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Across the outlet market, we’ve started to see a growing number of brands, including Hugo Boss, Adidas, and Tommy Hilfiger, actively seeking larger retail spaces with a clear objective: to elevate and enrich the ‘flagship’ outlet in-store experience, explains Dan Mason is Managing Director Realm. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the UK’s first outlet center, and as we look ahead to the next decade for this resilient retail sector, what will be the defining trends of Outlet 3.0?

Luxury is more resistant than any other retail segment – especially in times of crisis. However, consumers are changing. For the new consumer generation, luxury has a new definition. Both brands as well as retailers have to adapt to this development.

“Making luxury accessible to a broader audience is a successful business strategy today,” says Orsolya Hegedüs, partner at Deloitte Austria. In an interview with ACROSS, she explains why luxury is so crisis-resistant, why the segment is growing, and why brands must adapt to a new generation of consumers.

With their baumhouse projects, Dietmar Reindl and Alexander Rössler want to combine retail locations and housing sustainably and affordably. They define affordable with rents 20% below the market level. They are planning high-quality, sustainably designed residential complexes above retail buildings. Furthermore, they explain to ACROSS what their motivation is, what social change they would like to help shape, and, above all, where the added value for investors lies.

The biggest challenge facing the F&B industry is the cost of doing business. While the coronavirus has run its course through the markets, operators are struggling to return to profitability in the face of current economic challenges. Ian Hanlon, Director of Coverpoint, explains how the current challenges can be addressed and highlights trends in the shopping center food scene using best practice examples from the industry.

The F&B sector has changed significantly in recent years, not only in terms of the size of the market, but also in the variety and quality of the offering. As rents continue to rise in Europe, space previously dominated by fashion retailers is now being occupied by trendy gastronomic restaurants. People have evolved from collecting “things” to collecting “experiences”, and shopping centers have adapted to this change by improving and expanding their gastronomic offerings. Food and beverage (F&B) will play an even more crucial role in the success of retail real estate.

In this in-depth management interview, Yurdaer Kahraman, CEO and Board Member of FİBA Commercial Properties, not only spoke about the current global developments taking place at his company, but also about the opportunities in the Turkish market, why Turkish brands are expanding so successfully in Europe, the Middle East, as well as in the MENA region, and about his recent experiences in China. His advice: Now, more than ever, it is time to look towards Asia.

Retail property revitalization and valuation is a complex process that aims to increase a property’s value and make it more attractive to retailers and customers. HBB sheds light on the various aspects of this process, including analyses, costs, steps, success factors, and necessary partners. A site-specific approach is elementary, as the Rathaus Galerie Essen example shows.

There is a collective push within shopping centers to preserve the planet, says Jean Carlos Delgado, Marketing and Brand Director at HyperIn. In this guest article, he uses case studies to explain how eco-friendly evolution can take place.

As a participant and contributor to the world of hospitality for over 30 years, Will Odwarka shares in this column insights, thoughts, and concepts that represent the contemporary challenges of our industry either as part of a retail environment or as standalone operations. He will do this without sugarcoating and superficial bumper sticker statements.

The European shopping center market overvalues design and investment but needs to pay more attention to atmosphere, interaction, and service, says Will Odwarka. This hurts the centers and especially their gastronomy section. The founder and CEO of Dubai-based Heartatwork Hospitality Consulting explains in his conversation with ACROSS editor Reinhard Winiwarter why excellent, personable service is the prerequisite for everything in the field of gastronomy.