Interview by Reinhard Winiwarter / Publisher ACROSS magazine
ACROSS: Rüdiger, you often say your understanding of retail comes from before real estate. What do you mean by that?
Rüdiger Dany: I literally grew up in retail. My father was a retailer. After the Second World War, Germany was destroyed, there were no materials, nothing. He started by collecting old Wehrmacht uniforms, dyeing them, and reselling them because fabrics were unavailable. From that, a family business developed. Later, he opened one of the first self-service department stores in Germany — what we would now call a hypermarket, built on a greenfield site. That was quite bold at the time.
ACROSS: You were very young when you took over that business.
Dany: Yes. My father died early, at 65. I was 24, my brother 26. Suddenly, we were responsible for four stores and close to 100 employees. We had no real preparation for that. My early meetings with banks were… challenging. But we managed. We ran the business for 15 years, mainly in fashion and sports retail.
ACROSS: How did that shape you later as a real estate executive?
Dany: Fundamentally. If you’ve been a retailer yourself, you understand one crucial thing: retailers don’t think in monthly rent. They think in daily turnover. Many real estate people never internalize that. It changes how you negotiate, how you judge performance, and how you react in crises.
“As a retailer you understand one crucial thing:
Don’t think in monthly rent. Think in daily turnover.”
ACROSS: After 15 years in retail, you moved into real estate — almost by accident.
Dany: Completely. I joined ECE in 2003 and had practically no real estate background. Zero, really. It was a cultural shock at first. But ECE was a fantastic training ground. I managed centers in Koblenz, Leipzig, Frankfurt — and then things became international very quickly.
ACROSS: Including the Middle East.
Dany: Yes. In 2006, I got a call asking whether I’d go to Qatar. I had to look it up on the map. Today everyone knows it; back then, hardly anyone did. My wife is adventurous, and our youngest son was eight months old — so we went. Managing a 100,000-square-meter shopping center in Doha for the ruling family was an eye-opener.
ACROSS: In what sense?
Dany: None of our European assumptions applied. Business culture, decision-making, values — everything was different. It took about six months before I really understood how things worked. But once you get it, it’s incredibly instructive. It teaches humility. And it teaches you that there isn’t one universal business logic.
ACROSS: Your career afterwards seems dominated by crises rather than comfort.
Dany: That’s true. I often landed where things were difficult. After the financial crisis in 2008, for example, we bought and managed major German assets — just when investment markets collapsed. Later, in Central and Eastern Europe, I opened shopping centers during crises in Vilnius, Romania and Serbia. These were not textbook situations. They were firefighter missions.
ACROSS: What did you learn from those years?
Dany: That there is no “standard case.” Real estate theory helps, but reality always interferes. Markets behave differently. People behave differently. And you learn that execution matters more than strategy papers.
ACROSS: After listed companies and private equity, you joined NEPI Rockcastle in 2021. What did you find when you arrived?
Dany: A very strong portfolio — but not a fully integrated organization. NEPI and Rockcastle had merged, but operationally they still functioned quite separately. Asset management, systems, processes — they weren’t unified.
“I often landed where things were difficult and learned:
There is no “standard case.”
ACROSS: What was your priority?
Dany: Integration. Not for cosmetic reasons, but because scale only works if you operate as one platform. We internalized management, standardized systems, created transparency. That sounds boring, but it’s where value is actually created.
ACROSS: You became CEO in early 2022, at a time when retail real estate was widely considered fragile.
Dany: Yes, and I never shared that pessimism. Shopping centers were declared dead when online retail grew. They were declared dead during COVID. They’re declared dead whenever something changes. But what actually dies are weak assets — not the format.
ACROSS: Central and Eastern Europe recovered faster than Western Europe. Why?
Dany: Several reasons. First, in many of these countries there is no real high street culture. Shopping centers are the retail infrastructure. Second, consumer behavior is different. In Germany, when inflation rises, people save. In Romania or Poland, people often spend — because they know money loses value. And third, the economies simply grew faster.
ACROSS: Inflation worried many investors.
Dany: I always thought that discussion was misguided. Indexation is a structural advantage for retail real estate. The key question is whether tenants can afford it. We tested that during COVID. The pain threshold is known. As long as rent-to-sales ratios remain healthy, the system works.
ACROSS: NEPI Rockcastle continued to buy assets when others stopped.
Dany: Yes, and that was controversial at the time. We bought Forum in Gdańsk at the end of 2022, when markets were frozen. Many said it was the wrong moment. But that’s exactly when you should buy — if you understand the asset.
ACROSS: What is your broader assessment of the sector today?
Dany: Retail real estate is not disappearing. But it has become selective. Assets without growth potential become liabilities. Small centers, weak catchments, oversupplied markets — those will struggle. The future belongs to dominant assets.
“Shopping centers were often declared dead.
What actually dies are weak assets — not the format.”
ACROSS: Does that imply consolidation?
Dany: Absolutely. Europe is extremely fragmented. After the top players, portfolio sizes drop sharply. That’s not efficient. I expect more consolidation — through acquisitions or corporate actions.
ACROSS: You also pushed diversification, for example into energy.
Dany: Yes, and not everyone liked it. Some investors said: “You’re a real estate company, why energy?” My answer was simple: because it makes economic sense. We own roofs, land, parking decks, grid connections — and we consume huge amounts of energy together with our tenants. Not using that potential would be economically irrational. It reduces risk and creates an additional revenue stream. You cannot rely on one income source anymore. Being a retail real estate company today means managing infrastructure, not just collecting rent.
“I expect more consolidation in Europe.
Through acquisitions or corporate actions.”
ACROSS: How significant is the contribution?
Dany: We invested around €35 million. The first full year was already clearly positive. More importantly, it stabilizes our operating environment. We produce energy ourselves and sell it at market prices.
ACROSS: Do you see this as transferable to the wider industry?
Dany: Not one-to-one. But everyone should ask: what else can my assets do? Energy is one example. Media, data, services are others. Rental income alone is no longer sufficient as a single pillar.
ACROSS: Is there a danger of losing focus?
Dany: Only if you don’t understand your core business. Additional income streams don’t replace retail real estate — they protect it. We have to stop thinking in categories like “this is not our business.” Instead think in terms of economic logic: If you control space, flows, and infrastructure, you have options. If you ignore them, someone else will monetize them for you.
ACROSS: You are stepping down soon. Why now?
Dany: My contract would have required another four years. I’m turning 63. I live in Spain and fly every week to Bucharest, Warsaw, Amsterdam. At some point, you ask yourself whether that’s still the life you want. I don’t plan to stop working — but I want to choose my intensity.
ACROSS: How do you see the industry looking ahead?
Dany: Retail real estate is becoming more operational, more complex, and more demanding. Less forgiving. The era of easy growth is over. That’s uncomfortable for some. But retail real estate will remain and those who adapt will stay relevant. Those who don’t manage it actively, realistically, and without illusions will slowly lose margin.
ACROSS: And personally — what remains?
Dany: Gratitude. I’ve seen almost every market in Europe, worked in family businesses, listed companies, private equity. And I still believe this is a fascinating industry — if you accept its limits.
About Rüdiger Dany
Rüdiger Dany (63) Dany joined NEPI Rockcastle N.V. on 6 July 2021 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 June 2022. He will step down as CEO in March 2026. His successor will be Marek Noetzel, currently Chief Operating Officer of NEPI Rockcastle.
Dany has an extensive professional experience of more than 30 years in retail, commercial real estate, leasing and asset management. He has managed portfolios in Germany, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Qatar and several other European markets, with a professional focus on operational integration, asset optimization, and portfolio management.
His career spans family-owned retail and senior roles at Multi Corporation, affiliated with Blackstone), Atrium, and ECE Group, with assignments across Europe.
Throughout his time at Multi Corporation, Dany played an important role in optimizing and expanding their property management portfolio for institutional investors. As a Board Member and COO of Multi, his major achievement was the value enhancement of Blackstone’s property portfolio and the successful opening of new shopping centers, developments and extensions of existing shopping centers. Dany has also driven the creation of an innovation group within Multi to elaborate business opportunities by using modern PropTech tools, both B2B and B2C.
ACROSS Rüdiger Dany Feature
- Feature Intro: Rüdiger Dany – The Action Man
- Feature Article: Rüdiger Dany: From Retail Roots to European Market Leadership
- Feature Interview: “The Era of Easy Growth is Over”
