Jan 7, 2014
ICSC Acquires Select Assets of Pinnacle Publishing Group

New York – The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) announced today that it has purchased select assets of Pinnacle Publishing Group, Inc. (PPG), a Massachusetts based conference organizer and magazine publisher that serves the specialty retail industry.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  The assets acquired by ICSC include Specialty Retail Report (SRR), Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo (SPREE), Shopping Center Sponsorship & Advertising Conference, Specialty Leasing Summit, as well as live and web-based training programs that lead to a specialty leasing designation (SLD). ICSC intends to merge these assets into its expansive offerings of specialty conferences, publications, and educational courses that it offers to its 62,000 members throughout the world.

“We are extremely pleased to have acquired the assets of Pinnacle Publishing Group that serve the specialty retail real estate industry as we believe they will be a great addition to the many programs and services we currently offer our members,” explained ICSC’s President and CEO, Michael P. Kercheval.  “While the assets are well known to specialty leasing professionals and specialty retailers in North America, we believe there exists a great opportunity to expand their reach throughout the world and ICSC is uniquely suited to make this goal a reality.”

In addition to the purchase of these select assets, ICSC has also announced that the founder and CEO of Pinnacle Publishing Group, Patricia Norins, has joined ICSC as Vice President of Specialty Programs.  Ms. Norins has more than 20 years of experience in both the publishing and retail industry. She started her career at a family-owned seasonal retailer with 300 locations nationwide, and later managed a well-known chain store, Casual Corner.  In 1997, Norins started Specialty Retail Report and in 2004 launched SPREE.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to join forces with ICSC. The acquisition represents an incredible opportunity to better serve the needs of our customers and the specialty retail industry while staying true to our core strengths. It will also ensure accelerated growth and global expansion over the next five years above and beyond what would have been possible on our own,” said Norins.

Frequently quoted in newspapers as a retail expert, Ms. Norins has also served as a spokesperson for American Express’s Small Business Saturday for the past three consecutive years. In her new role with ICSC, Ms. Norins will be responsible for overseeing the merger of the PPG assets into ICSC’s organizational structure as well as for the strategic growth of these assets into new markets.

“We are extremely pleased that Patricia Norins has joined the ICSC staff.  Not only is she a recognized retail expert but for many years she has been instrumental to the success of the Specialty Retail Report and the SPREE conference as well as other specialty leasing educational offerings. Having Patricia responsible for merging these assets into ICSC and continuing to oversee them in the future will ensure the readers and advertisers of the magazine, as well as the participants in the conferences, that the consistency and quality that they have come to know will continue well into the future,” asserted Mr. Kercheval.

Pinnacle Publishing Group, now led by Adrian Clapp, formerly its COO, will continue to expand GIFT SHOP Magazine and launch new entrepreneurial projects.

About ICSCFounded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 60,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials.  As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world.  For more information, visit www.icsc.org.




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