Holding their nerve

Sharp suits, champagne, gourmet dinners and 5-star hotels. Sound familiar? Another major conference was held that met all The standards expected of the industry. There was, however, tension under the calm surface The International Council of Shopping Centers’ conference, which was held in Barcelona on April 22nd-24th, was the perfect place to boast about your successful business, or – more probably – to find a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, there were many reasons to cry. According to research conducted by GfK GeoMarketing, Poland will be one of very few countries in Europe this year to see positive sales growth (of 2.5 pct), whereas the Baltic states and Hungary are faced with a serious drop in sales. The outlook for the euro zone is far from rosy. Under the new conditions newly opened shopping centres are the ones in particular difficulties, having also to invest more