As 2011 comes to a close, we reflect on a year gone by. It was one of upheaval and disruption, of great challenges and many disasters. The global economy stumbles onwards, and retail stumbles with it. But there is also much to celebrate, and a new year to come.

Let’s make 2012 the best year this century has seen. There is every reason to hope for better days, and to be glad for what we have. And we here at Shopping Center Weekly are glad we have you, loyal readers, opening our newsletters and visiting our websites every week. We’re looking forward to another great year ahead. 2012 is the 20th anniversary of our first print publication, Tactics Magazine, so it’s sure to be a big year for all of us.

So merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate, or happy holidays if you prefer. And to all of you, have a safe and happy New Year. Enjoy this, our last newsletter of 2011 – but know that there will be many more to come next year.

A quick note for you, our loyal readers: Shopping Center Weekly has its own Facebook page now.

It’s still a little fresh, but you can expect to see a lot showing up on our page. We’ll have information about upcoming events and awards, deals for our fans, polls and lots more. You’ll also be able to click to the newsletter directly from Facebook, if that’s easier for you.

We’d love to hear from you as well, whether you want to share stories from your center (we’re always taking submissions) or comments on our content. So check us out!

Fresh off the presses, we’ve got the newest issue of Marketing Trendz online this week.

The cover story in the April/May issue is The Cooperation Project, a look at three competing General Growth Properties malls in Vegas that teamed up to stretch their marketing budgets further. They saw great results, and you can see how they did it in the issue. You’ll also find, among many other great articles, analysis of survey results that could change the way you handle digital marketing. Want to see how U.K. centers handled the recent royal wedding? Marketing Trendz has that covered too.

There are four articles available for free on the website. If you’d like to see a sample of the digital edition, take a look here. Subscribers can access the whole issue here. If you’re not a subscriber yet and you’d like full access, you can subscribe right here.

If you haven’t swung by the Tactics Magazine site in a while, now’s the time – there’s a new issue online.

Subscribers can log in and hop straight to the digital edition. If you’re not a subscriber and you’d like to see a sample spread, take a look here. There are also four free articles up on the site.

This issue is our annual Holiday Guide, with ideas, tips and tactics for the holidays from shopping centers around the world. The cover story, Open Casting Call, is all about finding the right Santa for the season. We’ve also got a look at some of the cool technology malls are deploying to make the holidays even better.

This is also the issue that looks back at ICSC’s 2011 Fusion Conference, and at the winners of the 2011 U.S. MAXI Awards. Don’t miss out. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can still get access to all our digital editions to date by subscribing any time.

Attention subscribers – there’s a brand new issue of Marketing Trendz available online this week.

Hit the website to view the digital edition (make sure to log in). If you’re not a subscriber, there are several stories available for free on the site, and a sample of the digital edition in case you’d like to see more.

The cover story is all about Castle Towers, an Australian shopping center, and its efforts with a repositioning campaign that gave target consumers full license to enjoy every aspect of their lives. Sounds luxurious, doesn’t it?

You’ll also find out more about Challenge66, an amazing record breaking attempt that has the support of Kirkgate center, Boxpark, a pop-up shopping concept that offers low-cost, low-risk retail with great potential rewards, and quite a lot more.

This month’s issue also features industry expert Cheryl Swanson discussing the trends we can expect to take over the new decade. Think of it as a roadmap to the future.

So if you haven’t already, take a look online. If you’re not a subscriber yet, it’s not too late - new subscribers get full access to all our digital archives.

This week, we have a few important updates from our magazines, Tactics Magazine and Marketing Trendz.

First up, our annual Resource Directory is online. If you’re looking for preferred marketing suppliers from around the world, look no further. We have listings across dozens of categories, so if you need an advertising agency, a mobile app developer, holiday decor providers, lighting specialists, or just about anything else you might be looking for, take a look. You can right click and save the PDF for easy reference, but we also link to the directory in the newsletter sidebar all year. A print copy is also in the current issue of Tactics Magazine.

Speaking of which, our magazine subscribers may be happy to know the newest issue of Tactics Magazine is now online. Subscribers can access it here after logging in. Not a subscriber yet? You can take a look at a sample and a few articles from the issue on the website. And you can always subscribe here.

Also, in case you missed it, the newest Marketing Trendz hit the Internet a few weeks ago. It includes a number of articles written by your humble SCW editor, so if you haven’t taken a look yet, subscribers click here. If you’re not a subscriber, you can subscribe here.

Welcome to the last issue of Shopping Center Weekly for 2010. Next Thursday we’ll be working off the excesses of the holidays so that we can back in great form for our first release of 2011, on Thursday, January 6th.

We hope that 2010 has been a fantastic, successful year for you, and by all accounts, 2011 should be even better. So take some time to relax, celebrate and enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday, whichever you’d prefer.

We here at Shopping Center Weekly wish you all the best. We’ll see you in the new year!

There are a few things we’d like to tell you about before we return to your weekly news posts:

Our 2010 Marketing Directory is now available. This resource guide will help you find reputable marketing suppliers in dozens of categories. From holiday displays to special events, it is an invaluable tool for all shopping center marketing directors.

Also, if you haven’t been to TacticsMagazine.com or MarketingTrendz.net, you should stop by. We’ve recently launched a new design for both that should help you find the content you’re looking for. We’re constantly working on adding new content and new features, so check back often. If you’re looking for more info on our print magazines, you can see samples of our digital editions and content on the sites.

And finally, we’ve mentioned it before, but if you’re going to be at Fusion, make sure to stop by booth 337. Our Tactics Magazine team will be there, and they’ll be offering a show special on Tactics and Trendz, so don’t miss out.

Have a product or service that you’d like to promote to our readers? Our 2010 Shopping Center Resource Directory will be out soon, and you haven’t missed your chance at being listed in this great annual publication. The directory is delivered to over 2000 shopping center Marketing Directors, and it’s also available on our websites and in our weekly newsletter all year.

If you’d like your company to be listed in the directory, which is read by a global audience, please print and fax the appropriate order form for your region before January 20, 2010:

US | AU | UK

The cost for the listing is $100, or $125 with your logo. If you’d like to include your logo, please send it in Illustrator format.

If you have any questions, or to forward your logo, please email Marianne.

Want your mall’s event or promotion featured in Tactics Magazine next year? If so, you’d best familiarize yourself with next year’s Editorial Calendar, available online here.

It’s got important information about topics, features and editorial and advertising deadlines, so make sure to check it out if you’ll be submitting to the magazine. The editorial and advertising deadline for the first issue of the year is January 29, 2010, so get your submissions in order soon.