Retail Deal-making Shows Signs of Life at ReCon 2019

It’s all about entertainment. As mall operators and developers continue to battle the winds of change buffeting the sector thanks to e-commerce, the obsolescence of formats and changing consumer shopping patterns, their focus to attract the crowds has shifted from simply offering a string of stores and lots of merch to keeping them entertained — in myriad ways. What about a theme park presided over by a pig? Or a new game that comfbines lacrosse, hockey, basketball and bumper cars, with an element of chance? Those were just two of the ideas presented at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual ReCon conference in Las Vegas last week, which also had something that’s been missing from recent conventions: a sense of optimism. ReCon 2019 saw new players such as Peppa Pig’s World of Play, a theme park based on the British animated television series for pre-schoolers, opening at Taubman Centers‘ Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in suburban Detroit, and Whirlyball bowing at CBL’s Brookfield Square in Brookfield, Wis., where bumper cars log speeds of up to 50 miles an hour, and the menu includes bites such as ribs, pretzel bites, wings and macaroni and cheese. “We’re moving away from apparel,” said Tom O’Hern, chief executive officer

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