C&W, ICSC Forge First-Ever Global Partnership

NEW YORK CITY-Cushman & Wakefield and the International Council of Shopping Centers have forged a global partnership agreement to enhance collaboration and access to retail market intelligence, thought leadership and industry education opportunities for ICSC's global membership of 60,000-plus. The agreement, which takes effect Dec. 1 and runs through the end of 2014, makes C&W the first-ever global sponsor for ICSC.

“Retail is absolutely central to our strategy,” said Carlo Barel di Sant'Albano, executive chairman at C&W, describing the company's global expansion at a signing ceremony at ICSC's New York City headquarters this past Friday. Locally, the first ICSC event to be marked by the new partnership will be next month's New York Deal Making conference; the agreement will see the two organizations join forces throughout the year at every major show globally including RECon Asia, RECon Latin America, the European Conference and the industry's largest annual event, RECon in Las Vegas.

Collaboration between ICSC and C&W predates Friday's formal agreement, says John Strachan, head of global retail at C&W. “We have enjoyed many years of mutually beneficial collaboration with ICSC, including research partnerships, participation in conferences, education and specialist retail groups and much more,” he said. “I am delighted that our growth together has culminated in us becoming the first and only global sponsorship partner of ICSC.”

ICSC's president and CEO, Michael P. Kercheval, notes that “Expanding our global offerings continues to be an important initiative for ICSC. This partnership solidifies that we have been successful to this point in our global efforts. More importantly, partnering with a globally recognized firm with the caliber of Cushman & Wakefield will help propel our efforts on a global scale even further through enhanced research, networking, and deal making initiatives.”