Statements by the community

Klaus Rethmeier ECE Hamburg

Something needs to change in the evaluation of value creation on shop floors. Which KPI do I use to measure the success of a space…it can’t just be sales! Brand awareness and visibility in the physical space, customer proximity, etc. must also be taken into account.

Footfall is the new turnover rent

The development of the Digital Mall by ECE aiming at making the center’s offer visible to customers…that was the beginning. In the future, the mall will also be used as an urban logistics hub. For this purpose, “Stocksquare”, a joint venture between ECE and Otto, will serve as a bridge between online and brick-and-mortar retail. From the center / mall onwards, “Ship from Store” will be used to create additional sales channels and increase space productivity. Another goal is to accelerate the last mile to the customer by offering a delivery service on a bicycle.

Retail is incapable to master digitization under its own steam alone

Value creation mix is the magic word. In the course of urban concentration, rents for residential space in cities are already above EUR 20 per square meter. Taking such usage concepts into account in the tenant mix, allows a suitable mixed calculation for vertical buildings. In addition to apartments, office and other use concepts such as fitness, dance studios or hotels are also are well imaginable on the upper floors. All on spaces that would be rather difficult for the classic retailers, but which enhance the overall location which also raised the potential on spaces that are more suitable for retail. The curation of the tenant mix determines the profitability of the property. In Berlin, for example, ECE has converted the top parking deck of a city mall into a hotel, since this has a higher attractiveness and benefit in the overall calculation than the parking deck alone (especially with declining individual car traffic in urban locations).