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placemaking

FOC Retail Service GmbH operates three outlet locations in Austria and Germany, all of which have incredibly high purchasing power but are small. Managing Director Michael Lungkofler explains the potential of smaller locations, why brands are just as successful here as in prominent locations, and why, despite the excellent performance, the small sizes result from regulatory policy decisions.

As the year propels forward, the allure of the festive season remains an enduring opportunity for innovation, sustainability, and creativity. Post-COVID, a glimpse at festive installations worldwide unveils a fusion of emerging trends and timeless elements, poised to redefine festive decoration in 2024 and beyond. At the forefront of this evolution stands MK Illumination, weaving these trends into captivating projects that impress and inspire.

The opening of Hamburg’s Überseequartier, planned for April 25th, has been postponed due to water damage. The center is now scheduled to open to visitors at the end of August, the operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) announced on Thursday.

As reported by “Handelsblatt”, a buyer has been found for the insolvent department store chain. A consortium consisting of the US investment company NRDC Equity Partners and the entrepreneur Bernd Beetz wants to take over the insolvent department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.

Over the last few years, retail parks in Poland were mostly developed in smaller formats, around 5,000 s m, either adding to the existing retail landscape or introducing modern retail amenities to smaller towns as their first such facilities. Now, there’s a noticeable shift towards larger developments, with 32 bigger retail parks (GLA > 5,000 sq m.) either being built or expanded, including six that exceed 20,000 sq m.

Giles Membrey, Managing Director of Rioja Estates, takes us on a journey through 20 years of the outlet industry – from site identification, planning, construction, leading to exit funding and marketing. Much has changed, but the basic principles have remained the same.

The revival of Swiss shopping centers – shopping centers that combine shopping convenience and experience offer the highest added value.

In December 2023, London’s luxury department store, Harrods, unveiled two new womenswear rooms dedicated to occasionwear and swimwear, as part of its redevelopment project at its Knightsbridge home. umdasch The Store Makers was entrusted with bringing Harrods’ vision to life – implementing the shopfitting based on a concept by David Collins Studio. The result sets the stage for an ideal shopping experience tailored to special occasions.

“In reading up for this commentary on outlet malls, I was surprised to learn that the concept has been around for a surprisingly long time, especially in the US”, states Susan Hagerty Bonsak, CEO of Placewise.

After a record year in 2023, Designer Outlet Parndorf hopes to build on its 2019 figures in terms of international tourism this year. ACROSS spoke to Mario Schwann, General Manager of Designer Outlet Parndorf, about the return of international tourists, the potential of visitors from Southern Asia and Middle East, and the importance of cooperation, among other things.

Social and geopolitical developments have dominated the placemaking industry in recent years. During these challenging times, important issues, such as location marketing, have been overshadowed by others – and not just in the media. While this may seem understandable at first glance, it has now become clear that companies that have continuously focused on the issues of market positioning and professional location marketing are more fit for the future. ACROSS spoke with Sebastian Guth, Managing Director of 21Media, about what good location campaigns look like, the differences between B2B and B2C campaigns, and why operators who fail to focus on marketing will lose out in the medium term.

In the 60th anniversary year of the future Westfield Ruhr Park in Bochum, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) is crowning the success story of one of the largest shopping and leisure destinations in Germany: Westfield Ruhr Park will be the third destination in Germany to bear the internationally renowned Westfield brand name, alongside Westfield Centro in Oberhausen and Westfield Hamburg Überseequartier.

“The money is there but is selective” – There are and will always be investments in retail real estate. Investing in retail real estate is particularly attractive since the industry has come through the crisis faster than other asset classes. In the latest ACROSS Retail Talk, “Euphoria, a new dawn, or more of the same?” sheds light on the investor’s perspective for 2024, a high-caliber panel concluded: There are more opportunities than ever, not only in the CEE-market, but also in so called struggling markets like Germany and Spain.

There are 211 major outlet centres in Europe. Differences in brand line up have created a clear performance hierarchy of sites, which is widely understood by outlet professionals, states Ken Gunn in his lastest European Outlet Ranking. It is possible to use this hierarchy to profile brands by the performance quality of their locations and ultimately rank outlet centres by the strength of brands present.

Shopping centers with high vacancy rates vs. booming outlets – so why not combine shopping centers and outlets? Haslinger Retail Real Estate Consulting is doing just that in St. Augustin, Germany: Huma World is a hybrid center with an outlet on the upper floor and a classic shopping center offering on the lower floors. In short, it is a weatherproof outlet with many restaurants and extended services. Michael Haslinger explains the advantages for brands, owners, and customers and why hybrid centers are not cure-all for the struggling shopping center sector.

All outlet players have worked hard to improve their attractivity, engage new retailers, offer more exciting Food & Beverage formats, provide more premium hospitality services and realize strong marketing campaigns, states Caroline Lamy, CEO of Magdus and the CL Outlet Consulting company. In this interview, she gives an overview of the European Outlet market.