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approximately  %. We also increased our interest in Kravco Company, its affiliated property management com- pany, from approximately  % to  %. 

Kravco owns interests in six regional malls, five of which are located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Included in the portfolio is an interest in the Plaza and Court at King of Prussia, one of the country’s premier shopping complexes. The Company’s strong market position in the metropolitan areas of New York City and Boston was enhanced by the addition of the Philadelphia Kravco assets. We now have a leading presence in all three of the major markets in the Northeast. Occupancy of the Kravco mall portfolio was  .  % at year-end and  sales per square foot were  . 

In August of   we added to our presence in the West with the purchase of Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, again one of the most productive retail assets in the United States. Comprising  .  million square feet of gross leasable area, Stanford was  % occupied at year-end and produced sales per square foot of  . 

After the acquisition of a former partner’s interest in The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, we now own  % of one of the top retail destinations in the world. The Forum Shops generates annual tenant sales in excess of  ,  per square foot and traffic of  ,  shoppers daily. We expect all of our  acquisitions to add to our FFO for years to come. 

## SELECTIVELY EXPAND OUR INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE 

Our five-year experience in the ownership of French developer Group BEG (BEG) has been positive and 

our European real estate investments through BEG have generated attractive returns. In December of  we expanded our presence in Europe with the creation of a joint venture with Rinascente Group, an established Italian retailer and real estate developer. Gallerie Commerciali Italia S.p.A. (GCI) was formed to own, manage and develop shopping centers in Italy. GCI currently owns  shopping centers as well as a pipeline of projects under construction and in predevelopment. 

This transaction significantly increases the Company’s presence in Europe and provides access to both an under-retailed market as well as significant redevelopment and new development opportunities. We also expect this transaction to increase the Company’s FFO. 

## BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

We were pleased with the election last year of Linda Walker Bynoe to our board of directors. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Telemat, Ltd., a management consulting firm. Previously she served as a Vice President– Capital Markets for Morgan Stanley. 

Also in  , J. Albert Smith, Jr. was named to the post of lead independent director. He is uniquely qualified for this position, having been a director of Simon Property Group since   and Chairman of our Audit Committee since  . 

Philip J. Ward will retire from the Board at the   Annual Meeting and his service as a director of the Company will end at that time. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation for the significant contributions and special leadership that Phil has so generously 

given to the Company over the past eight years. I wish him every success and happiness in his future endeavors. 

## OUTLOOK 

With the continuing recovery of the U.S. economy, the outlook for the retailing industry is positive. However, there have been a handful of retailer bankruptcies in the first few months of   that will result in store closures. Be assured that we are laser-focused on re-leasing this space to better merchandise our retail real estate. We expect that many retailers will expand their operations in   and   which bodes well for our existing properties and for the new developments that we will open over the next few years. Our portfolio of well-located, productive retail real estate is positioned to deliver strong financial performance in  and beyond. 

In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to the many who contributed to last year’s success. I would be remiss if I did not personally thank my colleagues and retailer partners. I also wish to thank our Board of Directors and shareholders for their support. 

In our short ten year life as a public company we have created an industry- leading, well-respected, S&P 500 compa- ny that is now the world’s largest publicly traded real estate company. There is much to be proud of and I am confident of our continued success as we enter our second decade as a public company. 

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