April 2020

The decision of the authorities to temporarily suspend the purchase of goods considered non-essential from the shopping centers affects more than 9,000 stores and each day when they are closed equals with between 15 and 20 million euros lost from unearned income, according to an analysis made by the real estate consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Despite continued strong growth in recent weeks in the webstores of Stockmann and Lindex, the online sales growth cannot compensate for the drastic decline in customer volumes in the current exceptional situation.

In these times of crisis, we at ACROSS listen very closely to what the industry is doing, feeling, and thinking. We gathered some substantial opinions from industry experts and compiled them in the ACROSS special issue “Covid-19”. This issue is available for download here and also via our new e-paper app.

After being criticized for its decision to defer rental payments, Adidas apologized for saying it would halt rent payments for retail locations globally that had to shutter due to COVID-19 lockdowns and that it would pay for April.

Until June 1 Sponda is offering two months’ rent free to all of its restaurant and food & beverage tenants operating in its shopping centres and commercial properties.

The investor has invested half a billion, says company doctor Geiwitz. The German bankruptcy contingency fund pays 28,000 employees for three months. The corona crisis threatens the future of the department house group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which is owned by the Austrian large-scale investor René Benko.

Representatives of the shopping and entertainment mall development industry addressed a collective open letter to the authorities to initiate an urgently needed dialogue regarding consolidation of actions.

Under the umbrella of Croatian Employers Association (CEA), the Coordination of non-food retail and shopping centers has been organized upon the initiative of the Developers Association and Retail Association both under CEA in Zagreb on March 26, 2020.

Financial expert Thomas Dries will support SIGNA in the area of banking as well as on the international capital markets.He will carry out his activities from SIGNA’s Berlin offices.

Australia’s national retail groups and shopping centre landlords have united in a set of retail leasing principles and calling for the implementation of a national Code of Conduct for retail leasing that assists both retailers and landlords during this period of unprecedented economic turmoil.

In these difficult days for Albania where the spread of COVID-19 has challenged the healthcare institutions and the economy, the life of many families in Bulqiza and other cities has become even harder.