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COMMENTARIES OF PLACEMAKING EXPERTS

Across the outlet market, we’ve started to see a growing number of brands, including Hugo Boss, Adidas, and Tommy Hilfiger, actively seeking larger retail spaces with a clear objective: to elevate and enrich the ‘flagship’ outlet in-store experience, explains Dan Mason is Managing Director Realm. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the UK’s first outlet center, and as we look ahead to the next decade for this resilient retail sector, what will be the defining trends of Outlet 3.0?

“One of the most surefire ways for management companies to optimize revenue for brands is to find ways to improve customer loyalty and to ensure both new and repeat visits,” states Sergio Jiménez, Marketing & IT Director at NEINVER.

Many of the headwinds that have buffeted the global economy over the past 12 months remain very much at the forefront of investors’ minds. However, in tandem with this, investors like Mitiska REIM are also seeing a number of structural tailwinds in support of retail parks and wider convenience real estate.

PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

The grand opening of Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier in Hamburg, scheduled to take place in spring 2024, will mark the completion of Unibail-Rodamco Westfield’s (URW) largest inner-city development project. In an interview with ACROSS, Andreas Hohlmann, Managing Director Austria & Germany, talks about the role of retail and lifestyle destinations in modern society, the five trends that must be observed, and why size matters.

This Thursday, one of the most sustainably modernized Kaufland stores to date will reopen to customers in Lenggrieser Straße in Bad Tölz. Just a glance at the newly designed facade with modern, sustainable wooden elements, which blends harmoniously into the local, Bavarian building culture, makes it clear that a very special revitalization of the more than 50-year-old store has taken place here after a total renovation period of around 17 months.

LATEST TRENDS IN ASSET AND CENTER MANAGEMENT

For good reasons, there has been increasing attention in recent years on environmental protection, energy efficiency, the reduction of CO2, as well as the economical use of land and sustainability. This also applies to synthetic commercial zones states a new research report by RegioData.

“Despite the significant challenges of recent years, it is clear that retail real estate is a stable and resilient asset class,” says Joanna Fisher. In an interview with ACROSS, the CEO of ECE Marketplaces talks about the opportunities of a once again dynamic market, dealing with industry changes and ESG, and her goals as the new Chairwoman of ECSP.

STRATEGIES OF RETAILERS

Mitiska REIM has announced that following the successful completion of its value creation program, it has completed the sale of 25 retail parks in Romania to LCP Group for 219 million euros. This sale is one of the largest retail real estate transactions in Romania and more than doubles the original investment over an average holding period of 5 years for investors in the FRI and FRI 2 funds which owned the assets.

LOEWE is one of the largest luxury companies in the world. Craftsmanship, progress and unsurpassed expertise in handling leather are the cornerstones of LOEWE, which has a 170-year history.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

Buildings are one of the main contributors to CO2 emissions: They are responsible for nearly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. In addition, maintaining inefficient building systems costs real estate companies dearly. As Martin Gruber, Director Europe at BrainBox AI, explains, BrainBox AI is the market leader in Autonomous Decarbonization services to accelerate your decarbonization journey powered by Artificial Intelligence.

There is a collective push within shopping centers to preserve the planet, says Jean Carlos Delgado, Marketing and Brand Director at HyperIn. In this guest article, he uses case studies to explain how eco-friendly evolution can take place.

LATEST TRENDS

Start of construction and strong letting success for the new “Food Garden” in the Main-Taunus-Zentrum: In November, construction work began on the new highlight in the middle of the shopping center – a high-quality and varied range of restaurants with five free-standing restaurant buildings, partly covered and partly open terraces, green outdoor areas and sophisticated architecture. The opening is planned for spring 2025.

Today, more than ever, a first-class location, excellent management, and continuous further development are decisive for the future of a retail property. In addition to the location-specific sector and tenant mix, the gastronomic offer is crucial for success – as ECE Marketplaces shows.

Time Out Market is one of the first food hall concepts in Europe. From Lisbon, it has expanded internationally. The list of interested parties, from cities, operators, and restaurants, who want to be part of this success story is long, but new locations are carefully chosen. Sandy Hayek, CEO of Time Out Market, and Ana Alcobia, VP Iberia, explain the USP of their concept, the criteria they use to select locations and restaurants, and why being a media house at ist core is so crucial for their success.

PLANS OF INVESTORS AND OWNERS

The binding agreement between the British Frasers Group plc and Signa Retail Department Store Holding GmbH to acquire SportScheck was announced a few days ago.