A race to the best retail space

As a growing share of retail sales now happen outside stores, how are retail property owners seeing the future? Between brand exposure and rationalisation, how should retailers operate their store footprint? Global Retail News dives into the challenges of retail property in the new digital era.

Through . Published on 23 December 2016 à 17h08 - Update on 10 May 2019 à 18h07

Experience. During the Mapic event in November 2016, most property investors, developers and investors primarily had this question to discuss. For Ikea Centres, which owns 41 malls, including 14 in Russia and 2 in China, their strategy is oriented towards “meeting places”. “Beyond only shopping, we believe that it is the future for malls,” said Milen Gentchev, former head of Metro cash & carry who recently took over responsibility for Ikea Centres Russia. The firm is creating pioneering spaces for tenants, enhancing the level of leisure and services as well as a brand-new dining offer. “A food-court dominated by fast-foods is something from the past,” added Mr. Gentchev. “In April 2016, we launched our new concept called “Taste Boulevard” within our Teply Stan mall in Moscow, expanding the food-court from 2,500 to 5,000 sq.m GLA and introducing appealing new concepts such as Lavka-Lavka,…