NAI Commercial has sponsored ICSC event in Fairmont Hotel, Whistler, BC from January 10 -12, 2010. We were pleased that about 1,700 mostly Canadian professionals attended this year's Whistler Conference.
Canada's shopping centers and retailers should anticipate continued strong consumer spending this year, ICSC Chairman James E. Maurin, CSM, said Monday at this year's ICSC Whistler Conference here.
Christmas season sales rose 5 percent in November and December, Maurin said, and that capped an increase of 4.3 percent for the 10 months leading to the season. A strong job market is keeping personal income levels high. The economy created about 228,000 jobs last year, which brought the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in four years.
Housing starts were nearly 6 percent higher last year than the year before, and observers anticipate moderate economic growth of between 2.5 percent and 3 percent for this year. Consumer spending is partly responsible for this growth, Maurin noted, “as Canadian consumers have continued to support economic activity and have been a key factor behind the nation's GDP growth.”
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 60,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world.
Canada's shopping centers and retailers should anticipate continued strong consumer spending this year, ICSC Chairman James E. Maurin, CSM, said Monday at this year's ICSC Whistler Conference here.
Christmas season sales rose 5 percent in November and December, Maurin said, and that capped an increase of 4.3 percent for the 10 months leading to the season. A strong job market is keeping personal income levels high. The economy created about 228,000 jobs last year, which brought the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in four years.
Housing starts were nearly 6 percent higher last year than the year before, and observers anticipate moderate economic growth of between 2.5 percent and 3 percent for this year. Consumer spending is partly responsible for this growth, Maurin noted, “as Canadian consumers have continued to support economic activity and have been a key factor behind the nation's GDP growth.”
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 60,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world.
