the Productivity Commission’s (PC) Market for Retail Tenancy Leases final report (released in August 2008) “to help alleviate spiralling occupancy costs caused by the global financial crisis” …

Pandemic will hurt retailers
Business Spectator, AU
A pandemic will have a massive negative effect on the economy, and retail in particular. Once the media have whipped the public into a frenzy, during the first six weeks absenteeism will be rife with up to 60 per cent of people off work either ill, caring for others, or scared of contact with the virus …

Mother’s Day is almost here, and Erin Mills Town Centre is coordinating its retailers in a great list of workshops for “Mommy and Me.”

A $20 donation to Credit Valley Hospital gets a mom and her child in for five fun workshops that span the end of April and early May.  At one retailer, they can decorate and enjoy a chocolate pizza slice together. At another, they’ll decorate a frame for the free portrait they’ll receive. They can experiment with wild (temporary) hair colours, clips and sparkles, and enjoy a makeover/face painting session.

And at Old Navy, they’ll have the opportunity to dress up the retailer’s exciting new supermodelquins, which you can read about it the most recent issue of Marketing Trendz.

Sounds like a lot of fun for moms and kids alike!

Bayfair Center is trialling a new initiative that has a lot of promise. The shopping center is looking for a Retail Star.

Local entrepreneurs have been invited to orientation sessions at the end of this month. As they develop their business plans, they’ll be evaluated by an American Idolesque panel of judges, who will eventually narrow down the selection to the five finalists with the strongest, most creative concepts. The winner will receive free rent for a year, $25,000 in start-up funds, three years’ membership in the local Chamber of Commerce, and tenant improvement to the retail space.

The plan certainly entails some risk for the center, but the rewards could be great. Not only will the winner fill a vacancy (hopefully in time for the Christmas season), but management hopes that the business will bring some variety to the mix of businesses in the shopping center. This could very well be a big win for Bayfair.

Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes from Cyd Perszyk, Sr. Director of Business Development-Retail at Smarte Carte, Inc.:

Are you under the gun to reduce costs or generate new revenue … or both? Look for guest service solutions that will do just that.

For example, a self-serve, vended stroller system will generate new revenue from stroller rentals. And if your supplier manages the service, as we do at Smarte Carte, guest services staffing costs can be reduced.

Vended massage chairs can also generate revenue year round and offer a ‘no cost’ alternative for a mall’s soft seating area. Comfortable seating and a deep-tissue massage will rejuvenate guests and keep them shopping longer.

Want to know more? Contact Cyd at 651-653-3009 or by email. You can also visit the Smarte Carte Website at www.SmarteCarte.com.

Viral Marketing: Also known as Word of Mouth Advertising. Any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, thus creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Just like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, even to millions.

To push what it calls the first true cinematic-widescreen television, Philips has released an extremely slick new video. The short film “Carousel” has spread virally over the last week, amassing hundreds of thousands of views. To further the experience, Philips has put a site that shows viewers the difference between traditional 16:9 widescreen and its cinematic 21:9 widescreen, with “commentary” that slips advertising seamlessly into the film.

You can watch it here, or check out the full demonstration on their site: