June 2015

Customer focus is at the very heart of what we do as a shopping center operator. That sentence is correct, but ostensibly nothing new.

The retail market is in perhaps the most interesting phase since the emergence of the internet and online trading. Technological change has made great leaps in recent years and changed consumer behavior significantly.

The last twelve months have been incredibly active in the retail business at Land Securities and this has been driven by a strategy that has completely transformed our retail portfolio by focusing on schemes that deliver dominance, experience, and convenience in their respective catchments. This transformation is best demonstrated with an in-depth look at the drivers of success that consumers and retail brands have responded to. This has ultimately resulted in having a retail portfolio that is made up of fewer properties overall, but a higher number of bigger, better, flagship centers located in prime shopping locations.

To combine the practical with the useful is a great thing and, because Copenhagen is also quite beautiful to look at in late spring, my participation in the ICSC European Marketing Conference in early June was a great experience. I enjoy the eager discussions with marketing experts from all over the world. Exchanging views and sharing is, after all, an important part of my daily work. Not infrequently, new and exciting friendships sprout on such occasions.