Energy boost – FMZ Report 2023 thinks new trading locations
• Specialist publication for commercial real estate dynamics of change in the industry
• “Revitalization and modernization of retail locations is a necessity”
Hot off the press – under the title “Energy boost! “Rethinking retail real estate”, the FMZ Report 2023 is published today. Now in its eleventh year, the retail real estate specialist MEC, together with its partners Nuveen, Savills, Dr. Lademann & Partner and WISAG are the trend-setting industry publications. The current issue broadens the focus and deals with the need for the revitalization and realignment of established retail locations in the context of socially shaping and determining topics such as sustainability and urban development.
“A transformation process is taking place on an unprecedented scale, because in recent years the conditions on the market for commercial real estate have changed particularly quickly and profoundly,” says Christian Schröder, Managing Director of MEC, describing the editorial focus of über 100-page, current edition of the FMZ report. The authors address the issues that are currently shaping the successful future of retail real estate. “The dynamics of change have led to an urgent need, namely the revitalization and modernization of commercial properties,” says Christian Schröder, describing the challenge. This year's FMZ report is dedicated to this essential topic and highlights the current trends and tasks facing real estate owners, asset, property and facility managers.
Time for the mix
“The days when a simple retail location caused a stir are long gone. Online retail is booming, space concepts are being revolutionized and vacancies are driving us to think outside the box. One thing is certain: the sole use of commercial in many cases, space has had its day – it is time for the mix,” explains Jörg Krechky, Head of Retail Investment Germany at Savills Germany, in the current FMZ report. The expert makes it clear: “Customers don’t just want to shop, they also want to work, eat, entertain and maybe even live – and all in one place.” Even if investors are still cautious about mixed-use concepts, it stands for Jörg Krechky states: “The premise of the decline in trading space remains and thus also the repositioning real estate needs. So what is still a niche topic today could soon be the new normal.”
Individual concepts necessary
As an investor representative, Maria Grubmüller, Senior Research Associate at Nuveen, looks at the need for change in retail real estate and sees individual communication between all relevant stakeholders as a success factor: “The development of a new concept for retail locations depends on the individual circumstances. For such individual revitalization strategies, a partnership-based dialogue with tenants, customers and also with the administration is essential. Sustainability is also coming into focus more than ever because a changed social zeitgeist, new lifestyle and leisure habits as well as different consumption patterns must be reflected in the real estate if it increases its value.
Up to 80 retail parks can be developed as a neighborhood
Uwe Seidel, managing partner at Dr. Lademann & Partner, sees great potential in this development of retail locations: “The planning and realization of residential areas with mixed-use properties has increased fivefold in Germany within a decade.” Seidel estimates that there are around 50 to 80 specialist market centers in Germany are capable of developing into the district: “The retail park not only has excellent starting conditions for enriching it with other types of use, but many locations also already have them today a significant mix of uses has been achieved. What is usually missing is a settlement structure or the addition of residential uses.”
Sustainably together
When a retail location is revitalized, the sustainability of the property becomes increasingly important. A key to success on this path to the green future is interdisciplinary collaboration: “All actors must pull together and enrich the group with specialist knowledge. Such intensive exchange best supports decarbonization,” explains Joaquin Jimenez Zabala, Managing Director at WISAG Facility Management Retail. This is also confirmed by the results of the eleventh WISAG sustainability radar. “Property managers, asset managers, facility managers, etc. each bring specific specialist knowledge with them, so that together they can create an effective Joaquin Jimenez is convinced that we can develop a strategy for the sustainable orientation of real estate development.
Broad focus on refurbishment
Jörg Wege, Head of Strategic Development at MEC, knows that the realignment of retail properties must be done with a broad focus: “Retail properties must be modernized in a thoughtful manner. Such an adjustment not only affects the core business of trading locations, but also the entire value chain of these assets: from their contribution to our economic system as an investment object, to private pension provision through the trading locations in corresponding funds, to the workplace for numerous employees.”
The current edition of the FMZ Report 2023 “Energy boost! Rethinking retail real estate” is available for free download at https://mec-cm.com/downloads/fachmarktzentren-in-deutschland-2023/. https://mec-cm.com/downloads/fachmarktzentren-in-deutschland-2023/. zum kostenlosen Download bereit.
