Retail real estate conference coming back to Las Vegas

Boasting a new brand that drops the mention of malls, the organizers of a big retail real estate conference are coming back to Las Vegas.

Innovating Commerce Serving Communities, the brand unveiled this week by the International Council of Shopping Centers, is scheduled to hold its expo Dec. 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The trade association is “bringing the industry together live and in person on the largest deal making floor of the year,” according to an email it sent Thursday.

“Did someone say Vegas?” the subject line declared.

Its conference in Las Vegas has been known as RECon. According to a news release Monday announcing the group’s new name, its “signature events, including RECon, also will be renamed to align with the new ICSC brand.”

The rebranding comes as people increasingly shop online, a shift that only accelerated during the pandemic as people worked from home or rarely ventured out over fears of the new coronavirus and as brick-and-mortar retail stores temporarily closed last year because of the outbreak.

Las Vegas’ convention industry went dark last year after the pandemic hit and is only now starting to re-emerge.

RECon, for instance, had been scheduled for May 17-19, 2020, at the Las Vegas Convention Center and was expected to draw 37,000 attendees before its organizers shelved the event.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.