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shopping center

Jurij Triller, CEO of Smart Octopus Solutions.

Shopping Center Gift Cards: Personalization Meets Profitability

Jurij Triller is the CEO of Smart Octopus Solutions. Together with a co-founder, he has developed a smart gift card solution that offers a closed loop to customers and partners, unlike comparable products. He talks to ACROSS about the advantages of being independent from a major player like Visa or Mastercard, what data insights he can ensure as a result, and why personalization and customization are key.

Beaumont Leys shopping center, Leicester, UK. /// credit: Evolve Estates

EVOLVE ESTATES EXPANDS ITS PORTFOLIO BY ACQUIRING BEAUMONT LEYS SHOPPING CENTER IN LEICESTER IN A JOINT VENTURE WITH M CORE

Evolve Estates, part of commercial property and investment collective M Core, has acquired Beaumont Leys, a successful community shopping center in a high-growth suburb in Leicester. The 10-acre site is the dominant local retail offer within the area, serving a significant residential population of 670,000 people. The acquisition is a joint venture with M Core. 

ALEXA Berlin center. /// credit: Sierra Germany

In 2024, ALEXA Berlin Confirmed Its Leading Position In The German Retail Market And Plans To Further Sharpen Its Profile As A Trend Center

The ALEXA shopping and leisure center in Berlin-Mitte can look back on an extremely positive 2024. The center, which is owned by Union Investment and managed by Sonae Sierra, was able to further expand its position as one of the most attractive retail locations in Germany with 17 new leases and 18 lease extensions and was named Germany’s best inner-city center. Further optimizations are planned for 2025.

Köln-Arcaden district design. /// credit: ASTOC Architects and Planners

Köln-Arcaden In Germany Receives A Sustainable Mixed-Use Development from Union Investment

Union Investment, owner of the Köln Arcaden shopping center in Germany, is planning to develop the site into a new mixed-use quarter. The preliminary planning envisages around 108 apartments, some privately financed and some publicly subsidized, as well as senior citizens’ apartments, a facility with care places for senior citizens and office space for a total of around 800 employees.

Decathlon at Westfield Ruhr Park, Germany. /// credit: kplus konzept, Decathlon

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Strengthens Strategic Partnership With Decathlon

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) Germany is enriching the already diverse and attractive tenant and brand mix of Westfield Ruhr Park in Bochum and Palais Vest in Recklinghausen: with the sporting goods manufacturer and retailer Decathlon, another anchor partner is coming on board in both shopping centers. At Westfield Ruhr Park, Decathlon will present its extensive product range on a sales area of more than 1,000 sq m. At Palais Vest, the store will cover almost 1,000 sq m of sales area. The stores are scheduled to open in spring 2025.

Coresight Research and NextRivet Announce Strategic Partnership to Redefine Retail and Real Estate with Insight-Driven Innovation

Coresight Research, a research and advisory firm specializing in retail and technology, and NextRivet, a digital innovation and implementation consultancy specializing in retail real estate, announced their strategic partnership and the launch of CoreRivet. The CoreRivet service is designed to empower retail and real estate executives with actionable insights and cutting-edge technologies that drive sales growth, operational efficiencies, and elevated customer engagement.

credit: URW

URW sells 15% stake in Paris shopping center Westfield Forum des Halles

Westfield Forum des Halles is a 77,600sqm flagship shopping center located in the heart of Paris. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has sold a 15% stake to CDC Investissement Immobilier, the real estate arm of French public financial institution Caisse des Dépôts (CDC).

credit: Mallcomm

The retail renaissance: A new approach

Over the past couple of years, it has become evident that retail is seeing a significant resurgence. This is across shopping centers, large destination indoor malls, and retail parks and outlets, explains Mark Bruce, Data & Insights Director at Mallcomm. While some may have dismissed the retail sector, others have recognized that despite some challenges, there is a great opportunity.

Westfield Centro Oberhausen, Germany. /// credit: Oliver Blobel, URW

More Than 15 New Deals At Westfield Centro

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) is once again strengthening the attractiveness of the shopping and leisure destination in North Rhine-Westphalia: for this purpose, rental areas of anchor partners are being comprehensively expanded to establish flagship formats and, at the same time, new brands are being brought on board to further diversify the product range at the center. In this context, Westfield Centro is also announcing several market entries in Germany. A number of the new partners are also placing a particular focus on sustainability in their business model.

Rüdiger Dany, CEO of NEPI Rockcastle (left), Magnolia Park shopping center in Wroclaw, Poland (right). /// credit: NEPI Rockcastle

“GO INTO THE MARKET AND BUY NOW”

Well deserved honor: Rüdiger Dany, CEO of NEPI Rockcastle, received the lifetime achievement award at the prestigious 19th SEE Property Awards. This prize recognizes and celebrates Rüdiger Dany’s incredible 30-year career and his invaluable contribution to the real estate industry. In 2024, he continued to write his personal success story and that of NEPI Rockcastle. Probably no other company performed as well as NEPI in 2024. Reason enough to talk to Rüdiger Dany about the highlights of his company as well as current developments and challenges.

Left-to-right: The Playce exterior, Berlin, and The Alchemist restaurant and cocktail bar at The Playce. /// credit: Rory Gardiner, The Alchemist

RETAIL’S RENAISSANCE BY BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES: A NEW PURPOSE NEEDS A NEW EQUATION

Over the past decade, the retail landscape has undergone a seismic transformation redefining the very essence of the sector. Customers’ expectations of convenience, personalization, experience, community, and sustainability have changed dramatically. The purpose of physical stores is being redefined, with goods and products taking a backseat to experiences. Today, successful retail destinations are those that cultivate connection, joy, and community.

A year and a half since the opening of the expansion, Eurovea shopping center has reached 95% occupancy, and has successfully renewed around 50 leases this year. /// credit: Eurovea

EUROVEA: HOW TO CREATE A UNIQUE SHOPPING CENTER ON A SATURATED MARKET

Exciting new leasing partners and new openings further cement Eurovea’s position as the most innovative and highest-quality shopping center in Bratislava. In an interview with ACROSS, Leasing Manager Katarina Paule talks about what it takes to prevail in a competitive market like Bratislava, why Eurovea offers the ideal market entry, why F&B and leisure, in particular, are influenced by the entire Eurovea City, and why it’s ultimately all about the community.

In January 2023, Sonae Sierra announced a further step in its growth in Italy by signing a partnership with Chorus Life for the leasing of the retail space of the new “City of the Future” model, developed by the POLIFIN Group and built by COSTIM. /// credit: Sonae Sierra

“THE GREATEST NEED IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TODAY IS ADAPTABILITY”

“Across all markets, we are seeing that retail has remained a resilient and thriving sector,” explains Cristina Santos, Executive Director Property Management at Sonae Sierra. More than almost any other European company, Sonae Sierra is strategically diversified across several regions and adapts to the specific requirements of each. The company has extensive experience with its own properties and has increasingly used that knowledge as a cornerstone of its approach to manage third-party properties.

Europa-Galerie Saarbrücken, Germany. /// credit: Sonae Sierra

Best-Practice Example: Europa-Galerie Saarbrücken — “Operators Need To Find Neighboring Tenants That Can Build Synergies”

Retail is polarizing towards the absolute top locations, among them metropolitan locations, and A-cities. There are many cases proving this but there are also exceptions – and not just any, but successful exceptions. The recent DeepTalk online-discussion took a closer look at one such exception and looked a little behind the letting and positioning strategies of the Europa-Galerie Saarbrücken in Germany, one of the outstanding best-practice examples.

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Data exchange in the placemaking industry: Is data-sharing equal to data-caring?
The exchange of data puts the tenant-landlord relationship to the test. While the advantages of data sharing are obvious, tenants in particular find it difficult to share relevant data. The main reason for this is a lack of trust in how this data is used.
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