Industry experts discuss strategies for the stationary retail at Retail Open House 2018

Germany-­wide industry get-­together sharpens profile as discussion and networking platform for investors, retailers and marketing experts

On 26 April, more than 350 experts came to Retail Open House in Munich’s Riem Arcaden in order to discuss current trends and developments in the retail industry. In addition to the core of the event, the meeting of tenants and landlords, it offered for the first time own panels in the areas of marketing and asset management. As in previous years, shopping center developer and operator Unibail-­ Rodamco Germany invited to the event, which is to further grow in the coming years.

“The innovation cycles in retail sector have recently drastically shortened, renewal processes are a normal state for us at the moment”, says Andreas Hohlmann, Managing Director at Unibail-­Rodamco Germany. “This is the reason why we would like to strengthen the exchange within the industry, both with retailers and investors.”

Investment in commercial properties: 1.7 billion Euro in Germany

Focus of this year’s Retail Open House was on the content-­related as well as strategic further development of existing shopping centers and the design of completely new retail quarters with high quality of stay and an attractive utilization mix. Since 2015, 1.7 billion Euro are invested in new buildings and refurbishments in the entire portfolio of Unibail-­ Rodamco in Germany alone. This is also an answer to the digitalisation which among other things completely changes the consumer behaviour and becomes a decisive factor for the retail industry. The aim is to develop successful strategies for the future of stationary retail, put people at the center and create social meeting points.

“Smart investments need a clear strategy”, says Olaf Ley, Director Investment and Asset Management at Unibail-­Rodmaco Germany. “This is why we put emphasis on the perfect positioning of each and every location. This applies to our own assets as well as to the cooperations with our business partners.”

Marketing Open House with own platform for the first time

This year, particular attention was given to the area of marketing. For the first time, Retail Open House dedicated an own platform to the topic: the Marketing Open House. The focus: How do retail locations have to position themselves and what has to be done in order to attract visitors in the long-­term and to develop emotional shopping experiences.

Keynote speakers such as Ayhan Yuruk, founder of #Showrooming, provided ideas for online retailers which push into the stationary market. The basic idea: more and more customers inform themselves online, but prefer to test products in a store before they decide to actually buy it. The retail business today is not only a sales but also marketing channel and has to create customer experiences and personal touch points.

“Positioning and strategic marketing are basic factors for the success of retail properties. This is why we have created an own platform for this area in the framework of the Retail Open House”, says Götz Haßmann, Director of Leasing at Unibail-­Rodamco Germany. “A lively exchange between experts is important in order to be successful in the retail industry in the long-­term and to meet the needs of the customers.”

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