ZZZ - GMG - VEGAS INC 2011-2014

May 23, 2011

VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more

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IN BUSINESS RETAIL It’s Time For Some Serious Shopping CONVENTION GIVES RETAILERS CHANCE TO CHECK OUT VEGAS By Buck Wargo staff writer Las Vegas’ retail is coming out of the cold, and the annual convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers is the perfect place for the industry to continue warming up. The convention that starts Sunday at the Las Vegas Convention Center serves as the perfect opportunity for executives such as Laurie Paquette, vice president of asset management with General Growth Properties in Las Vegas, to seek out retailers looking to come to, or expand, in the market. The retail industry started its rebound in 2010 and reported double- digit increases during the Christmas shopping season. Optimism continues as tourism and the convention industry rebound and the economy off the Strip starts to pick up. General Growth, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, operates 5 million square feet of retail in Las Vegas between the Fashion Show Mall, the Shoppes at the Palazzo, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, Meadows Mall and Boulevard Mall. The convention is a way for General Growth and others to showcase their properties to national and international retailers that come to Las Vegas. “I think (ICSC) is always a great chance for us to show retailers what strong properties we have and how we operate,” Paquette said. “It’s a good time to be looking for new retailers who are finding new concepts. We’re always interested in talking with them.” Sales at the properties started declining in late 2008 before the recovery began in 2010. Sales dropped 10 percent at Fashion Show Mall and a little less than that at the Venetian and Meadows Mall. Paquette said it was difficult dealing with the local economy, the drop in tourism and the bankruptcy of General Growth at the same time, but sales are now up double digits. Its strategies have helped that along, she said. “Our plan was to work with retailers and make sure they stayed healthy and make sure we get as many tourists as we can,” Paquette said. General Growth didn’t cut lease rates, but instead served as a consultant to retailers, she said. | 23 MAY 2011 | RETAIL THERAPY: The Fashion Show Mall is 96 percent leased, according to Laurie Paquette, General Growth Properties’ vice president of asset management. General Growth placed inserts in newspapers in Los Angeles and Phoenix and started advertising on baggage claim devices to supplement what it had already been doing on video screens at McCarran International Airport. To lure Las Vegas residents to its properties, General Growth did more charity events to help improve brand awareness, she said. Fashion Show Mall is 96 percent leased and there are leases out for signature to fill additional space, Paquette said. In the past, Fashion Show relied on 60 percent of its customer base being tourists but that has grown to 70 percent as local residents are shopping closer to home, Paquette said. “We have been able to hold pretty steady (at Fashion Show Mall) because it has something for everyone, from Payless to Neiman Marcus to Saks,” Paquette said. “That allowed it to stand out during a difficult time.” Paquette said even higher-end luxury retail centers such as the Shoppes at the Palazzo are recovering even though she acknowledges people passing through the mall wouldn’t always know it by what they see. Those high-end stores don’t have as many customers passing through, but the ones that come in there spend a lot of money, she said. As for the shopping malls for retail- savvy locals, Paquette said they took a hit earlier than retail on the Strip because of the downturn in the economy and You could use MyAccount from NVEnergy. Sign up and you can chart your monthly energy use, fi nd simple ways to lower your bill and even conduct an online energy audit. All from your personal computer. The future of energy. It’s right in our backyard. Learn more at NVEnergy.com. housing market that happened before the decline in tourism. Local consumers have come back a little slower than the tourists, but that market is getting stronger every day, she said. “We are bullish on retail in Las Vegas,” Paquette said. “Las Vegas is still a tourist destination with more than 37 million people a year, and one of the things they like to do on vacation is shop.” 15 ULF BUCHHOLZ 071926.01_NVE _ “MyAccount” Vegas Inc 5/23 _ Ad Size: 1/3 pg. 4.67" x 9.25"_ 4C InDesign _ Fonts: Gotham _ TF: Allyson _ PM: JasonB _ AD: Diane _ GA: JoAnn 4/22/11;

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