Advertisement
Search
Close this search box.

Retail

The EuroCIS trade fair in Düsseldorf is the leading trade fair for retail technology in Europe. A large number of international exhibitors showcase the latest IT solutions and innovations tailored specifically to the retail sector.

How can shopping places become “future ready” by responding to the rapidly changing retail landscape and the future behaviors and expectations of their audiences? An analysis by Ibrahim Ibrahim, Managing Director of Portland Design.

The EuroCIS trade fair in Düsseldorf is the leading trade fair for retail technology in Europe. A large number of international exhibitors showcase the latest IT solutions and innovations tailored specifically to the retail sector.

Consumer criticism of shopping centers is nothing new, states Ken Gunn, Managing Director of Ken Gunn Consulting. As a retail business consultant, advising investors and asset managers, he has reported survey-based dissatisfaction with the proposition, branding, and management of shopping centers for 30 years.

Originally developed solely to meet the daily needs of consumers, shopping centers quickly became an asset class. The model worked very well for a long time, but as consumer behavior has changed, so have the requirements of tenants, operators and investors. The obvious task to satisfy customers, business partners and stakeholders is: Get your customers to return to your locations. Clear differentiation and positioning as well as a clear focus on people are crucial.

It is time to reveal the secret of success in retail real estate, or rather to remind those who may have forgotten it, says Klaus Striebich, Managing Director of RaRE Advise and Head of the ACROSS Advisory Board. As in many other areas, we sometimes lose the right focus or simply have a different perspective as we become more and more specialized or individualized in our daily work. Let’s hit the reset button!

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) currently operates 21 assets in the German and Austrian region: 19 in Germany, eight of which are in the Group’s own portfolio, and two in Austria. Last year, a total of 714 rental contracts were closed for these 21 assets. The average vacancy rate for the core locations in the portfolio around Westfield Centro in Oberhausen, Ruhr Park in Bochum, as well as Westfield Shopping City Süd in Vösendorf in Greater Vienna and Westfield Donau Zentrum in Vienna, is less than two percent.

New highlight at Forum Hanau: on Friday, February 23, 2024, the renowned European retailer Pepco opened its doors for the first time on the second floor of the shopping center.

Since February 24, Schuh Bode has been enriching the fashion offering at QUARREE with a wide range of brand shoes for men, women and children on over 500 sq m of retail space. Family-run for five generations, the Hamburg shoe company fits in perfectly with the tenant mix of the center in the middle of Wandsbek.

Why has our industry been so willing to settle for boring? Asks Cindy Andersen, Managing Director at Ingka Centres. The endless rows of identical stores, the predictability of a food court’s menu, the steady drone of escalators… These conventions have been the traditional hallmarks of shopping center decline for decades. To stay relevant, we must evolve as an industry.

NEPI Rockcastle generated the highest distributable earnings per share in its history in 2023, exceeding the previous record set in 2019. This marks not only a complete recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also a sustainable step-up in performance determined by continuing investments in its portfolio. Throughout the year, the Company updated its earnings guidance to the upside as management took note of the strong results coming in. Even so, the 17.1% increase in recurring DEPS achieved (9.3% on a nominal basis) exceeded its latest update.

RESERVED is continuing its flagship store expansion and will open a store at Westfield Centro in mid-2025. As part of LPP SA, one of the fastest growing fashion companies in Europe, RESERVED is pursuing the goal of being represented in the most important shopping centers in Germany.