LOS ANGELES — The four F’s may need to move over: there’s a new consonant in town. While fun, food, fitness and fashion are still category staples in shopping centers, retailers at ICSC’s Western Conference & Deal Making event, held Sept. 16 to 18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, are now interested in courting the two L’s: laptops and lattes. “We do really well with the laptops and lattes crowd,” said Felicia Alexander, a Health & Wellness panelist and co-founder and co-owner of BoxUnion boxing studio. “We look at daytime population, but residential density is also really important to us.” Alexander’s sentiments were reiterated throughout the three-day conference as retailers began to prioritize what the customer is lacking above what they’re selling. “Shopping center owners and retailers alike are forced to acknowledge that time has become consumers’ most important commodity, even perhaps more so than money,” said Dan Villalpando, attendee and partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson. “Getting the consumer to part with their time has become paramount to the success of a shopping center.” Putting Time On Your Side For BoxUnion, prioritizing a member’s time means keeping the workout to 45 minutes, publishing extremely detailed instructions on parking on …
