Less mall-minded

Escalators, cars, television, not to mention the internet and now smartphones - are all examples of the technology that has had a decisive impact on the retail sector over the years. Wojciech Piotrowicz of the University of Oxford, who opened this year's meeting of the industry, was in no doubt about this, addressing the more than 120 retail sector representatives gathered in Warsaw on May 15th at the invitation of Eurobuild Conferences. Does banning the use of mobile phones in shopping centres sound like a bad joke or just totally absurd? Perhaps, but it is true that such ideas are already being mooted. The reason? We have begun to treat traditional shops like showrooms where we can view the products before checking their prices in on-line stores; and if the prices in the latter turn out to be cheaper (as is usually the case), then we make the purchase on the web instead. Still, we have not completely given up on visiting shopping centres and high street stores just yet, according to the first panel, on 'omni-channel retail'. New technological developments are also influencing the outlook and furnishing of shops. A virtual fitting room? A device that demonstrates a given material's tendency to crease? Whatever the customer wishes for will be our command - is what sector players seem to be saying.
A grand total of 0.3 pct of the market for modern retail space is situated in towns with less than 50,000 inhabitants, according to estimates by Savills. There is only one conclusion to be drawn from this - new retail facilities need to be built in these locations, and their designs need to be adjusted to the characters of these towns. "The formats of shopping centres have been changing. Now the time of smaller facilities has come - such as strip malls, for example. This is not an effect of the crisis or any economic slowdown, which, incidentally, I haven't personally noticed, but another natural phase in the development of the retail market in Poland," believes Aleksander Walczak (Dekada Realty), who together with Stephan Groht (Elbfonds Development), Dawid Rutkowski (Peakside Polonia Management), Anna Oleksy (Deutsche Bank PBC) and Renata Kusznierska (Savills) attempted to identify the best retail format to invest in. Strip malls, retail parks, outlet centres or old facilities that can be modernised are just a few of the options to choose from. Whether you hit the nail on the head or end up with a badly-bruised thumb will only become clear in a few years' time. The subject of operating costs is a topic that generates friction between facility managers and tenants. Another issue that provokes strong emotions are the leasing contract provisions needed for when commercialisation falls short before the opening of a centre. The number of bones of contention is significant, but is perhaps a little less than it used to be, as the participants of the panel entitled 'A lovers' tiff or the renewal of vows' observed. The panel was made up of Aneta Cichla ('Eurobuild CEE', the moderator), Zofia Nachiło-Morbiato (the Polish Association of Retail Tenants), Robert Szczepanek (The Association of Commercial Real Estate Developers), Marcin Mędrzycki (Caelum Real Estate Asset Management) - as well as Jacek Sokołowski (Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego), who spoke on whether today's situation could be described as a tenants' market.
Hypermarkets are choosing smaller areas; delicatessens are narrowing the range of their products, particularly the top shelf ones, as well as changing names associated with exclusiveness and high prices; discount stores are improving the quality of their services and broadening the range of their products... all these formats seem to be heading in one direction - towards being supermarkets. The consolidation of grocery formats and operators was the topic of the next discussion: 'Grocery Revolutions'. Bartosz Węgrowski (KPMG Advisory), Krzysztof Fijałkowski (ECE Projektmanagement) and Beata Kokeli (CBRE) debated the trap of monopolising a local market through acquisitions on the retail market, as well as the gap in the market for so-called 'hard' discount stores (now that Biedronka and Lidl have headed more upmarket). Clicking a 'like' on Facebook has become not only a sign of appreciation, but almost a duty. Friendships have already been strained by the lack of a reaction to the uploading of a new photo on the social network. The question retail chain representatives and shopping centre owners should ask themselves is not whether to use such social media but how to do it in the most effective way. We are transferring a lot of our everyday lives onto the internet - and shopping is no exception. "The direction of retail market development has clearly been set by the US. There is probably nothing that could stop the growth of e-commerce," believes Tomasz Sudoł (Solar), whose chain has already opened an internet store. It is also possible to shop from home on the Yes website, which was represented by Paweł Korobacz on the ?The internet is not enough?' panel. Bartosz Majewski and Marek Górecki (OEX Divante) were in no doubt that internet sales are a necessity. An example provided by Agnieszka Sora (GfK Polonia) from the American market, where 49 pct of smartphone owners use mobile sites to make purchases, while a third subsequently click a 'like' on Facebook and a fifth evaluate the product, gave us much food for thought. 'Rents, where are you heading?' was the question posed by the panel that closed the conference and was attended by Sean Briggs (Colliers International, the moderator), Katarzyna Cyz (Atrium Poland Real Estate Management), Sławomir Lisiecki (Galt Legal), Maja Gawrońska (Kazar Footwear) and Mathieu Giguere (Tchibo). So where are they heading? It would seem in two opposite directions. Rents will grow in the best facilities and fall in the weaker ones. Which ones exactly and by how much was discussed in the less formal atmosphere at the wine party afterwards.