The current largest shopping center development project in Switzerland is the Mall of Switzerland in Ebikon, near Lucerne. ACROSS wanted to ask Marcel Stoffel, Managing Director of the Swiss Council of Shopping Centers (SCSC), how he views the project and what he sees as the future prospects for the Swiss shopping center industry.

Transactions in the retail sector were dominant last year, accounting for around 55% of the total volume.

There are currently 189 shopping centers in Switzerland with sales area greater than 5,000 sq m. This includes five largest railway stations and airport shopping in Zurich/Kloten. Last year, there were just 182 centers.

Luxury labels pay “connoisseur’s price” of more than €400 per sq m per month for prime addresses in the center of Vienna.

No grand openings were celebrated in the Benelux country last year. This year and the following years will be different.

TriGrant has spotted a wave of activity in the Eastern European Country.

In the “Real Estate Market Report 2015 – Baltic States,” experts at Ober-Haus examine the Latvian retail real estate market, among other places.

In March 2010 Eurovea opened in the Slovak capital. Olga Hammer, PR & Marketing Manager of the mixed-use-property, explains how they built awareness for their brand.

Stable returns and consistently good economic forecasts currently make the Slovakian capital particularly attractive. Developers remain reticent when it comes to creating new space, however.

Conversion of shopping centers into communities, new blended rental models, and other topics the top players in the European shopping center industry have placed on their agendas for 2016.

This is made possible by leveraging the porousness of The Star Vista’s design, which encourages air movement and created a naturally cool environment in the common areas.

Multi has developed Forum Lviv in the eponymous western Ukrainian city under exceptionally difficult circumstances. It is 95% let.

At Expo Real, MEC Metro-ECE Centermanagement and its proven partners Corpus Sireo, Dr. Lademann & Partner, GfK, TH Real Estate, and, for the first time, Savills, presented the third edition of “Retail Parks in Germany.” The report centers mainly on customer focus. The most important finding: a complete rethink is required to provide consistently customer-oriented management of retail real estate.

Unsurprisingly, project development in the country has been interrupted. But in Kiev alone, about 20 malls with around 1 million sq m of GLA are currently at various stages of completion, possibly opening in 2017-2018, according to UTG.

Yeouido, an island in the Han River, is home to the South Korean capital’s main business and investment district – including the IFC Mall, which opened three years ago.

In an interview with ACROSS, John Coyne, the new Chief Executive of the British Council of Shopping Centers (BCSC), argues decisively for the relaxation of Sunday trading laws in the United Kingdom. His aim in general is for the industry to be even better heard by the government.

A look at Lithuania: According to the “Real Estate Market Report 2015 – Baltic States” by Ober-Haus, not a single large shopping center has opened its doors in Vilnius in the last five years. Developers are trying to exploit attractive locations by offering small and medium-size malls, however.

The shopping center vacancy rate in the Russian capital has increased from 6.5% to 7.5%.

GfK has carried out a comprehensive analysis of the European retail scene in 32 European countries. The study examines purchasing power, the retail share of the population’s total expenditures, inflation, sales area productivity as well as changes in retail due to eCommerce, as well as a turnover prognoses for 2015. The study will appear in the forthcoming edition of ACROSS Magazine, which will be published in June.

According to CBRE, global shopping center development continues to accelerate, with a total of 11.4 million sq m of space opening in 2014 compared with 10.6 million sq m in 2013.

The “Yas Mall” in Abu Dhabi boasts around 230,000 sq m of GLA. The emirate’s largest retail and entertainment center scores not only with its size, but also with its sustainability.

Colliers International sheds light, among other things, on the retail real estate sector in Ukraine in a new report on the year 2014. As expected, all key indicators deteriorated.

ECE won it, coming in just ahead of Westfield. Despite a neck-and-neck race, the two top-ranking competitors in the brand value study carried out by the Eureb Institute differ significantly from each other.

Sadolin/Albæk takes a close look at the metropolis on the Øresund and its surroundings in “Copenhagen – Property Market Report 2014.” It examines the retail segment, too.