At the heart of the change

Anna Szmeja-Kroplewska, president of the board of The Retail & e-Commerce Institute: I have been involved with the Polish Council of Shopping Centres from the beginning. Together with Stephen Pragnell I created it from scratch, then developed and managed it for 13 years. When I was employed by PRCH, the shopping centre market was changing dynamically and I dare say that another wave of transformation still lies ahead of us. I want to be at the heart of the retail sector once again and to become part of this change, setting up workshops, meetings, project groups for people to look and see, people who want to build fixed connections between traditional retail formats and modern ones related to e-commerce.

What does your activity entail?

The institute operates as a think-tank, that is, it is a very open, eclectic organisation that focuses on dialogue, research and analysis. We want to inspire change, break up formats and debunk the myths which, over many years, have become some form of dogma. We organise workshops, presentations, case studies and meetings in which we simply talk to experts about the issues that the Institute and the experts and company representatives brought together should focus on. We call a spade a spade, defining and looking for solutions together, drawing up activity plans and involving companies and people who can help us in our activities. It is our Council of Experts, representing scores of companies on the market, that defines the work of the Institute, rather than the management of the Institute. At this time we have five working groups: shopping centre and retail chain marketing; architecture and design; new technologies and innovations; e-commerce; and research and development. We have two large projects: the most wanted retailers and investors as well as our RTI project – retail chain sales indicators. We are going to establish indicators for 17 retail categories and will be publishing data for shopping centres, high streets and on-line sales. The result of the work of the expert teams at the Institute will be reports, case studies, summaries and research papers, which will subsequently be published on the market and in our e-library. The industry is not just about working – networking will form an important element of our activities.

What will the work of the Institute focus on?

Together with the companies we invite to cooperate with us, our plan is to discuss the state of the shopping centre market, but in much more detail and from the quality rather than the quantity angle. For example, we will take a look at new approaches in the world of e-commerce for shopping centres and chains. What should be done by the manager of a shopping centre whose tenants are promoting e-shops in the units they lease in the mall? We will not be putting any brakes on progress. We are one step away from retail chains installing tablets or screens for purchasing products not available at that particular outlet and for ordering home deliveries. Some turnover will be generated outside the shopping centres. So how to build the stability of an investment when it comes to tenants whose rent rates are a percentage of their turnover? How to support retail chains so on-line sales are not a form of cannibalisation or loss of prestige or image on the market? In Poland only 50 chains out of app. 480 have on-line shops, but the trend is set to undergo rapid change. So far nowhere has existed where knowledge could be obtained about tenants’ activities, their development strategies, customers’ new shopping habits, the changing environment, and technology and innovation being an impetus for change. This gap is to be filled by the Institute.

How do you join The Retail & e-Commerce Institute?

Participation is based on the purchase of a club membership card, which formally confirms the willingness of a company and its staff to cooperate with the Institute. The card is a tool that allows us to select the benefits resulting from the involvement in the work and meetings of the Institute as well as create an individual programme adjusted to the needs of the company and its staff. Workshops, training sessions – including expert ones – as well as those to improve HR skills, organised by us together with companies such as ‘Doradcy w Rozwoju’ and Edubrokers, networking meetings, research, analysis, access to the e-library and the option of publishing data on the website, building the company’s profile and presentations by its experts… this is only the beginning. A club member also obtains access to research projects, such as our latest one – The Most Wanted Retailers & Investors. CEE desired effects.

What are the Institute’s plans for the future?

The official opening of the Institute will take place on October 6th at a meeting at the Sobański Palace in Warsaw. Other than that we have 36 meetings planned in the project groups I’ve already mentioned before the end of the year. Then there will be MAPIC, the intensification of the work with tenants and establishing the RTI indexes.