It's been a manic few weeks here at the RLI office, and the same for me juggling work with attending numerous events which have taken me around the globe in the past month. Back in the office, we have just put the finishing touches to our biggest magazine of the year, our MAPIC special, and we have sent it off to the printers ready to go in all the delegate bags at MAPIC 2013.
I have been back in the UK for over a week now, and it has been strange to sleep in the same place for more than one night at a time, with the recent travelling I have felt like I have been on a worldwide retail tour! My first stop took me to the CNIT La Défense Conference Centre in Paris for the World Retail Congress, which took place between the 7th and the 9th of October. At this years event, the first World Retail Congress event in a flurry of them worldwide, the October issue of the RLI magazine was on show throughout. Immediately following a day at this event I was back on a plane and heading to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in, well you guessed it, Munich. The event was one of the largest on the real estate calendar and it was of course Expo Real, which this year took place between the 7th and the 9th of October. This year the RLI magazine enhanced its presence at this premium event with distribution racks in between all the exhibition halls giving unrivalled coverage to our advertisers and readers globally. Then from here I was on the move again, and this flight was not a quick hop over to another European country but a flight to Dubai for the Cityscape Global event. Held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre over the 8th, 9th and 10th of October, it is a must-attend industry event that also had the RLI magazine on show. As you can tell, where I go, the magazine tends to follow! The only downside to this hectic schedule of visiting three countries in just five days was the fact that I could not spend as much time as I would have liked at each event, as all of these events coincided with one another, this arranging of events is hopefully something that organisers can improve upon for next year.
Once I arrived back at the office it was all systems go on the MAPIC edition of RLI, our biggest issue of the year. Included in this bumper magazine is a wide array of features, including a first for RLI, a gate-fold for Marina Home Interiors with an additional profile on pages 4-5. The cover for this MAPIC issue is Fashion House, as we discuss with the Managing Director Brendan O'Reilly how the recently opened Fashion House Moscow has been performing, and what is next in the pipeline for Fashion House. The magazine then opens with a who's who page featuring Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of Hublot. The huge MAPIC magazine has several lead interviews, including Bloomingdales, Blue Inc and Mothercare. Also in the magazine we have a 2-part special feature on Shopping Centre Management with opinion pieces by Eileen Connelly, and one from Richard Bailey of intu. With this issue being the MAPIC issue, it would not have been right to complete the magazine without an event feature on MAPIC 2013. There will be a MAPIC insight and a detailed 2-page conference schedule included.
Having completed the magazine and sent it off to the printers, the finished product will be on show at more retail events across the globe. The magazine will be at two huge World Retail Congress events that are taking place for the very first time this year. The first of these events is the World Retail Congress Latin America, which takes place at the WTC Sheraton in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 31st October and the 1st November. The second event is the World Retail Congress Africa which is taking place at The Maslow in Johannesburg, South Africa over the 4th to the 6th of November. After these events the magazine will then be placed in all of the delegate bags at MAPIC 2013 as well as being on show throughout the biggest retail real estate event on the calendar. Taking place from the 13th to the 15th of November at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, MAPIC 2013 is going to be a cracking event, and it is one I am very much looking forward to. I have booked my diary out so it will be a whirlwind few days. I am looking to hold several meetings at MAPIC with developers and retailers for next years RLI Connect which is already receiving a lot of enquiries, feel free to make an appointment by sending me an email. I am also holding a panel session on the opening day of MAPIC on Wednesday 13th November from 14:30 to 15:15 entitled "Middle East Miracle", and the session will focus on how the Middle East has emerged as a key market for retailers across the globe.
As for me, I'll soon be heading out to South Africa to be present at the first World Retail Congress Africa event, then I have the weekend to pack for MAPIC where I will hopefully see and catch up with all of you.
See you on my travels...
