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Search Results for: shopping center – Page 29

The focus is always on the success that can be achieved together: Johan Caspar Bergenthal spoke with ACROSS Magazine about the success factors driving VIA Outlets and the industry in general. In addition to the consistent growth generated by VIA Outlets’ 3R strategy, the former shopping center industry executive cites the close collaboration with brands, something he hadn’t experienced before during his time in the full-price retail world.

The shopping malls managed by SES Spar European Shopping Centers (SES) once again exceeded the excellent performance of the previous year in 2024: The retailers, restaurants and service providers in the SES malls generated gross sales revenue of 3.54 billion euros in 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 6.5% compared to 2023, meaning that the SES centers in Austria and Slovenia outperformed the market as a whole.

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.

The 2025 travel season is picking up speed and the ALEXA at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz is already seeing a significant increase in international visitors. The shopping center, which is owned by Union Investment and managed by Sonae Sierra is benefiting greatly from the ongoing recovery in Berlin tourism after the pandemic. With targeted concepts for national and international guests, ALEXA is consolidating its position as a premium destination at Alexanderplatz.

Union Investment announced another leasing success in Essen, Germany: Sports specialist Intersport Voswinkel has secured around 2,000 sq m on the second floor of the Limbecker Platz shopping center for ten years.

Regio Data’s annual retail chain expansion analysis brings Austria as an example, revealing that store networks are hardly growing any more, with retreat and consolidation dominating instead. Of the 732 retail chains from 24 sectors analyzed, many are putting on the brakes, and this trend is largely prevalent across the whole of Europe. However, there are also companies that are keen to expand. Online retailers and non-food discounters are squeezing out specialized retailers – with noticeable consequences for the retail landscape.

The renovation and modernization process at the KING CROSS Zagreb shopping center has reached a significant stage of development: on 27 February, the part of the mall that has been completely renovated and modernized in recent months while business operations continued reopened.

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.

Data exchange in the shopping center industry is still in its infancy, states David Blumenfeld, Co-founder of NextRivet. While the benefits of data sharing between landlords and tenants are obvious, retailers are not enthusiastic about giving their landlords more insight into their business. For efficient data sharing, an honest and good lease relationship is essential. In this interview, Blumenfeld explains why data sharing is so important, but it requires a change in collaboration. Landlords are in the driving seat when it comes to data sharing. They have to prove the value of the data before demanding anything in return. The value of data is always the driving force.

Opportunities for mutual growth and improvement are made possible by data sharing with tenants at shopping centers or multi-retailer locations, states Uroš Blagojević, Property Management Director at MPC Properties. Retailers and their tenants can synchronize strategies and develop complementary offers by sharing insights, such as aggregate customer demographics, peak shopping times, and purchase trends.

Shopping centers have evolved beyond physical spaces into dynamic digital ecosystems where every interaction generates valuable insights. The challenge isn’t just collecting data—it’s about using it responsibly to drive tenant success, states Jean Carlos Delgado, the Brand and Marketing Director of HyperIn. In this guest article, he explains the benefits and conditions of data sharing on the B2B and B2C levels and why trust is most important in all aspects.

Retail real estate is back on the menu and continues to qualify as a significant portfolio component in the portfolios of institutional real estate investors, says Steffen Hofmann, Managing Partner at ambas. Even very large assets have proven eligible for transactions in the challenging investment market environment. Therefore, he is rather optimistic about the upcoming months. In this interview, he takes a look at the 2025 investment market.

In an interview with ACROSS, Joachim Stumpf, Managing Director of BBE Holding and IPH Handelsimmobilien, analyzes the role of retail real estate in light of the current economic and social situation. His conclusion: “Advancing polarization is a key issue when it comes to discussing what options we have to counter the transformation in retail. Against that backdrop, we also need to rethink retail and locations. Despite all of the challenges, good and individual types of use can be found for all properties – but getting there can be painful.”

Despite challenging conditions and rising costs, MK Illumination closed out 2024 with projected revenues of 168 million euros, up by 3 million against the previous year, and plans further expansion on three continents in 2025.

Italie Deux, acquired by Ingka Centres in 2023, is one of the largest retail-led mixed-use destinations in Paris, France. With its acquisition, Ingka Centres aims to create hotspot that serves as a new meeting place for the neighboring community.

“We are a growth-minded company,” states Vasco Santos, Global Sales & Leasing Director at Ingka Centres. The Scandinavian-rooted, globally active company operates in Europe, China, the US, and is establishing its presence in India. Its main goal is to create meeting places that go beyond shopping and provide real, meaningful value to the community. Despite the company’s success, especially in China, Santos expresses its continuous commitment and appetite for the European market but also stresses that the local market can learn a lot from international examples.

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.