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A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026 FROM THE ACROSS TEAM
We would like to thank you for your continued interest in ACROSS – our magazine, newsletter and other offerings. We will now take a short break until January 6th and promise to be back with exciting new content and offerings in the new year.

PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

A major expansion is underway at EUROPARK Salzburg, Austria’s leading shopping destination. Construction preparations began in October on the site currently occupied by the parking area between EUROPARK and the SPAR headquarters in Taxham. The new extension will be built above the existing underground garage, with structural work scheduled to start in January 2026 – all without any disruption to ongoing operations at the center.

At MAPIC 2025, NEINVER unveils a major evolution of Alpes The Style Outlets – its second outlet in France – redesigned to be more sustainable and to deliver a higher-quality experience for visitors and brand partners. The Spanish multinational, with three decades of European outlet expertise, also shares updates on its refurbishment and extension programme, which is accelerating across the portfolio.

The major development by NEPI Rockcastle, one of Europe’s industry leaders, is currently the CEE region’s largest retail project. The extension is underway and on schedule with an investmnet budget of approximately €300M and a grand opening planned for the first quarter of 2027.

Following the successful contract signing last year, ADVENTICA, the international operator of indoor family entertainment destinations, is set to open its first German location at Rhein-Ruhr Zentrum (RRZ). Spanning 3,600 m², the new facility will enter a multi-week soft-launch phase ahead of its grand opening on October 17, 2025.

LATEST TRENDS IN ASSET AND CENTER MANAGEMENT

ECE Marketplaces is reshaping its executive leadership: Effective 1 January 2026, Jan Lorenz will join the management board of the shopping center operator. In addition, Robert Heinemann will transfer from ECE Group Services to ECE Marketplaces in his role as Managing Director.

During its meeting on December 3, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s Supervisory Board appointed Kathleen Verelst as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and a member of the URW Management Board – recommended by the Group’s Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (“GNRC”). The new appointment comes into effect on January 1, 2026.

Cenomi Centers, the leading owner, operator and developer of contemporary lifestyle and retail destinations in Saudi Arabia, today announced the official rebranding of its Nakheel Dammam Mall to Westfield Dammam – strengthening the centre’s position as a leading retail and leisure destination in the Kingdom, home to 292 stores and over 58,000 square meters of gross leasable area.

DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN THE OUTLET INDUSTRY

With the acquisition of significant portfolios in Italy and Germany, the development of Malmö Designer Village, and numerous expansions, ROS Retail Outlet Shopping is among the most dynamic players in the European outlet market. Together with partner FREY, the company is now pursuing ambitious growth goals. ROS co-founder Thomas Reichenauer talks about the latest steps, synergies in ESG and digitalization, and the challenges of a changing industry.

FREY Group has transformed the retail landscape with its open-air Shopping Promenades, and now it is venturing boldly into the outlet sector. In this exclusive interview, Chairman & CEO Antoine Frey explains why the acquisition of ROS was pivotal, how cultural placemaking and B Corp sustainability guide the company’s vision, and why projects like Malmö Designer Village and Designer Outlet Berlin are setting new standards across Europe.

In the evolving outlet retail landscape, tenant performance is more than a priority. It’s the engine of profitability. In this expert commentary, Rioja Estates’ Managing Director Giles Membrey lifts the curtain on why thriving tenants lead to thriving assets. From data-driven collaboration to precision in unit sizing, location, and customer experience, Membrey reveals how strategic landlord-brand partnerships are redefining retail success – one store at a time.

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STRATEGIES OF RETAILERS

The global luxury and premium sector has risen to new record strength. Brand Finance’s latest Luxury & Premium 50 ranking shows the world’s top brands reaching a combined USD 317 billion in brand value – up 43% since 2019.

New research from UK’s Brand Finance reveals that brand love isn’t just a feel-good metric. It shapes consumer choice, shifts market share, and is redefining competition.

LATEST TRENDS

Gastronomy is no longer just a side element, but a key factor for the attractiveness and dwell time of shopping centers. At CC Real, F&B, therefore, has a permanent place in the expansion and repositioning strategy. Why culinary diversity is a matter for top management, which trends they consistently embrace, and why courage, hands-on management, and individual concepts make the difference: Those are the topics discussed by Markus Brugger, Managing Director Asset Management, and Sorin Scurtu, Executive Director Leasing. Despite their enthusiasm for gastronomy, the managers have a clear message: Well-executed gastronomy is a differentiating factor, but not a universal remedy.

Silverburn, the leading prime retail and leisure asset located in Glasgow, owned by Henderson Park and managed by Eurofund Group, has further expanded its growing F&B offer with the recent signing of Wingstop UK.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

ESG is everywhere in commercial real estate – on investor slides, in procurement tenders, in board-level commitments. However, while the environmental and governance pillars are well-institutionalized, the social side often remains vague, difficult to quantify, and harder to activate. That gap caught my attention, states Jean Carlos Delgado, Brand and Marketing Director, HyperIn Inc.

PLANS OF INVESTORS AND OWNERS

Redevco, one of Europe’s largest privately-owned real estate management firms, today announces the launch of its closed-end Redevco European Retail Parks Fund. This new investment vehicle focuses on acquiring and managing high-quality, convenience-led retail parks across Europe and the UK. The strategy is backed by commitments from CBRE Investment Management’s (“CBRE IM”) Indirect Real Estate Strategies, acting on behalf of global institutional investors, as well as co-investment by Redevco.

From yellow bins in Baden-Württemberg to Kaufland’s construction sites: the Schwarz Group is proving how waste can become a valuable resource. By applying cradle-to-cradle principles, the retailer is turning recyclables into building materials and redefining what sustainability in construction means.

The lease agreements concluded for retail parks increasingly feature solutions that differ from the classic Triple Net Lease agreements, particularly as regards the settlement of operating costs and the division of responsibilities between the parties. The latest trends in this area are reshaping the relationship between the parties, balancing the interests of investors and tenants while responding to increasing market expectations. In this article, we share our observations from the CMS team’s practice and point out the implications of these changes for the retail sector participants.

Poland’s retail parks have grown from outskirts experiments in the 1990s to over 290 large hubs nationwide. Changing consumer habits and investor confidence are turning them into versatile destinations beyond just convenience shopping. Investment market report created by Avison Young allow details insights into major trends through a comprehensive analysis.