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Eurovea will soon become Slovakia’s largest and widest-ranging shopping center, with 320 shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes covering 85,000 sq m. Work is well advanced on the center and surrounding area to complete construction, approvals, and preparations for the grand May opening.

Rüdiger Dany, CEO of NEPI Rockcastle, believes that one of the biggest mistakes made in the last 15 years was not being able to seize and take advantage of opportunities during a crisis or difficult situation. He has worked in very different markets, with different stories and problems, but his general takeaway is clear: The investments and development plans of a company should never be stopped unless it is absolutely necessary.

Steffen Hofmann is a Managing Partner at ambas. Having worked in eight European markets, he has a deep understanding of the mechanisms of international investment markets. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of ACROSS, he discusses the historic evolution of the retail real estate industry from the perspective of the financial market.

Few changes have been as noticeable in business and society as the technological developments of the last 15 years. New platforms and digital ecosystems have opened up huge new global opportunities. Within the shopping center industry, a whole new segment has emerged: The Proptech sector. Peter Tonstad, CEO of Placewise, looks back, explains the most important developments, and reveals the biggest challenges facing retail real estate.

For the past 15 years, we have lived in a V.U.C.A. world, one of vulnerability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. In order to be successful in the future, we need to look at places not through the lens of real estate, but through the lens of content, argues Ibrahim Ibrahim, Managing Director of Portland Design.

How would one summarize the last 15 years in retail real estate? Gregory Fonseca, Director of Architecture BDP, expresses it in one word: disruptive. He takes us on an instructive journey through 15 years of retail and retail architecture.

When it comes to shaping the future in a positive way, it is impossible to overstate the influence retailers can have. Retail and shopping centers should become much stronger communicators of a positive consumer vision, especially with regard to sustainability, says Andreas Steinle, CEO and founder of Zukunftsinstitut Workshop. The crisis year of 2023 must be a year in which retailers recapitulate their understanding of their role.

ACROSS presents: Exclusive Study Tour to Lisbon. The world metropolis has always been a center for commerce and marketplaces. Together with Rüdiger Pleus Consulting and the Portuguese Shopping Center Association APCC – Associação Portuguesa de Centros Comerciais – we will examine on May 18th and 19th 2023 how Lisbon promotes innovations and shapes the future of retail.

OUT NOW – LATEST ISSUE! +++ RE-THINK! – How to reassess development, invention and communication in retail real estate. The real estate industry has been in a state of change for a few years now: increasing online retail, the move to multi-channel, changing logistics requirements, a strong emphasis on entertainment, a much higher level of diversity in retail, and last but not least, the big issue of ESG. “Re-think” – is the order of the day.

One crisis follows the next. While retailers faced nationwide lockdowns, restrictions based on testing, vaccination, or recovery, and already disrupted supply chains last year, the war in Ukraine is bringing the issue of “consumer pricing” to the forefront. Additionally, supply chain disruptions and record energy prices are leading to unseen inflation rates in many European countries for several decades.

In probably the most famous district of Venice, San Marco, a company has managed to expand in recent months and now operates five stores just minutes from each other: Giobagnara. Two of these stores are right next to St. Mark’s Church, another is located on St. Mark’s Square, not far from Caffè Florian (there is a meeting room on the second floor with a wonderful view of St. Mark’s Square); the fourth store can be found beside Harry’s Bar.