The ICSC RECon began today with the opening of the Trade Expo. The Trade Expo is 270,000 square feet this year--double its past size--and has move from its familiar location in the North Hall to the lower level of the South Hall. Traffic seemed good, representing an auspicious start for the conference. These are interesting times given the credit crunch and general economic slowdown, though there seems to be real optimism that things may be loosening up a bit now. I'm looking forward to getting a better feel for conference-goers moods in the coming days.
As far as the Trade Expo is concerned, there is a notable jump in exhibitors and many firms have taken advantage of the extra area to expand their booths. There are more products and services than ever. And the "Green Zone"--a section in the middle of the Trade Expo devoted to vendors that carry environmentally-friendly products and services--is a welcome addition.
For our part, Retail Traffic has a booth in the Trade Expo that also features our sister publications NREI and Lodging Hospitality. Our editors, ads reps, publishers and other staff will be in and out of the booth throughout the show. Our booth number is S6030--stop by if you get a chance. Specifically, we'll be hosting a "Meet the Editors" event Tuesday morning from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM. So swing by, grab a cup of coffee and let us know what you think of the job we're doing.