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placemaking

European retail real estate closed 2025 in positive territory, according to Altus Group. With values rising 1.6% year-on-year, as improving cashflows and stabilizing yields signaled a gradual recovery following a two-year market correction.

Retail real estate was declared dead. Yet at NEPI Rockcastle, Rüdiger Dany built one of Europe’s most profitable shopping center platforms anyway.

From post-war German retail roots to the helm of one of Europe’s largest retail property owners: Rüdiger Dany’s career traces the transformation of shopping centers from entrepreneurial expansion to institutional discipline. After four decades in retail and real estate, Dany steps down as CEO of NEPI Rockcastle — with new plans in mind.

Why City Center one Split shows how shopping centers can remain relevant in the long term. An interview with Sven Vorih, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, CC Real

As the retail real estate industry enters a decisive year, Ian Sandford, President of Eurofund Group shares his outlook on how placemaking must transform in 2026 to meet expectations. With consumer demand outpacing traditional models, homogenous shopping centers are giving way to destinations built on purpose, partnership and community relevance.

Albania’s retail market is evolving at unprecedented speed. As CEO of ACREM, Mariola Kuçi heads one of BALFIN Group’s key companies, operating in Albania and North Macedonia and driving the modernization of commercial real estate and retail standards. Under her leadership, ACREM has established itself as Albania’s leading commercial property management company, while also contributing expertise for BALFIN Group’s other assets such as East Gate Mall in North Macedonia, among the region’s landmark retail destinations.

In Asia’s megacities, building upward is not a choice but a necessity – and shopping centers have turned this constraint into a strength. Liliya Shaykhutdinova analyses how leading Asian vertical malls successfully drive footfall across multiple levels, and explores which of these principles can inspire European multi-storey malls to rethink circulation, tenant mix and upper-floor relevance.

The final ACROSS Retail Talk of 2025 indicates that retail enters 2026 with sharper priorities and clearer opportunities. How resilience, recalibration, and disciplined investment are setting the tone for the year ahead.

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.

Westfield Shopping City Süd (SCS) demonstrates what the future of shopping centers looks like: Top international brands, nationwide store premieres, and an expanded premium segment meet a new entertainment area featuring bowling lanes, escape rooms, karaoke, and arcade games. A culinary offering ranging from iconic US burgers to French bakery artistry and Thai brunch creations is added to the mix. The result: a destination that no longer only attracts people for shopping, but brings together visitors of all generations more often, for longer, and in more diverse ways – setting new benchmarks for footfall.