MEC retail parks receive award as top shopping locations

• Independent study by Germany’s leading test magazine TESTBILD and statistics portal Statista awards six retail parks of the market leader MEC the title „Die Besten der Stadt 2020“ (“The Best of the City 2020”)
• Retail parks Nordlicht Kiel, Einkaufspark Duckwitz in Bremen, Ostseepark Rostock, ORO Schwabach, FORUM Stein in Nuremberg and SchwabenGalerie Stuttgart among the winners
• Customers give top marks for service quality, employees, product quality, price-performance ratio and overall attractiveness.
  

In an independent study conducted by the test magazine TESTBILD and the statistics portal Statista, six MEC retail parks received the coveted award „Die Besten der Stadt 2020“ ("The Best of the City 2020"). The award is based on about 90,000 customer ratings of shopping locations in 40 major German cities. It is intended to serve consumers as a reliable and transparent guide in their search for the best retailers in a region.

The winners include the MEC locations Nordlicht Kiel, Einkaufspark Duckwitz (Bremen), Ostsee Park Rostock, ORO Schwabach, FORUM Stein (Nuremberg) and SchwabenGalerie Stuttgart. The respondents awarded top marks for service quality, employees, product quality, price-performance ratio and overall attractiveness.

“We are very pleased about this award - especially because it reflects the unfiltered judgement of consumers,” says Christian Schröder, Managing Director (COO) of Duesseldorf-based MEC. “At the same time, we see the award as an incentive to make shopping a pleasant experience for our centre customers, despite corona restrictions, so that they will continue to recommend our centres in the future”.

About the study

For the fourth time in a row, TESTBILD and Statista have awarded the title "Best of the City" to the best providers from nine retail and service sectors in the 40 largest cities in Germany. The results are based on regional online surveys of 5,700 consumers, who in total gave more than 90,000 opinions. The survey was conducted in December 2019.

About the awarded MEC Centers 

The Nordlicht Kiel is located at the northern end of Holstenstraße, which is considered the oldest pedestrian zone in Germany. The center was built and opened in November 2012. Around 15 shops are spread over four floors, including the anchor tenants Saturn, C&A, Reno, Karstadt Sport and Rewe.

The Einkaufspark Duckwitz in the Neustadt district of Bremen, a double mall which has been managed by MEC since 2011, comprises around 40 shops on a rental area of almost 50,000 m². These include Real, Saturn, dm-drogerie markt, Woolworth and McDonald's, but also many service providers and innovative gastronomy concepts.

The conveniently located Ostsee Park Rostock with over 2,000 free parking spaces in the Sievershagen district offers shopping pleasure without the hustle and bustle of the city. On an area of around 60,000m², the center houses around 70 shops, including Real, Media Markt, Douglas, anika Schuh, Esprit, Gerry Weber, Runners Point and Roller.

Approximately 20 kilometres south of Nuremberg is the location of the ORO Schwabach, which has been completely revitalised in 2012 and offers around 1,400 free parking spaces. Around the light-flooded marketplace in the middle of the mall, visitors will find 33 shops and specialist stores on two floors on around 36,000 m² - including Real, Media Markt, Modepark Röther, Toys 'R' Us, dm-drogerie markt and Intersport Voswinkel.

Forum Stein was opened in November 2015 in Stein, Franconia, near Nuremberg. The center offers around 19,000 m² of space under an impressive glass dome, providing space for 36 shops on two levels. In addition to the anchor tenant REWE, the electronics retailer MediMax, various fashion retailers such as TomTailor and Esprit as well as many other shops from the shoes & accessories, furnishings & gifts and beauty & health segments are located here.

The SchwabenGalerie Stuttgart, which was opened in 2004, is part of the lively centre of Stuttgart-Vaihingen. In four buildings grouped around the glazed atrium, the center offers its customers 50 specialist shops, restaurants and cafés on two floors. The anchor tenants are Kaufland, Aldi, Medi-aMarkt, Modepark Röther and dm-drogerie markt. In addition to the retail space, visitors will also find a fitness studio, a hotel, office space and the citizens’ centre Bürgerforum Vaihingen.

Picture: The MEC locations awarded by TESTBILD and Statista (clockwise): Nordlicht Kiel, Einkaufspark Duckwitz Bremen, Ostseepark Rostock, ORO Schwabach, FORUM Stein, SchwabenGalerie Stuttgart.