The Shifting Supply & Demand of Physical Space
With Tom McGee, President and CEO of ICSC
Tom discusses the retail industry’s adaptability to changes like the rise of e-commerce, but notes that a major challenge is the lack of supply to meet the demand for retail space.
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ServiceChannel
Modified on
May 21, 2024
Tom discusses the retail industry’s adaptability to changes like the rise of e-commerce and shifting consumer demands. He also notes, however, that a major challenge is a lack of supply to meet the demand for physical retail space, due to minimal new development.
Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar.
The podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.
On today’s episode, we talk with Tom McGee, President and CEO of ICSC. ICSC is the leading international membership organization serving the Marketplaces Industry. It promotes and elevates the marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play, and gather as foundational and vital ingredients of communities and economies.
About the Guest
As the voice of the industry at ICSC, Tom McGee is the leading expert on the marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play and gather as foundational and vital ingredients of communities and economies. The majority of the nearly $6 trillion of U.S. consumer activity generated in 2022 by the retail, food-and-beverage, entertainment and consumer service industries occurs within America’s marketplaces, representing approximately 1 out of 4 American jobs.
Prior to joining ICSC, Tom served as Vice Chairman of Deloitte, LLP, the largest professional services firm in the United States. During his 26 years with Deloitte, Tom held global and U.S. leadership roles, including Vice Chairman, Deputy CEO, National Managing Partner of M&A Services, and Global Chief of Staff.
Tom is a noted business speaker with frequent appearances on, among others, Fox Business, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance. He coined the term “retail renaissance” to describe the convergence of digital and physical channels in retail and is often quoted in national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.
Tom is the former chairman of Covenant House International, the largest privately funded charity supporting homeless youth in the Americas. He currently serves on the Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees and is active in numerous other business and community organizations, including serving as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100.
“Right now, the biggest challenge in the industry is the lack of supply to meet the demand for space that exists because there hasn’t been a lot of new development… There’s a lot of uncertainty around that, so we can provide information that can be helpful to our members as they try to navigate that. What we do today might be different from what we do tomorrow, right? Because the industry changes so quickly.”
— Tom McGee
TIMESTAMPS
** 00:55 – About ICSC
** 08:41 – The supply and demand issue of physical space
** 15:35 – Macro trends
** 17:50 – Long lasting impacts of COVID
** 28:12 – Advice for functions
** 32:34 – Future thinking
** 37:00 – ICSC’s consumer stats
** 45:19 – Where to find Tom
** 46:00 – Sid’s closing thoughts
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