Cover Story

During the pandemic, Kaufland’s more than 1,350 large supermarkets established themselves as reliable and footfall-generating food anchors in the European shopping plaza landscape. In an in-depth interview with ACROSS, Dr. Angelus Bernreuther, Head of Institutional Investor Relationship Management and Real Estate at Kaufland, describes the success strategies that lead to a win-win alliance between shopping places and their anchor tenant Kaufland:

“ECE has for many years worked to combine online and offline channels with its own ‘Digital Mall’. In view of the latest developments, there is increased focus on the issue of shipping from the store.”

From login processes and registrations to password confirmations and SMS codes, to delivery men ringing doorbells in vain, and more. The reality of online shopping has its pitfalls.

“Thought processes need to go beyond the mere establishment of online stores.”

“Research by CNCC in 2019 showed that France applied 90 different taxes on brick-and-mortal retail, while e-tailers, which represented about 10% of the total market at the time, paid virtually no taxes at all.”

There are significant and surprising differences in the affinity for online shopping – even across the individual countries. For example, one might expect such an affinity to be higher in rural areas, but the opposite is the case: In densely populated urban regions, it is approximately 15% to 20% higher than the national average.

The following 10 trends are currently driving the placemaking industry.

Empty food courts, declining sales figures, stricter hygiene regulations, and shortened opening hours have created problems for gastronomy operators within shopping centers. As a result, alternative interim concepts are in high demand.

The new, close relationship with customers. These are the strategies that retailers and operators apply to prepare for life after the crisis.

Immofinanz succeeded in its effort to swiftly react to the Covid-19 crisis. Gerald Grüll, Head of Retail, explains why and how that happened in an interview with ACROSS.