George Slusser, Chief Growth Officer, and Karen Hurd, National Sales Director, represented Sperry Van Ness International Corporation at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) New York National Conference December 9–10 in New York, NY. An annual deal-making event, ICSC NY is a great opportunity for brokers, owners, developers and lenders to make deals and forge relationships.
Below we’ve interviewed George Slusser about his experience at the conference and his top takeaways.
SVNIC: George, why is it important to attend The ICSC New York National Conference?
George: The ICSC regional event in New York is second only to the annual RECon event in Las Vegas for its size and scope. Nearly 8,000 developers, brokers, vendors and retail company representatives were in attendance. ICSC combines a training and educational component with a very robust “deal making” opportunity. Most of the major players in the industry are in attendance and our presence is important to develop deal flow and continue to promote awareness.
SVNIC: Share your best takeaway from the event for our Advisor team.
George: There was a lot of activity in our booth as the traffic was very consistent. The SVN Advisors that were able to attend walked away with some very solid leads on buyers for specific properties they presented. They also created new potential business relationships that will lead to increased opportunities and closed transactions.
SVNIC: How did the Sperry Van Ness booth fare?
George: We had over 100 visitors stop by the booth many looking to acquire property along the Eastern Seaboard. We have many leads and contacts that were established by the SVN Advisors that attended and we even have a few to forward around the country. The atmosphere was very positive and there were a lot of people in “deal making” mode.
SVNIC: We’re looking to expand, were you able to meet quality franchise prospects?
George: We had serious conversations with a number of quality individuals that were interested in the Sperry Van Ness platform. We met candidates who may join an existing office and others wanting to facilitate our aggressive North East expansion plans as a potential franchisee. We had traditional brokerage firms and property management firms requesting additional information on our value proposition and new PM offering. Some who came by the booth had already visited svn.com and viewed our informative franchise site in advance.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.