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.

Meeting point, family experience, lifestyle center, wow, more than shopping, dynamism, part of the community. Words, words, words… Believe it or not, all of them talk about leisure, but need to be organized and planned accordingly. How? Let’s discover together.

Why one needs to understand the 12 Ps of marketing the retail property to show a value of one’s activity and help the industry to thrive in the long term.

Food courts are increasingly important success factors for shopping centers. Customers particularly appreciate good, fast food and a variety of offerings.

“The demands for new tenants, interesting concepts, and new food types mean that progressive landlords and developers will have to engage with new operators and, fortunately, there are many of them now appearing in towns and cities across Europe.”

The German facility services specialist Wisag is treading an innovative path in the shopping center segment and has been rewarded with a significant increase in new customers. It is therefore now looking to other European countries.

Why outlet center operators are increasingly seeking to emancipate themselves from the “factory” image and why large investors now also like to “shop” there.

Zsar Outlet Village is taking shape in the Finnish city of Vaalimaa. The developer EFRE is working on the project with a holiday resort going up nearby.

New Nominations: Positions: Designations: Appointments

I have been watching with interest the change in fortunes of the large supermarkets, both in the UK and across Europe. Consumers have demanded “more and different” from their regular retailers and the discounters have stepped up and delivered it.

The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time. Around the world, there is a sense of starting again, having a clean slate on both a personal and professional level, and, of course, looking forward to the next 12 months.

MyZeil’s “enchanted forest” sets new standards in Christmas shopping productions. MK Illumination is responsible for the concept and implementation.

With a case study conducted in Spain, theleisureway shows how a shopping center can become “ideal meeting point”

As we move into the final months of 2015, our business is seeing yet more strong indicators that the foodservice industry, gastronomy, and horeca, is on the rise and will continue to be so in 2016 and beyond. In simple terms, life is getting “better” for many people and this shows in the way they consume.

Festive Christmas decorations and shopping centers are now inseparable. The creation of highly emotionally charged habitats adapted to the respective mall is central to the philosophy of First Christmas. A matter of views.

How shopping centers are discovering tourists as customers.

Around seven million tourists visit Alexa on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz annually. ACROSS asked Center Manager Oliver Hanna why.

Many retailers do not have retail parks on their radar. The concentration principle Immofinanz is following with its Stop.Shop. chain will change all that. Nicolas Fernandez de Retana, the new Director Asset Management Retail Europe, explains how it works.

theleisureway is dedicated to the creation of leisure experiences in shopping centers. A case study carried out by the Spanish company shows how it optimizes malls’ leisure offers for children and raises visitor numbers.