Retail industry reconvenes in Vegas with OKC front and center

The pandemic has changed business recruitment efforts for every community, and Oklahoma City is no exception. One of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s major industry recruitment focuses—retail development—has been especially impacted by the elimination of large gatherings and conferences. 

“Going to conferences is an incredibly important part of retail development for our community,” said Tammy Fate, senior manager of retail development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “So much of it is about building relationships and there is no substitute for getting together in a room with someone. The pandemic has made that hard. Retail conferences allow for us to hold meetings with a lot of national retailers and developers in a short amount of time.” 

The biggest one of these shows has been the Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC) RECon trade show held each May in Las Vegas. The show covers two million square feet of exhibit space and hosts 37,000 retail professionals.  

The Chamber always has a big presence at the event with a booth and a delegation of local leaders, usually including the mayor and community development professionals. According to Fate, many of the major retail developments to happen in Oklahoma City in the past decade began with a conversation at ISCS RECon or one of ICSC's regional shows. 

“A deal is rarely made at a show,” said Fate. “But these are the places, especially at RECon, where the conversation starts. A lot of times you might meet with a national retailer or developer for years, but you keep meeting, and eventually, you get them to visit Oklahoma City.” 

Due to the pandemic, ICSC paused their gatherings, with the last pre-pandemic show held in New York City in December 2019. Fate and the Chamber team were there promoting Oklahoma City and making important connections.  

This past December, ICSC got the retail industry back together in Las Vegas for the first time in two years for a trade show called Here, We Go 2021. The show served as an ICSC RECon on a smaller scale. And of course, Fate was there staffing the Oklahoma City booth while scheduling meetings with national retailers and developers to sell them on OKC. (Editor’s note: the show was held before the Omicron variant surged throughout the U.S.) 

The show attracted about 10,000 retail professionals and had a much smaller footprint.  

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect with the Here, We Go conference. We were a little skeptical about how impactful it would be,” said Fate. “I ended up being pleasantly surprised because it was a great show for us. I think you will see some great stuff come out of it for Oklahoma City.” 

While Fate cannot share who she met with at the show, she did say she has already had one national retailer come to visit Oklahoma City based on their conversations at the conference.  

“The smaller show gave the conference a much more laid-back vibe,” said Fate. “The people who were there are the ones who really wanted to be there and get business done. It also allowed for longer meetings and discussions because there wasn’t the typical rush to squeeze in as many meetings as possible.” 

The national show is not just for making contacts outside of our market, said Fate. The Chamber continued its tradition of hosting a lunch for any Oklahoma-based retail professionals who are in town for the show.  

“It is always great to get our local community together when in Las Vegas,” said Fate. “Sometimes that group doesn’t get to interact as much as you would think, and the pandemic has only exacerbated that. A lot of great conversations comes from getting local developer and brokers together in a different environment.” 

While the pandemic has cut down on the travel calendar, that does not mean a focus on retail has waned. Fate said she has spent a lot of the pandemic focusing on ways to help local retail, especially through the Chamber’s various Stand Tall, Shop Small campaigns over the past two years.  

Learn more about the Chamber's Stand Tall, Shop Small campaign. 

Local retail has always been a priority for the Chamber, but the pandemic drove home the point of how important it is to Oklahoma City. 

“Retail ultimately funds critical services like police and fire departments and enhances our quality of life,” added Fate. “That means every dollar you spend in OKC keeps our city going. Beyond that, retail helps give areas a sense of place. Whether it is local or national retailers, places like the Plaza, Bricktown, Western Avenue, Uptown 23, Midtown, Penn Square and the Memorial corridor, creating an experience and gathering spot is a way to keep retail alive and vibrant.” 

Despite the challenges the pandemic created, especially for local retail, Fate said she has been impressed by how retailers in Oklahoma City have responded.  

“I have been so proud of our local retail community and districts,” said Fate. “These past two years have been as challenging as can be, but we had so many local retailers find ways to not only survive but to thrive. We have some remarkable success stories of local retailers who pivoted to online commerce to impressive results over the past two years.” 

While the pandemic is keeping everyone on their toes, Fate said the plan is to move forward with more national retail events. 

Fate is chair of the ICSC Red River show that will take place in Dallas on March 30 through April 1, and ICSC is slated to bring their national show back to full strength in Las Vegas under a new name, ICSC Las Vegas, in May.

“I’m very eager to get back on the road and talk about Oklahoma City with national folks,” said Fate. “Our community is positioned extremely well as we exit the pandemic and I think you will see a ton of retail developments happen in Oklahoma City over the next year. We have an exceptional story to tell.”