The International Council of Shopping Centers has come out in support of the Obama Administration’s “Financial Stability Plan.” The plan, unveiled Tuesday by Secretary Timothy Geithner includes expansion of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) to include Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities.

From the ICSC’s press release:

“The expansion of the TALF program to include CMBS has been a primary goal in ICSC’s approach to mitigating the impact of the credit crisis on retail real estate. ICSC believes that the announcement from the Obama Administration will provide significant support in restarting the stalled $900 billion CMBS market and assist property owners in refinancing maturing debt.

ICSC members are facing an unprecedented lack of credit capacity from any source. With no liquidity, commercial borrowers face the growing challenge of refinancing maturing debt and the resulting threat of rising foreclosures and delinquencies. Today’s announcement will help keep Main Street businesses open and help shopping centers continue to contribute to our communities.”

As sales skid, shoppers hold on to day at the mall

Associated Press, US

The parking lots at the biggest shopping centers are still filling up on weekends, the food courts bustle with hungry customers and walkways are crowded with gangly teenagers and stroller-wielding moms. Look closely, though, and you’ll see there aren’t many bags. That’s because shoppers at some of the country’s busiest retail centers aren’t buying. Not much, anyway …

Retail group urges stimulus vouchers instead of cash

ABC News, AU

The Senate has been urged to give out vouchers instead of cash payments in its economic stimulus package. A Senate committee is examining the Government’s proposed $42 billion plan which includes $950 payments to a wide range of people …

Consumer Behaviour: All in the mind

Retail Week, UK

You wouldn’t expect the editorial team of a lads’ magazine to be staffed entirely by women, would you? Imagine it, a group of women sat around a table trying to decide the ultimate cool gadgets for men or, for that matter, choose the “High street honey of the week”. The point is, retail businesses are largely run by men. And no matter how hard they try, men cannot think like women and vice versa …

Retailers eye eastern Europe

The Straits Times, SG

Russia and Turkey will be among the destinations of choice for international retailers plotting counter-cyclical expansion drives in 2009, an exclusive report obtained by Reuters showed on Tuesday …

Coupon clipping makes a comeback

Financial Times, UK

As US consumer demand falters, the humble money-off coupon – rather than the high-profile advertising campaign – is emerging as a new battleground for some of America’s biggest packaged goods brands …

Was it business as usual for retailers at Dubai Shopping Festival this time?

Gulf News

As the 32-day Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), comes to a close, it is time to add up the savings. Were retailers across the city, decked out in eye-grabbing banners vying for customer attention, successful? …

What might a green shopping mall look like?

Fast Company

Apparently, the idea of a green shopping mall isn’t an utter absurdity. Sparch Architects has just finished designing a million-square-foot shopping mall for Kuala Lampur, and their vision is maximally green, and maximally livable. The building is to be an anchor for an urban revival …

In fog of recession, marketing will help avoid the shoals

Globe and Mail, CA

When adjusting to negative shifts, it is important not to take actions that will dilute or harm your brand. With everything else changing, people want constancy. Now is a good time to reinforce and espouse your brand values …

Retailers should embrace Facebook, not stifle it

Kamcity, UK

Social networks like Facebook provide retailers with the opportunity to reach out to both staff and customers and can be more effective than email marketing campaigns, according to two industry specialists …

Poker King: Cards fell against Centro

The Age, AU

For thousands of investors in Centro Property Group, news that the company’s best chance of salvation may sit at a poker table is far from heartening. Mind you, with a share price that has slumped from $2.07 at its peak to just 6.7¢ at last trade, any hope of salvation comes as good news …

Moscow’s malls in a state of arrested development

Moscow Times, RU

Less than half the shopping malls slated for completion in Moscow last year were actually opened, and even those retail centers that were finished on time will be fortunate to find tenants for half their space, according to Colliers International’s annual report …

Don’t rely on government to get retail through this downturn

Retail Week, UK

Bernard Lewis, founder of River Island and one of the most revered names in British fashion, has lent his weight to Retail Week’s Backing UK Retail campaign and blasted the Government for not understanding the industry …

Future Fund looks at buying into ailing British market

Sydney Morning Herald, AU

Australia’s Future Fund is a frontrunner to buy one third of a big British shopping centre, according to reports from Britain. Land Securities is said to be on the verge of selling its stake in the Bullring, one of the main shopping centres outside London, for £200 million …

Roof’s gone, what’s next for downtown core?

Redding Record Searchlight, US

Redding’s downtown core has nearly completed its transformation from dark Nixon-era enclosure to airy pedestrian plaza …

Backing UK Retail: The heart of the community

Retail Week, UK

If it wasn’t for Bluewater there might still be a Kent wasteland sitting by the side of the M25. And had Meadowhall not been built, a derelict Sheffield steelworks might be in an even worse state of disrepair by now.  These are just two major schemes that have breathed life into previously desolate corners of the UK …

Nimblest retailers will trump hard times

Montreal Gazette, CA

Marianne Hassan has one rule when it comes to surviving the recession: when the going gets tough, the tough deliver personally. Despite declining sales since November, the owner of Ottawa’s high-end lingerie boutique, BraChic, hasn’t taken the bad news lying down. Determined not just to maintain but increase her clientele, Hassan says she’s had to become creative in running her business …

Staines shoppers surprised by free cash giveaway

Staines Guardian, UK

Surprised shoppers were handed free money in Staines – but some cynical customers turned the notes down fearing it was too good to be true …

Simon Property cuts hours at area malls

Boston Herald, US

There’s more fallout in the struggling retail industry: fewer hours to shop at local malls. Simon Property Group has cut the hours of operation for its New England malls, as has the CambridgeSide Galleria. The reductions follow one of the worst holiday sales seasons on record and a decline in consumer spending and mall foot traffic …

Officials launch contest to rename Inland Empire mall

ABC, US

A contest to rename the Indio Fashion Mall is underway, it was reported Saturday. Mall officials began advertising the contest this week with a sign outside Indio’s largest shopping center, which is located at state Route 111 and Monroe Street, according to the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs …

Free mammograms at shopping centres

Sydney Morning Herald, AU

Move over, late-night shopping. The latest fashion in retail is late-night mammograms. The world’s first drop-in breast screening clinic inside a department store opened at Myer Parramatta yesterday with the aim of encouraging women to get a breast check on the way to the checkout …

Shopping Centre council predicts better second half to year

CBC, CA

Retailers can expect a sharp decline in sales in the first half, but the climate is expected to improve in the second half, predicted Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centres. “2009 will be a transition year,” Niemira said, in a conference call with the media Thursday …

Late-nite shopping culture ‘will take time’

Leicester Mercury, UK

Bosses at Leicester’s Highcross shopping centre said creating a late-night shopping culture in the city would take time to build up. They spoke out following complaints from staff who are unhappy at being asked to work until 8pm even though the shops are deserted in the evenings …

December retail sales down 2.7%

Forbes, US

US retail sales fell deeper than expected during the December holiday shopping season, and by the largest amount on record excluding autos, leading to the first-ever calendar year decline in retail sales, the Commerce Department reported today …

Retail dilemma: reduce margins or spook buyers

The Age, AU

In a week that traditionally marks the end of post-Christmas sales, shopkeepers are grappling with a dilemma over whether to up their prices to improve margins, knowing that they run the risk of scaring off increasingly thrifty shoppers …

Weary retailers muster to fight business tax plan

The Times, UK

A planned 30 per cent rise in local government tax poses a new threat to the survival of beleaguered shop owners, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Business rates paid by retailers will rise to £7 billion by 2010, from £5.45 billion in the last financial year, under proposals to be voted on by Parliament today …

Holiday retail sales up

The Vancouver Sun, CA

A report released Friday by Canada’s largest processor of credit- and debit-card transactions indicates people were spending more money this past holiday season than the year before despite the downbeat economic environment …

Girl power is catching on at shopping centre

The Shields Gazette, UK
Girl power is catching over a shopping parade as women join forces to boost their businesses. Female traders at The Nook in South Shields have joined forces to support each other and attract new customers to the area …

2009 will see more advertisers in shopping centres

BizCommunity, ZA

We’ve seen the strip mall format’s popularity increasing in certain areas but it’s still the traditional anything-you-want-in-one-place shopping mall which remains king for those wanting to top-up the empty cupboards, grab a meal and have hours of entertainment at the same time …

Nine in One: Businesses join forces for mall advertising

Voice Tribune, US

Nine local businesses have joined forces and resources in a unique advertising campaign that brings their products and services to potential customers in an unconventional setting – by renting space and setting up full-size floor displays in the middle of Mall St. Matthews …

Wacky ways to bring in extra revenue

Liverpool Daily Post, UK

Shopping centre owners are renting out space for wacky new ideas that bring much needed revenues and footfall. Don’t be surprised to walk through your local shopping centre in Merseyside this week and see some crazy individual performing an excruciating yoga position while getting a record score on a Wii Fit …