October 2020

goodbag – this is the name of the smart reusable shopping bag by Austrian start-up bgood, which was piloted in Denner stores in March. The key feature: Every time customers re-use the goodbag in a Denner store, Denner donates to the NGO One Earth – One Ocean, which has the equivalent of one plastic bag fished out of the ocean.

Ingka Group announces it will use this year’s Black Friday as an opportunity to meet customers’ needs in ways that contribute to a circular economy. For the first time in its 77-year history, IKEA Retail stores in 27 countries will offer to buy back thousands of pieces of unwanted furniture and find them new homes. Anything that can’t be resold will be recycled or donated to community projects to help those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Numerous participants had previously declared their intention to not participate. Justifying their decision, they pointed out that Munich has been declared a risk area recently and that the situation in Germany and other European countries has worsened dramatically in recent days and hours.

On October 1, 2020 Globetrotter opened its new flagship store in Schloßstraße 20 in Berlin-Steglitz. With concept, planning, shopfitting and digital touchpoints, the Store Makers of umdasch developed the 4,000 sq m outdoor experience center as general contractor together with the Globetrotter team. The result was a “more than just a reinvention” of a successful brand as a spectacular shopping experience.

JLL has appointed Mateusz Bonca as CEO of Poland, effective in mid-November and he will be based in Warsaw.

LabTech, owner of Camden Market, has announced the opening of debut Indonesian concept Rendang + Rice at Buck Street Market, the UK’s first eco-conscious consumer market.

Next year’s Mipim will not take place in March.

Trei Real Estate GmbH (Trei), an international developer and asset holder for residential and retail real estate, and Jones Lang LaSalle Poland (JLL) jointly published a new market report on retail parks and convenience centers in Poland.

Represents sector that designs, creates, funds, develops, builds and manages places anchored by retail across Europe.

London Designer Outlet (LDO) at Wembley Park is launching a new online service, The LDO Edit, bridging the gap between the superior service and experience of physical shopping and the ease of shopping online.

La Torre Outlet Zaragoza will open on October 22, 2020 with more than 70 fashion and lifestyle brands, a food court, leisure and some of the best digital features as well as an adjacent retail park. At the moment, 30 stores have been announced, while the rest of them can be discovered in the Virtual Tour hosted on its website during the days leading up to the opening.

With an occupancy rate over 75%, Etele Plaza has already attracted some of the major fashion tenants. Inditex Group will be present in Buda’s largest shopping and entertainment centre with all of its brands available in Hungary, including Zara fashion store featuring a brand new design concept. Hungary’s first smart plaza located in the immediate vicinity of Etele square is going to open its doors in the third quarter of 2021.

Tokmanni, Finland’s largest general discount retailer, will open a new store that offers a versatile and pleasant shopping experience in the REDI shopping centre in Kalasatama, Helsinki on October 15, 2020.

Peek & Cloppenburg, the international fashion department store retailer, announces they are joining Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, with the launch of a 4,500 m2 new innovative international flagship concept store, in March 2021.

According to a recent study commissioned by centre:mk, one of the UK’s top 10 shopping centres, 49 per cent of adults now own more ‘relaxed’ clothes than ever before. The poll of 2000 adults revealed that Britain has become a nation of fashionable ‘loungers’ due to people now living a flexi-lifestyle.

Fifth Wall, the largest venture capital firm focused on real estate technology, has partnered with BNP Paribas Real Estate to launch its business in Europe with the Fifth Wall Real Estate Technology European Fund, its first European Proptech fund.

Joint venture partner SES Spar European Shopping Centers, which oversees the branch mix and leasing of space within the Seestadt shopping street company, places great emphasis on gastronomic diversity.

IKEA Family is for everyone and with over 150 million members, it is one of the world’s largest customer clubs.

Fun Street, a two-level interactive family entertainment centre, has officially launched its debut site at Silverburn, one of Scotland’s leading retail and leisure destinations. As part of a phased opening, 75% of the 14,000 sq ft independently owned venue opened to the public on October 5.

On Friday September 25th the world marked Global Climate Action Day, where people around the world called for urgent action to tackle the climate crisis. The global youth climate movement has meant a generation of young people, some of them already leaders and activists are inspiring us and pushing us forwards.