MAPIC Launches The Digital Summit

14-16 November 2012 - Palais des Festivals, Cannes

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Sep 17, 2012, 10:36 ET

PARIS, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MAPIC 2012 is launching the inaugural Digital Summit, bringing together retail real estate sector professionals, representatives of retailers and digital industry experts to discuss the impact of new technologies on the future of retail real estate.

The Groupe Galeries Lafayette, CapitaMalls Asia, Aldo Group, Debenhams, Fashion House, and CBRE are among those participating in the summit, which will be held as a pre-opening event at MAPIC on Tuesday, November 13, in Cannes. Organised by Reed MIDEM, a division of Reed Exhibitions, MAPIC will be held in Cannes November 14-16.

For the first time at MAPIC, an event will allow digital, retail real estate and retailers to meet and discuss new business strategies prompted by the explosion of e-commerce and m-commerce. They will examine together the issue of 'Digital: Opportunities and Threats: What are the emerging business models?'

"The success of retailers, shopping centres or town centres today depends on being able to skilfully integrate new consumption patterns into their development.The objective is now to optimise the mix of sales channels to generate as much traffic as possible. This is a vital strategic issue, so we decided to organise this summit as a pre-opener for MAPIC," said Nathalie Depetro, Director of MAPIC.

The summit will be organised as roundtables to foster discussion between experts in digital platforms and retailing. Key issues in the industry related to the convergence of physical and digital retail real estate will be identified before the event. The outcome will be communicated at the start of the summit to drive roundtable discussions. A report on the debates, the 'MAPIC Digital Summit Perspective,' will be made available to all participants a few weeks after MAPIC. "E- and m-commerce should not be seen as a threat to traditional retailing, but as additional channels and opportunities. They transform the point of sale into a unique consumer experience," said Nathalie Depetro, Director of MAPIC.

Robert Tercek, Founder, General Creativity Consulting & Chairman, Creative Visions Foundation (USA), will open the summit with his view of the impact of the digital revolution on retailing. He will also hold a conference on this subject during MAPIC on Wednesday, November 14 at 10am. Robert Tercek is a pioneer in creating interactive content on digital platforms, satellite TV, game consoles, and mobile phones. Nokia, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment have all called on his expertise to develop their digital strategies. He has also been President of Digital Media at OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network) and Creative Director of MTV Music Television.

This Digital Summit forms part of the 'More VISION by MAPIC' programme that analyses the latest consumer trends and new technologies, and their impact on retail property. Practical demonstrations of these innovations in shops will be staged in the 'More VISION by MAPIC' pavilion, located in the exhibition area of the show.

For editors:

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed MIDEM is a division of Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer, with over 500 events in 39 countries. In 2011 Reed brought together six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organized by 33 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 44 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of the Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider and a FTSE 100 company.

www.mapic.com

SOURCE Reed MIDEM