Are you sitting comfortably? Are you relaxed, open to ideas? Willing to disconnect and get some “you time”? Let theleisureway (TLW) take you away.

Foodservice Column by Jonathan Doughty.

I’m with my theleisureway colleagues, Pablo and Carlos, in a place in the old center of Zaragoza. It’s a tapas bar, I confess, but I might justify it by saying that it would tick a lot of boxes as one of Ray Oldenburg’s “Great Good Places.”

So, we have arrived in 2017, the world is changing again and this year promises to be one of the most “interesting” for a long, long time.

So, here we are at the pre-Mapic breakfast. There’s the chat, the stronger-than normal-coffee, and most have ordered an omelet with the inevitable comparison between French and Spanish recipes. But there’s technology on the table and the conversation turns to client appointments and strategy. Then: A last-minute panic fumbling with ID badges and we are inside Mapic.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly attractive and popular as far as marketing and PR activities in the shopping center market are concerned. CRS is usually based on using typical occasions and supporting “ready-made” external initiatives.

On June 23, 2016, the people of Britain voted to leave the European Union. More than 30 million people voted, with a much higher than expected turn out, especially in the younger voters.

The Austrian market leader has invested €3 million in the construction of the new 5-screen multiplex cinema in the Stop.Shop shopping center in Niš. It also recently celebrated a new opening in Pristina.

theleisureway Column by Gastón Gaitán

From May to June 2016, facility management employees in 11 German retail parks recorded what concerns visitors, store employees, and suppliers had for them. Here are the results and the conclusions facility service supplier Wisag draws from them.

Events and highlights with some top-selling ideas for business. That is what Frankfurt’s Christmasworld, the international trade fair for seasonal and festive decoration, provides. It runs from January 27 to 31, 2017.

The following considerations are a summary of the key aspects relating to retail parks as brands in the market report “Retail Parks in Germany. Positioning and Profiling—How Do Centers Become Brands?” which MEC published in October 2016 with partners Corpus Sireo, Dr. Lademann & Partner, GfK, Savills, and TH Real Estate. *

On June 23, 2016, the people of Britain voted to leave the European Union. More than 30 million people voted, with a much higher than expected turn out, especially in the younger voters.

In an interview with ACROSS, Gastón Gaitán, Manager and Director of theleisureway, explains why leisure is a branding instrument—the identity of the whole shopping center is at stake.

In my last article, I talked about the need to introduce new operators into our industry, to allow the smaller operators and companies access into the world of shopping centers, and to support them as they grow.

20 years ago, Austrian Klaus Mark founded MK Illumination together with his wife Marie. Half a year later, his twin brother Thomas also joined the company, who remains to be the third partner and shareholder to this day. MK Illumination designs innovative and custom festive lighting, decoration and interactive Worlds for shopping centers on six continents.

MK Illumination has decorated shopping malls for nine years. Klaus and Thomas Mark report among other things in an interview on the growing demands for their concepts.

Brand building is still the exception rather than the rule for retail parks. But that’s changing.

Meeting point, family experience, lifestyle center, wow, more than shopping, dynamism, part of the community. Words, words, words… Believe it or not, all of them talk about leisure, but need to be organized and planned accordingly. How? Let’s discover together.

Why one needs to understand the 12 Ps of marketing the retail property to show a value of one’s activity and help the industry to thrive in the long term.

Food courts are increasingly important success factors for shopping centers. Customers particularly appreciate good, fast food and a variety of offerings.

“The demands for new tenants, interesting concepts, and new food types mean that progressive landlords and developers will have to engage with new operators and, fortunately, there are many of them now appearing in towns and cities across Europe.”

The German facility services specialist Wisag is treading an innovative path in the shopping center segment and has been rewarded with a significant increase in new customers. It is therefore now looking to other European countries.

Why outlet center operators are increasingly seeking to emancipate themselves from the “factory” image and why large investors now also like to “shop” there.