The history of counting customer frequency appears to lead to blanket Wi-Fi coverage. This makes it all the more surprising that coherent Wi-Fi strategies are still the exception rather than the rule among German retailers.

Innovation is a “buzzword”—and buzzes around theleisureway’s studio like a bee in a car.

Foodservice Column by Jonathan Doughty, Regional Director & Head of JLL Foodservice Consulting.

Around 50 retail real estate industry experts met in Frankfurt for the second “innovation incubator.” The theme of the workshop hosted by the German facility services expert Wisag was “Digital prospects for shopping centers and retail properties.”

How to build a stronger relationship between developers and retailers.

Are you sitting comfortably? Are you relaxed, open to ideas? Willing to disconnect and get some “you time”? Let theleisureway (TLW) take you away.

Foodservice Column by Jonathan Doughty.

I’m with my theleisureway colleagues, Pablo and Carlos, in a place in the old center of Zaragoza. It’s a tapas bar, I confess, but I might justify it by saying that it would tick a lot of boxes as one of Ray Oldenburg’s “Great Good Places.”

So, we have arrived in 2017, the world is changing again and this year promises to be one of the most “interesting” for a long, long time.

So, here we are at the pre-Mapic breakfast. There’s the chat, the stronger-than normal-coffee, and most have ordered an omelet with the inevitable comparison between French and Spanish recipes. But there’s technology on the table and the conversation turns to client appointments and strategy. Then: A last-minute panic fumbling with ID badges and we are inside Mapic.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly attractive and popular as far as marketing and PR activities in the shopping center market are concerned. CRS is usually based on using typical occasions and supporting “ready-made” external initiatives.

On June 23, 2016, the people of Britain voted to leave the European Union. More than 30 million people voted, with a much higher than expected turn out, especially in the younger voters.

The Austrian market leader has invested €3 million in the construction of the new 5-screen multiplex cinema in the Stop.Shop shopping center in Niš. It also recently celebrated a new opening in Pristina.

theleisureway Column by Gastón Gaitán

From May to June 2016, facility management employees in 11 German retail parks recorded what concerns visitors, store employees, and suppliers had for them. Here are the results and the conclusions facility service supplier Wisag draws from them.

Events and highlights with some top-selling ideas for business. That is what Frankfurt’s Christmasworld, the international trade fair for seasonal and festive decoration, provides. It runs from January 27 to 31, 2017.

The following considerations are a summary of the key aspects relating to retail parks as brands in the market report “Retail Parks in Germany. Positioning and Profiling—How Do Centers Become Brands?” which MEC published in October 2016 with partners Corpus Sireo, Dr. Lademann & Partner, GfK, Savills, and TH Real Estate. *

On June 23, 2016, the people of Britain voted to leave the European Union. More than 30 million people voted, with a much higher than expected turn out, especially in the younger voters.

In an interview with ACROSS, Gastón Gaitán, Manager and Director of theleisureway, explains why leisure is a branding instrument—the identity of the whole shopping center is at stake.

In my last article, I talked about the need to introduce new operators into our industry, to allow the smaller operators and companies access into the world of shopping centers, and to support them as they grow.

20 years ago, Austrian Klaus Mark founded MK Illumination together with his wife Marie. Half a year later, his twin brother Thomas also joined the company, who remains to be the third partner and shareholder to this day. MK Illumination designs innovative and custom festive lighting, decoration and interactive Worlds for shopping centers on six continents.

MK Illumination has decorated shopping malls for nine years. Klaus and Thomas Mark report among other things in an interview on the growing demands for their concepts.

Brand building is still the exception rather than the rule for retail parks. But that’s changing.