Search Results for: retail property – Page 23

What if your shopping center could predict which tenant would fail three months before they knew it themselves? What if empty walls and busy corridors could generate as much revenue as the stores beside them? What if finding the perfect pop-up tenant took minutes instead of months?

With malls, retail parks, hotels, and housing projects, BALFIN Group is setting new standards in Southeast Europe. In this interview, Vice President Csaba Toth outlines the expansion from the Balkans to Western markets and explains why digital innovation and an integrated approach make BALFIN a prime partner for investors and brands.

Transformation in lieu of new construction: Marco Gösling, Managing Director Business Unit Construction Solutions at umdasch The Store Makers, provides insight into the growing significance of general contracting, the challenges associated with renovating existing buildings, and why sustainability is no longer merely a trend. Projects such as the ”Kämmerei” in Düsseldorf and ”Le big TamTam” in Hamburg demonstrate how technical expertise, environmental awareness, and architectural quality go hand in hand.

MEC’s new Business & Project Development department underscores its commitment to the future of retail real estate. Instead of pure administration, the focus is now on holistic location development – strategic, practical, and market-oriented. Head of the unit, Jörg Wege, explains how vision meets everyday business, why hands-on expertise matters, and how this drives MEC’s growth.

“When the tenant thrives, the asset survives” is an old saying in retail real estate leasing management. But survival is only the baseline – the ambition must go further. Not just to “survive” – the asset should “fly.” But what will it take in 2025 for an asset to take off? For this cover story, 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.

Retail is reinventing itself – one game at a time. As the mega-multiplex era fades and streaming dominates screens, malls and mixed-use destinations are turning to competitive socializing. Mini-golf with cocktails, high-tech darts, F1 simulators, and bowling-meets-karaoke mash-ups are the new anchors of experience. More than just entertainment, these hybrid venues are reshaping consumer journeys, driving footfall, and transforming retail spaces into cultural playgrounds as Will Odwarka explains in his latest column for ACROSS.

Sonae Sierra, a vertically integrated real estate company and a leading player in the European Shopping Center space, has signed an agreement with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to acquire its German business unit dedicated to the management of shopping centers for third parties – Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Real Estate Management (“URW REM”). The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.

NEPI Rockcastle N.V., Europe’s third largest listed retail real estate company by portfolio value, achieved a 12.1% growth in NOI (net operating income) year-on-year in the first half (H1) of 2025 to €307 million as a result of the large acquisitions completed in 2024 and a continued improvement in the existing portfolio through active asset management, despite a challenging macroeconomic background.

The Kaufhaus Tyrol, a prominent shopping center located on Innsbruck’s Maria-Theresien-Straße, has been sold following the bankruptcy of Signa Prime Selection AG. The newly established company KHT AcquiCo SARL has acquired the property. While the exact purchase price remains undisclosed, reports suggest the sale amounted to approximately €140 million.

An increasing number of underdeveloped restaurant concepts are rushing into franchising—putting not only investors at risk but also eroding trust in the industry as a whole. In his incisive article, Will Odwarka, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based Heartatwork Hospitality Consulting, warns in his latest F&B column against the “myth of easy money” and explains how lack of concept maturity, insufficient support, and short-term thinking can backfire in the long run.

Christine Hager has been appointed to the management board of Sierra Germany GmbH with immediate effect, succeeding Jorge Morgadinho. A seasoned executive and real estate expert, Hager has been part of the leadership team since Sonae Sierra took over the property management division in 2022, and she reports directly to the executive board of Sonae Sierra in Portugal.

With a dynamic mix of shopping malls, retail parks, hotels, and residential developments, BALFIN Group is setting new benchmarks for real estate in Southeast Europe. In this exclusive interview, the company’s Vice President of Real Estate Asset Management, Csaba Toth, outlines BALFIN’s growth strategy, from expanding its footprint across the Balkans to entering mature Western markets. He explains how the group is redefining retail, embracing digital innovation, and why its integrated approach makes BALFIN a one-stop gateway for international investors and retail brands eyeing this fast-growing region.

From the rummage table to the feel-good factor: Discount concepts are no longer stigmatized, and luxury concepts are booming. That’s not to say that mid-range concepts are disappearing, but if you want to survive somewhere between the two poles, you’d better deliver. In an interview with ACROSS, Olaf Ley, CEO of Germany Retail at Eurofund, describes the most important changes in consumer behavior in recent years and provides insight into the developments concerning the Rhein-Ruhr Zentrum (RRZ) in Mülheim, Germany, as well as Eurofund’s expansion plans.

Sonae Sierra has announced the appointment of Tobias Lagaly as the new Center Manager of EUROPA-Galerie Saarbrücken, a prominent shopping destination in the heart of the Saarland capital. The native Saarbrücken resident officially assumed his new role today, bringing with him extensive industry experience in both center management and event development.

With the launch of its new Business & Project Development (BPD) division, MEC is reinforcing its strategic focus and aligning even more closely with market and client needs. The new unit is set to play a central role in expanding the company’s portfolio and enhancing the development of retail real estate across Germany.

In “Kämmerei”, Düsseldorf has a prime example of how retail space can be combined with other concepts in a sustainable way. The former administration building is being carefully revitalized by umdasch The Store Makers to become modern mix of office, retail, restaurant and event space.

Levi Strauss & Co. has entered into a definive agreement with Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) to sell Dockers to Authentic for an initial transaction value of 275 million euros, with the potential to reach up to 345 million through a 70 million earnout opportunity in future years based on the performance of the Dockers business under Authentic’s ownership.