Come in your own comfortable shoes

The first signs that some air was being let out of the business regimen became evident a few years ago, when ties fell out of favour and many of the boys who wore them finally allowed themselves to breathe more freely. The next phase in the relaxing of conventions was when jeans came back in, even though not long before that time the boss of at least one of the big consultancies would have given you a solid reprimand for wearing them – even on a so-called ‘casual Friday’. As it happened, such prohibitions on clothing naturally stimulated employees to be more creative and to scour hundreds of stores and web portals for trousers that looked like denims but would not evoke the ire of their superiors. Despite all this, it was not so long ago that the first signs of the jeans revolution emerged, and this was clearly triggered by the pandemic. Just six months ago at Expo Real in Munich – a fair everyone used to consider to be professionally formal and even painfully so – many came not merely in suede loafers or high-heels (footwear that might be considered edgy but not outright rebellious), but in trainers, although only in subdued colours. I was shocked to see one well-known CEO, hitherto regarded as a model businessman from the Parisian suburb of Sèvres, running between the halls in an exquisitely tailored suit and black trainers. That particular CEO and other non-conformists like him actually turned out to be influencers and trend-setters for the sector, because half a year later, at MIPIM 2023, this trend could be seen everywhere. Soft shoes were on display with many different cuts and in all the colours of the rainbow. Moreover, the young wolves of the proptech and startup scenes openly showed off their bare ankles, ripped jeans and colourful t-shirts. Where this is all leading to we will find out in the autumn back at Munich, while we will also be heading back to Cannes in 2024 with a feeling of dread...

You can see for yourself some of these new fashion trends in our photo story from MIPIM in this issue. This year everyone also tried to put on their biggest grins and avoid making too many predictions (although there were some exceptions to this, as you will see when you read the opinions of our experts). We also cover Eurobuild’s latest sporting event, our first indoor doubles tennis tournament, which encouraged quite a few lovers of the sport to take to the courts. A month ago we celebrated another debut, this time our ESG section, which met with such a positive response from our readers (both in Poland and on the Côte d’Azur) that we are now doubling up on this. This edition opens with an analysis of well-being, a concept that is now firmly taking root in the warehouse sector. You can also read about the latest generation of sensors in the office, designed to ensure the comfort of each employee. You can also discover that installing EV charging stations is not as straightforward as it might seem and that we still have a lot to do in this regard before the EU’s deadlines come crashing down on our heads. And we take a peek over the border to find out if the grass is indeed greener on the other side.

At Eurobuild we will soon be kicking off our series of spring and summer events, so we invite you to our investment and office conferences, our real estate tennis and golf tournaments, and also to our annual cycle tour of Warsaw, which has been given a new format. So, for all you keen cyclists out there – come ride with us!