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In the Italian lagoon city, a stone’s throw from the Rialto Bridge and right on the Grand Canal, DFS – a pioneer in luxury travel retail (founded in Hong Kong in 1960) and now part of the LVMH Group – has set up shop. The curated selection of around 750 brands includes fashion, accessories, beauty, and jewelry, as well as food, wine, and gift items. Most of the products are made by local artists. The assortment of “La Corte al Fondaco”, a kind of high-end marketplace, changes regularly and is a great opportunity to pick up small gifts before leaving the building.

2022 is the year of vibrant opportunities and great rebirth – and again it will be a year of constant changes. The tiring phrase “the world will no longer be the same” will be our everyday companion. But what does the placemaking industry have in store for 2022? To recap the turbulences of 2021, industry experts all over Europe have shared their experiences and learnings with us. Here is their outlook for the new year.

I recently discovered the social concept store “SCHÖN&GUT” at Preßgasse 28 in Vienna-Wieden. As I drove by, the displays communicating with the viewer aroused my curiosity. Inside, I was not disappointed–unique products made sustainably and with social responsibility are lovingly presented. Customers are greeted warmly, you already feel welcome when entering!

In the city that is returning to vibrant life and where anything is possible, you’ll also find one of my absolute favorite stores, right on West Broadway, in the middle of SoHo: Flying Solo. Elizabeth Solomeina, a Russian-born jewelry designer and sculptor, teamed up with about 30 other creatives in 2016 to start this marketplace for unique fashion pieces.

The global clash of digitalization and the pandemic is shaping the economic development of the 20s of this century. It has also led to profound structural changes of historic proportions. The consequences for retail and its accompanying services are equally dynamic and controversial. Food purchases at brick-and-mortar stores increased by 10 percent or more across Europe in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, purchases of consumer durables, such as clothing, home electronics, home accessories, toys, sports, and leisure items increasingly shifted from offline to online retail.

During the pandemic, Kaufland’s more than 1,350 large supermarkets established themselves as reliable and footfall-generating food anchors in the European shopping plaza landscape. In an in-depth interview with ACROSS, Dr. Angelus Bernreuther, Head of Institutional Investor Relationship Management and Real Estate at Kaufland, describes the success strategies that lead to a win-win alliance between shopping places and their anchor tenant Kaufland:

Neinver is celebrating its 25th anniversary and operates 21 centers –17 are outlet centers–with 1,600 stores located in Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands. Their new Leasing & Retail Director, Joan Rouras, talks with ACROSS about the perks of the outlet center concept, possible future challenges, and his new role to maximize the performance of their 800 brand partners.

At Wiedner Hauptstraße 66 in Vienna, a corner store offers a wonderful variety of products and experiences that are a joy to behold. The family business, which is now run in the 2nd generation by Martina Wallner-Morin and her husband David Morin, exemplifies what we lack in many places: Authenticity, a commitment to tradition, a focus on regionality paired with modern standards.

MEC and its partners Real Estate, Savills Germany, Dr. Lademann & Partner and WISAG published the 9th edition of the Retail Park Report “About Tomorrow–Retail parks in the city of the future”. The key finding: Sustainable and cross-asset-class strategies are needed to develop cities and rural areas for the future as urban neighborhoods and surrounding areas gain in importance.