Retail Industry experts to speak at the Annual Shopping Centre Congress

Mark Faithfull, the co-founder and joint owner of the UK's Retail Property Analyst, a weekly online newsletter for the global retail property community.

Aptly themed “Un-Cover”, this year's 17th Annual Congress of the SA Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) brings together retail masterminds from across SA and the globe in September to delve into the latest sector trends and research.

One such global retail mastermind is Mark Faithfull. As editor, co-founder and joint owner of the UK's Retail Property Analyst, a weekly online newsletter for the global retail property community, Faithfull is uniquely placed to speak on world-wide trends.

His presentation at the Congress is entitled "Another Click in the Wall" and will focus on the realities of multi-channel retailing. He makes a compelling case that the retail property sector needs to embrace the digital future.

"Online shopping is a fact of life. Shopping centres need to acknowledge and take advantage of opportunities created by online shopping and not battle to compete with e-commerce," he argues.

"One strategy is to re-invent malls as leisure destinations, with quality entertainment, food and drink offerings."

Frank Berkeley, Managing Executive: Nedbank Corporate property Finance, concurs with this strategy as these days, for most consumers, a trip to a large retail complex or mall is as much about entertainment as it is about shopping,” he says, “and while the primary appeal will always be the opportunity to bag a bargain, most trips to these malls end up lasting a number of hours and often include meals, movies, banking and various other family activities.”

A retail and retail property journalist for the past 15 years, Faithfull also contributes to publications like The Economist, Retail Week and FTSE, as well as editing the MAPIC publications and the World Retail Congress daily news.

Delegates will be able to hear Faithfull elaborate on his ideas in more detail on day two of the three-day conference.

Sponsored by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, the 17th Annual Congress of the South African Council of Shopping Centres is taking place from 11-13 September 2013 at the Sandton Convention Centre.