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PROJECTS, TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

NEPI Rockcastle is investing around 300 million euros in a 55,000 sq m GLA mixed-use (retail, offices, hotel) extension of the Promenada Mall in Bucharest and refurbishment of the existing shopping center. This represents by far the largest retail development currently underway across all Central and Eastern European markets and is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2026/early-2027.

Malmö Designer Village is an upcoming premium outlet village in Löddeköpinge, Sweden, uniquely positioned to serve both Swedish and Danish markets. Now under the leadership of FREY Group (following the acquisition of the project from UK developer Rioja Estates in 2024), it marks FREY’s first outlet development and a significant expansion of its open-air retail portfolio. Over 3.8 million visitors within 90-minutes and 10+ million tourists fall within its reach, including the major population centers of southern Sweden and the Copenhagen metropolitan area. With all necessary planning permissions secured and no objections, construction began in mid-2024.

With the acquisition of Designer Outlet Berlin just last week, and the upcoming opening of ROS Retail Outlet Shopping’s new location in Kraków, Poland, the current projects under ROS and FREY are a testament to their vision as well as the segment’s potential. In an interview with ACROSS, Thomas Reichenauer, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ROS, goes into detail about their current high-profile projects on the outlet market, where they see further potential, and the advantages brought by the merger between ROS and FREY as they aim to become the market leaders in Europe.

NUGA Castellana will be designed for “work, live and play”. The goal is to unify all spaces which are managed by PIMCO Prime Real Estate — Paseo de la Castellana 200-208, Félix Boix 4-8, Doctor Fleming 39-41, and Carlos Maurrás 7 (five residential units out of the 14 that make up the asset, alongside commercial spaces) — into a single block that blends cutting-edge design with the most advanced technology.

LATEST TRENDS IN ASSET AND CENTER MANAGEMENT

Kaufland’s success story is characterized by the balance between the advantages of standardization within a large group and regional integration. In an interview with ACROSS, Michael Hiese, Chief Real Estate Officer at Kaufland International, discusses the company’s growth strategy, his optimistic outlook, why location is more important than asset class, and what makes a Kaufland store truly distinctive.

Inflation, geopolitical crises, and a weakening economy have dominated the European markets for the past two years. While EU economic growth slightly increased in 2024, Germany, the largest economy, recorded a marginal decline. Despite persistent economic challenges, there are signs of cautious optimism: Slightly higher growth is expected in the EU in 2025, with strong momentum from the CEE and SEE regions, where countries such as Poland and Croatia are expected to achieve strong growth.

DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN THE OUTLET INDUSTRY

Few sectors of retail real estate offer such interesting and exciting opportunities for a retailer or brand, coupled with year on year growth as the outlet sector does. It continues to evolve, across the globe, at differing speeds depending on region or country, but with consumers keen to enjoy the benefits it offers. While outlets remain crucial to brand distribution strategies, operators and retailers face opportunities and challenges as consumer behaviors shift.

«The goal is to offer facilities to transform outlet centers as “living centers” or “places of life” and to drive footfall, especially during all the week, » states Caroline Lamy, CEO of Magdus. In this interview, she gives an overview of the European Outlet market. This means that pure retail offers in outlets should also be combined with F&B and leisure offers, residential or health services offers – if it makes sense.

Retail outlet centres have seen a significant leap in retail and leisure brand growth in the past years with general sector growth set to continue, according to the Ken Gunn European Outlet Industry Review which ranks Europe’s top performing outlet centres and brands as well as the most improved.

2024 was another year of solid growth for FREY with a profit from recurring operations going up by 28,1 percent and a sales growth of almost 29 percent to 191.3 million Euros. The growth of the specialist in open-air shopping centers has made this impressive growth step especially since entering the outlet market with the acquisition of ROS Retail Outlet Shopping. An important part of the expansion strategy is the signing of Designer Outlet Center in Berlin for 230 million Euros.

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STRATEGIES OF RETAILERS

LATEST TRENDS

How are you doing with your resolutions? Still going strong, or already planning for the resolutions for next year? Its customary to look into my glass bowl at the beginning of a new year and predict the future of hospitality, new trends and what else is cooking in our industry and how it might impact the leasing and development efforts.

Ingka Centres Futures is looking for partners to shape the future of retail. By collaborating with businesses of all sizes, the platform is transforming traditional shopping spaces into vibrant community hubs where people can connect, explore, and experience retail in a whole new way.

Over the past decade, the retail landscape has undergone a seismic transformation redefining the very essence of the sector. Customers’ expectations of convenience, personalization, experience, community, and sustainability have changed dramatically. The purpose of physical stores is being redefined, with goods and products taking a backseat to experiences. Today, successful retail destinations are those that cultivate connection, joy, and community.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

Jurij Triller is the CEO of Smart Octopus Solutions. Together with a co-founder, he has developed a smart gift card solution that offers a closed loop to customers and partners, unlike comparable products. He talks to ACROSS about the advantages of being independent from a major player like Visa or Mastercard, what data insights he can ensure as a result, and why personalization and customization are key.

Across Asia, Visual Positioning System (VPS) technology utilizing augmented reality (AR) wayfinding is transforming how people navigate complex commercial spaces. From shopping malls and airports to mixed-use developments, digital navigation is evolving beyond static maps—offering real-time, interactive experiences through mobile devices.

Coresight Research, a research and advisory firm specializing in retail and technology, and NextRivet, a digital innovation and implementation consultancy specializing in retail real estate, announced their strategic partnership and the launch of CoreRivet. The CoreRivet service is designed to empower retail and real estate executives with actionable insights and cutting-edge technologies that drive sales growth, operational efficiencies, and elevated customer engagement.

Over the past couple of years, it has become evident that retail is seeing a significant resurgence. This is across shopping centers, large destination indoor malls, and retail parks and outlets, explains Mark Bruce, Data & Insights Director at Mallcomm. While some may have dismissed the retail sector, others have recognized that despite some challenges, there is a great opportunity.

PLANS OF INVESTORS AND OWNERS

NEPI Rockcastle’s strong net operating income (NOI) growth of 13.5% in the first half of 2024 allowed the company to raise its forecast for full-year distributable earnings per share. Justyna Bartosz, the Group’s Head of Leasing, explains what makes the CEE’s retail and consumer world tick and why it is that NEPI Rockcastle and its tenants can’t pay enough attention to the buzzwords: experience, community building, and authenticity.

The acquisition of the leading shopping mall in Novi Sad for 177 million euros by BIG CEE marked Serbia´s largest retail transaction ever. Promenada, one of the strongest malls in the country, features many international brands, a 100% occupancy rate, and more than 10 million visitors annually.

After the collapse of a previous deal last year, the Swiss luxury goods group Richemont has found in Mytheresa a new buyer for its online fashion and accessories business Yoox-Net-a-Porter (YNAP).

WHERE THE INDUSTRY MEETS