Get-together over a glass of champagne

This year’s Mapic fair in Cannes was hard work. Please don’t laugh
– it really was! Of course this does not mean that there were no cocktail parties, informal meetings for a drink or evening parties

Over the three days of the fair it was difficult to get hold of company heads or negotiators even for just a few minutes of conversation. Business talk went on continuously at the stands, resulting in a number of spectacular transactions. This time the focus was on working at the grass roots. According to the organisers of this year’s Mapic, the Palais des Festivals was visited by  7,400 people – 10 pct more than in 2009. However, according to the reports of the exhibitors, no increase in the footfall was registered. In any case, the interest of investors, developers and retail chains in the development of business relationships has been growing.
The guest of honour at Mapic 2010 was, somewhat surprisingly, the host country. The French have been looking at the Montpellier retail market with particular interest, where the Odysseum mall, which received this year’s best shopping centre award, is located. According to CB Richard Ellis’ research, France is the third most important country for the development of retail chains. And which two countries are ahead of it? Germany and Poland. However, the jury decided against recognising the other nominated shopping centres: Bonarka City Center in Kraków (which belongs to TriGranit and International Property Reconstruction), Focus Mall in Piotrków Trybunalski (Parkridge Retail Development), Galeria Victoria in Wałbrzych (Keen Property Partners Retail) and Vegas in Moscow (Crocus International). In fact, none of the remaining awards was granted to a company from our region. The best international retail chain turned out to be the German network Jack Wolfskin. The best retail concept award went to Lego of Denmark, and the city that has most improved its attractiveness for retail chains was Brussels, beating off the challenge from the Polish candidate, Łódź. The personality of the year title was awarded to a Frenchman, Jean-Paul Fréret, the development director of Vivarte Group.
“Have a look at this! Our stand is big and we don’t even have anywhere to sit!” Indeed, this time developers and retail chains were focused not on the ceremony of signing contracts, business mixers or presentations of new projects, but on negotiations with new partners. Wherever you looked you could see the heads and directors of companies occupying tables, poring through documents and folders, and tapping on their calculators. At the end of the day, few felt like partying. Proof, if needed, that Europe has not given in to the crisis. Developers are succeeding in filling the vacant space in their centres and retail parks; facility managers are now looking for new partners; and the representatives of shopping centres are no longer focused on just protecting their possessions, but on new expansion plans. Despite some worrying news from the European  markets, everything seems ship-shape as far as  retail is concerned.

Small is beautiful
Demetriusz Kapała Poland manager for small-format Tesco stores
Demetriusz Kapała set out to convince developers to cooperate with him on building such a network in the country. He admitted, however, that the fair is aimed first of all at large-format tenants. “Most of the developers present here still need to start considering creating facilities for supermarkets and local shops. My discussions with them prove that at least some are interested in such stores,” he explained. Tesco’s plan for the next few years involves the opening of app. 80 small formats a year, which means that app. 120 locations need to be secured. And what was the result of the talks in Cannes? “A number of companies are considering taking on additional staff for involvement in the development of small Tesco formats, typically in packages of 5-10 stores,” he revealed.

Three contracts and aĘlot of discussions
Mirosław Ciepluch Leasing manager, Echo Investment
Despite being on the large side, the Echo Investment stand was almost always crowded. This was due to the constant visits of potential contractors. “Our aim is to develop the best contacts with retail chains, which are the potential tenants of our projects. Such meetings provide an opportunity to close long negotiations with a single signature,” said Mirosław Ciepluch, the company’s leasing manager. We have signed three significant contracts – with the Helios, Tesco and KappAhl chains,” he announced.

Decision-makers right at your fingertips
Renata Kusznierska managing director, Carrefour Properties
In contrast to the previous two years, which the company only used to familiarise itself with other participants, this time its representatives went hell-for-leather to sign concrete deals.  “This time we had more meetings and made more decisions on different phases of negotiations than in previous years. Currently Carrefour Properties runs 40 shopping centres in Poland, so we remain an interesting business partner for retailers. It’s easier to arrange a short appointment in Cannes, clear out the difficulties and work out the necessary agreements with our clients,” claimed Renata Kusznierska, the managing director of the company.

Time for change
Agnieszka Mielcarz director, Forum Gliwice Forum Gliwice shopping centre has been open for four years now, which means that the time for re-commercialisation is fast approaching. This is the very reason why Agnieszka Mielcarz, the director of the mall, was present in Cannes. “Our new information campaign is intended to support the re-commercialisation process of the centre, which we have just launched. The campaign turned out to be  a great success, in terms of the substantial interest in our stand and discussions carried out with potential tenants,” she added.

It is worth being aĘpioneer
Massimiano Capobianchi country manager, Real Estate Advisory Group
“We are a company that provides services for the real estate and construction industries. Our presence in Romania results from the fact that despite being part of the EU, it has fallen behind the other member states. As we know, the modern retail sector is the first and the fastest to emerge,” summarised Massimiano Capobianchi, the manager of Real Estate Advisory Group in Romania, Slovakia and Italy.

For knowledge and contracts
Anna Popruga head of sales and marketing, KAN Development
“The most important aim of our presence in Cannes was promoting Ocean Plaza Mall in Ukraine,” declared Anna Popruga, the head of sales and marketing at KAN Development, before adding: “We want to draw the attention of European retail chains to our country again.” Nevertheless, she was surprised by the number of matter-of-fact talks which she had had at the fair. “Some retail chains have declared a willingness to invest in Ukraine, even though many of them are still directing their attention towards neighbouring markets. However, I believe that in 2012 they will also be wanting to open their first Ukrainian outlets in Ocean Plaza Mall.”

Sunny June in Cannes
Ivan Podkova head of marketing, Regions Development
Moscow-based company Regions Development came to Cannes to reveal its new concept for the development of its June (€юнь) shopping and entertainment centres, which it will start opening in Q1 2012. Ivan Podkova, the head of marketing of the developer, said that the results of the visit to the Côte d’Azur had been satisfying. “Firstly, we received confirmation that not only are current players in Russia interested in cooperating with us, but this is also true of European brands and new ones from the Far East. Secondly, due to our presence at the Cannes fair, my colleagues from the leasing department have just signed a leasing contract for an area of 12,000 sqm!"