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CR Marketplace 2023

COMMENTARIES OF PLACEMAKING EXPERTS

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.

PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

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.

Developers have increasingly turned their attention to mixed-use retail developments for their new construction projects and the redevelopment of urban areas. In the post-pandemic era, consumers are looking for diverse work, leisure, and shopping places. Mixed-use, therefore, is not a trend – it is the future of real estate. The following projects are the finalists in the mixed-use category of the MIPIM Awards.

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LATEST TRENDS IN ASSET AND CENTER MANAGEMENT

“Creating great places is a balancing act between art and science,” states William Kistler, Founder and Managing Partner at urbanOvation. urbanOvation is a platform community created to foster better collaboration among all built environment stakeholders. In this article he argues that easy to measure, quantitative KPI metrics distract from the equally important qualitative ‘art’ that is essential to great placemaking.

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.

In 2022, Atrium European Real Estate became part of G City. As part of the rebranding process the company will be present in the market under the new name G City Europe. Subsequently, a number of corporate rebranding steps will be taken in various areas.

STRATEGIES OF RETAILERS

The first shop in the reshuffling of stores in the center of Vienna has now opened its doors: Louis Vuitton has moved into the former headquarters of Julius Meinl (since 1999; next door, at Am Graben 19, the delicatessen has been open since 1950).

After the shopping center landscape generally had to endure a lot in the past years, a pretty clear résumé is according to RegioData Research finally on the table: Shopping centers are by no means a phased-out model and will continue to dominate the stationary retail sector in the medium term.

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.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

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.

Meeting customer expectations for omnichannel experiences is key to the success of the mall of the future, argues Peter Tonstad in his PropTech column. His company, Placewise, is heavily investing in products in order to address the longer-term expectation that shopping centers will become true omnichannel offerings.

Now, more than ever, consumers want to reduce their overall expenditure, lower their consumption, and adopt sustainable practices. As a result, retail destinations must incorporate sustainability to meet growing customer expectations and nurture their customer relationships. That is why Coniq has created this list of top tips to help start any mall’s sustainability journey.

LATEST TRENDS

“What a ‘better everyday life’ means in terms of shopping center experiences has significantly changed over the last 15 years, states Vasco Santos, Global Sales & Leasing Director at Ingka Centres. As a result, the key performance metrics for such spaces have also evolved,” he explains. We might take the same numbers into consideration, but the way in which these numbers should be interpreted is new.

A small retailer in southern Germany has become one of Europe’s leading food retailers with major expansion plans: This week Kaufland opened in Bucharest its 1500th store – a great milestone in the Kaufland success story. Angelus Bernreuther, Head of Investor Relationship Management, looks back at Kaufland’s corporate history and explains how, starting with its solid roots, the future of the company is being shaped, especially during challenging times.

PLANS OF INVESTORS AND OWNERS

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.

Investors feel safe again in Poland. The total volume of investment transactions in H1 2022 amounted to almost 2.9 billion Euro, which was more than 40% more than in the same period last year. 28% of all investments were made in the shopping center sector.

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