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Dubai and Abu Dhabi – two cities defined by ambition, scale, and relentless reinvention – served as the stage for the ACROSS Study Tour 2025, held from November 26 to 28.

Cenomi Center announced the official rebranding of its Nakheel Dammam Mall to Westfield Dammam.

During the CEE Property Forum & Awards Gala in Vienna, NEPI Rockcastle has received the award for Investment Deal of the Year above €200 million.

JLL’s 2025 Consumer Experience Survey shows that consumers are quietly but decisively raising their expectations for physical places.

Cushman & Wakefield’s new 'Main Streets Across the World' report places London’s New Bond Street at the top of the global ranking and confirms broad-based resurgence of Europe’s prime shopping miles.

What will it take in 2025 for an asset to take off? For this special, we asked leading figures in the European retail real estate sector what they see as the most significant current challenges, as well as the solutions needed, for retail assets not just to survive but to prosper.

Go to Special

THE LATEST PLACEMAKING NEWS

credit: Francesco Marzovillo/Dreamstime.com

First Location opened: Action enters Romanian Market

Sep 29, 2025

P&C-Filiale in Düsseldorf Foto: Manfred Segerer / IMAGO

New Peek & Cloppenburg location opens in Vienna

Sep 29, 2025

Convenience set to drive Retail Winners in 2025

Sep 26, 2025

ADVENTICA Launches Its First German Outlet at Rhein-Ruhr Zentrum

Sep 26, 2025

Francesca Bellettini appointed as CEO and President of Gucci

Sep 25, 2025

Gropius Passagen, Berlin acquired by Hayfin

Sep 25, 2025

LATEST ISSUE

PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

PLACE of the Week: Forum Gdańsk – A best performer with further potential

Although NEPI Rockcastle has only acquired Forum Gdańsk nine month ago, it is already one of the company’s darlings. In the first quarter of 2023, the center grew by 40 percent in sales compared to the previous year. The Forum Gdańsk can now finally exploit its full potential.

Place of the Week: MERLATA BLOOM LIFESTYLE CENTER – AN INNOVATION CASE STUDY

Nhood is scheduled to open an innovative Shopping Center in fall 2023. Merlata Bloom aims to be a smart and innovative place that combines technology and sustainability, entertainment and services, everyday life, and retail. Retail, gastronomy, and lifestyle are the conceptual components that shape the project.

SEE: MARKETS WITH POTENTIAL, BUT ONLY FOR REALISTS

Mauro Abruzzese is an Italian retail and shopping center expert who develops projects in Kosovo for OCM International. In this interview, the CEO and Managing Director explains how the individual SEE markets are developing, what makes them different, what the local consumers are like, and what investors should consider before entering the market.

DESPITE ALL OF THE CHALLENGES: THE WESTERN BALKAN REGION IS SHOWING GOOD RESISTANCE

The BALFIN Group is the largest shopping center developer and operator in Albania and North Macedonia and is one of the most important groups in the Western Balkans region. As one of the leading investment groups in Southeastern Europe, the Group’s Vice President of Retail, Julian Mane, spoke with ACROSS about the region’s strengths, weaknesses, and current developments.

MANAGEMENT

LATEST TRENDS IN ASSET AND CENTER MANAGEMENT

Redevco Strengthens Its Leadership Team With The Appointment Of Veronica Gallo-Alvarez As Head of Investment Management

Redevco has appointed Veronica Gallo-Alvarez as Head of Investment Management.

Carina Weyringer succeeds Edith Münzer As Center Manager At Murpark Graz In Austria

Starting August 1, 2024, SES will fill the center management position at MURPARK Graz from within its own ranks: Carina Weyringer, previously Head of Marketing at MURPARK, will take over the management of the shopping mall in Graz Liebenau from this date on.

REDEVCO And MEC Extend And Secure Almost 35,000 Sq M Of Rental Space At Förde Park Flensburg Shopping Center In Germany

REDEVCO and MEC have recorded large-volume successes in the rental management of Förde Park Flensburg.

Cross-Border Cooperation: Commerz Real Commissions ECE For Shopping Center Management In Türkiye For The First Time

Commerz Real has assigned ECE for the first time with the management one of its international shopping centers. The two companies are thus extending their long-standing cooperation in the retail real estate sector in Germany to international business.

OUTLETS

DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN THE OUTLET INDUSTRY

VIA Outlets ACHIEVES Brand RECORD SALES OF 1.36 BILLION EUROS in 2023

VIA Outlets brand sales soar by over 11.5% to a record 1.36 billion Euro in 2023 driven by a 7.5% jump in footfall and extensive remodelling and remerchandising projects across the portfolio

We talk about guests; not about customers!

In its 25th anniversary year, the Designer Outlet Parndorf celebrates the most successful year in the location’s history. ACROSS spoke to Mario Schwann, General Manager Designer Outlet Parndorf, about the return of international visitors, why maximum service orientation almost like in a first class hotel is the be-all and end-all, and what trends and developments are taking place at the location.

EUROPEAN OUTLET CENTERS CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND GRAB MARKET SHARE AS MORE RETAIL BRANDS TAKE SPACE

Retail outlet centers, known for their brand-lead discount store formats and offers, have seen a significant leap in retail and leisure brand growth in the past year, according to an outlet industry report by Ken Gunn Consulting.

F&B IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE OVERALL GUEST EXPERIENCE

Customers are seeking a better-quality and more varied offering, expecting to see both international and local options, argues Joan Rouras, Head of Leasing and Retail at NEINVER. For a long time, a neglected topic, F&B in outlets, is taking on a whole new role. NEINVER has taken many steps to offer its guests innovative F&B in addition to a high-quality retail offering.

RETAIL

STRATEGIES OF RETAILERS

Designer Outlet Parndorf Further Strenghtens Its Position As A Leading Destination In Europe With Its 6-Million-Euro Investment For 2025

Designer Outlet Parndorf focuses increasingly on overall shopping experience, increased internationalization and a clear positioning as a tourist magnet. In 2025, 6.3 million euros will be invested for even more shopping highlights, optimal infrastructure and sustainable projects.

“FOOD GARDEN” AT MAIN-TAUNUS-ZENTRUM: A PRIME EXAMPLE OF ADAPTABILITY

At Main-Taunus-Zentrum (MTZ), one of the largest and most successful shopping centers in Germany, ECE Marketplaces has realized a new destination within the center being a further development of the open structure and providing an additional USP of the center. In the middle of the open-air shopping center in Sulzbach near Frankfurt am Main, the new “Food Garden” creates a lively new urban center with a high quality, varied gastronomy offering in five free-standing restaurant buildings for a total of eight restaurant concepts, inviting outdoor terraces, and attractive green spaces.

URW and Cenomi Centers Sign Strategic Partnership In Saudi Arabia

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (“URW”) and Cenomi Centers have announced the signing of a strategic and franchising partnership agreement within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Swiss Shopping Centers Lean Into Their Strengths Fuelled By Competition From Shein and Temu

The most recent Swiss Council Market Report 2025 shows that Swiss shopping centers will remain relevant and successful even in the face of strong competition from chinese e-tailers, such as Temu and Shein.

FOOD & BEVERAGE / LEISURE

LATEST TRENDS

New ‘food hall of the future’ at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin

Brookfield Properties has concluded a strategic deal with Manifesto Market to join the redesigned Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Both were supported by ECE Marketplaces. Manifesto will operate a flagship food hub of 4,400 sq m.

Liverpool ONE welcomes coffee operator bean as permanent tenant

The retail-led, mixed-use complex in Liverpool’s city center has added the coffee operator Bean. The brand has opened a permanent space on Manesty’s Lane having relocated from its pop-up on South John Street.

Newly umdasch shopfitted Julius Meinl on Vienna’s Graben reopened

After several months of renovation work, the traditional Viennese gourmet food store Julius Meinl on the prestigious Graben in Vienna presents itself in new light in the middle of the exclusive pedestrian zone.

Dining and working in the sky? Views beyond the crisis.

In a critical period for HoReCa, office or mixed-use projects, recent investments are adding new flavors and attractive or innovative functions to revive the pulse in key submarkets of Bucharest. Can dining or working with sky views make flexible working or meetings more appealing?

PROPTECH

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

The Future Began Yesterday

The technological challenges that brick-and-mortar retail faces – a deliberately critical scenario.

Always at your service!

Shopping centers gain their competitive edge with innovative support options that bind customers to them and motivates these customers to return.

“Every decision maker in the industry is interested in speaking with us”

The Norwegian Boostcom Group is a world-leading PropTech supplier for shopping centers. In an interview with ACROSS, CEO Peter Tonstad explains how he manages to reach up to 80% of mall visitors.

Everyone Needs to Be Aware of What is Happening, When, and Why

Dutch company Chainels’ platform provides the tools that are necessary to reach and engage mall stakeholders.

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