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As RECon 2013 draws to a close in the Las Vegas heat, CBRE head of consultancy Jonathan De Mello gives us his final recollections on an eventful few days.

"Tuesday at RECON - what a day!! The conference area was extremely busy as Tuesday was essentially the last day before everyone heads back home on the Wednesday. I was even busier than Monday with a host of meetings both planned and impromptu - really frantic but highly productive networking with lots of great new contacts and some interesting new brands that are keen on entering the UK and wider European market.

Now Americans aren't exactly known for being environmentally friendly, with BIG Oil, BIG cars and the ability to super-size pretty much anything, but the key theme I picked up from RECON this year - from a number of different US retailers - was their desire to build retail 'ecosystems.' 

This generally but not exclusively applies to retailers that also have wholesale and concession 'doors' in addition to free-standing stores and an omni-channel platform, but essentially relates to a desire to make money from a market overall through 'balancing' the ecosystem of all possible outlets, in addition to building brand equity. 

In the digital age this approach is becoming increasingly relevant, as retailers compete to trade in the best locations with high footfall in order to build up the brand which in turn fuels growth for their online business - which generally yields stronger profit margins for them. The ecosystem concept extends this further to incorporate wholesale and concession retail too, which again can in certain markets outperform free-standing stores from a profit margin perspective. 

Channel choice is therefore key, but free-standing stores are essential to this in terms of building up brand equity to drive sales through the other channels, as well as providing an outlet for click and collect services, which generate the highest margin of all given the delivery costs associated with pure online retail. Given the continued importance of free-standing stores - which in themselves will not typically generate stellar margins in very high footfall areas given these locations often have very high rents to match, as an industry I have often thought we should move towards trying to measure the positive impact of a free-standing store on brand equity. 

One way that this could be done is through applying metrics PR firms typically use - such as 'advertising equivalent' to footfall numbers going past a store. This would better aid retailers - and landlords - to understand and quantify the true benefit of having a store beyond just turnover and profit.

Wasn't planning on writing an essay for this blog but it has sort of turned into one - so moving on - it is impossible to write a blog on Vegas and not talk about the evening networking that goes on outside the convention centre. Tuesday night was particularly fruitful for me from that perspective with the NY Developers pool party at the Bellagio, a great dinner at the Mandarin Oriental with some current and new clients, and finally 1 Oak club at the Mirage, where a number of brokers were to be found engaging in a final bout of networking over drinks to wrap up their ICSC in style. It was a fitting end to a great trip to Vegas, and I for one will definitely be back for more next year!"

Today brings the end of a barren spell in the UK retail market that has not been experienced for some time. All eyes are on Yorkshire as Land Securities delivers its mammoth 1,000,000 sq ft Trinity Leeds - some 555 days after Boris Johnson cut the ribbon at Westfield Stratford.

Such a drought in the development pipeline would have surely been unthinkable back in the halcyon days of 2008 - a year which saw Westfield London and Grosvenor's Liverpool One amongst twelve new malls to open in the UK.

The drop down to 'zero' in 2012 can be attributed to an overwhelming litany of factors - economic difficulties for both retailers and developers, a lack of adequate funding, anchor-store pull-outs, 're-evaluation' of planning proposals, refusal of planning proposals, decreasing consumer confidence and the mall-crushing behemoth of on-line retail are only a handful. Essentially, the story is that the fall in new retail development over the past five years is one of the starkest representations of what the global economic crisis has done to this country.

Nonetheless, today should be a celebration of UK retail and its ever-increasing adaptability to difficult circumstances. There have been a lot of noises coming from Land Securities about Trinity Leeds being seen as an 'experience' destination - rather than simply a place to shop. This could ultimately determine the level of the mall's success, as developers increasingly look towards leisure and catering services to help boost footfall and tempt customers away from the convenience of shopping on the internet.

The opening comes at a time when UK retail desperately needs a shot in the arm. Yesterday's budget left the calls to re-think the business rate revaluation delay unanswered, and retailers facing a £175 million additional rates bill in April. This comes off the back of a dismal January which saw three major retail chains falling into administration, causing 10,000 jobs to be put at immediate risk as around 1,000 stores faced the axe.

All that can be put to one side today, as Land Securities can enjoy the fruit of a very long, and at times arduous, labour. Having downed-tools in 2009, you would have got extremely long odds on them opening a 90%-let scheme in March 2013, complete with the first Everyman cinema in the north of the country, in addition to a string of highly-sought-after retailers and catering outlets. It's a huge credit to them, and to Leeds as a whole, that they have done so.

Regular readers of our retail blog will recall an earlier entry on the brewing row between owners and tenants of the Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly, W1, over plans to breath new life into the building.

Meyer Bergman, the European real estate firm that bought the Grade II-listed arcade in October 2010, has now revealed the first pictures of proposed new restoration works following the receipt of Planning and Listed Building Consent.

Work has now started and the first phase, which will focus on restoring the upper elements of the arcade, is expected to be complete by the end of April. It involves the installation of up-lighting and the re-painting of the painted elements in the original ecru white colour used in 1819 when the arcade first opened. 

Work is being undertaken out of trading hours to allow shopkeepers to remain open for business throughout the process.

Markus Meijer, chief executive of Meyer Bergman, Burlington Arcade's co-owner, said: "We expect these works to be complete in time for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and I am particularly excited that, once complete, we will have a view not seen for over 100 years and possibly not since Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897."

Poor Croydon. The town centre is crying out for a cohesive, coherent retail-led regeneration strategy but, judging by this week's events, I suspect it will be some time before a happy conclusion is reached.

Westfield's jubilation on Thursday that it is to act as a development partner to the Whitgift Foundation, which owns the freehold and a 25% long leasehold stake in the town's Whitgift shopping centre, was short lived. 

The brewing row between the owners and tenants of the Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly, W1, has a distinct sense of déjà vu about it.

More than 34,000 people backed a petition in January 2010 calling for action after 150 traders were ejected from Portobello Market, W11, in favour of an All Saints store.

They argued that the changes to Lipka's Arcade, undertaken by landlord Warren Todd, threatened the character of one of the capital's top tourist attractions and accused him of jeopardising the market in pursuit of high rents.

Fast forward more than a year and a half, and the same argument is now being thrashed out under the arches of the Grade II-listed arcade in Piccadilly.

Meyer Bergman and Thor Equities, the owners of the Burlington Arcade, are threatening to replace boutique retailers, some of whom have traded there for more than 50 years, with glitzy brands such as Jimmy Choo. They have also hired New York-based retail guru Peter Marino, famed for his black leather cap and sunglasses combo, to head up a reported £2.5m makeover of the arcade.

Daniel Bexfield, who has run a silver shop in the Burlington Arcade for 13 years, has branded the joint venture's plans for the arcade as "Dubai style" and Susanna Lovis, a specialist in Victorian and Edwardian jewellery, warns that it risks being turned into another Westfield mall.

As the mood at the arcade becomes increasingly sour and Bexfield's protest gathers momentum - film director Michael Winner recently waded in - it's hard to see an easy and peaceful solution to this familiar dispute.