ECE manages 140 shopping centers in Europe and another 19 are under construction and planning stage. The real estate firm is experienced in shopping center development, retail leasing, center management, and development of office and transportation centers. Viewing specialty leasing as a specific skill set, ECE uses
a management firm like Retail Profile to direct and manage this segment of their business. This has contributed to the rapid-fire growth of Retail Profile’s specialty retail programs, which are flourishing with occupancy rates of 99%. Retail Profile is right now operating RMUs in the regions of Hamburg and Cologne.“We have plans to roll out over 100 RMUs in the next 12 months and we are well on track to achieve this” Lange says. In North America, firms offering third-
party management of specialty leasing, such as Sales Dynamics, cropped up in the early 1980’s. Germany is walking down a similar path. “I think this has do with the fact that there is no history and therefore no experience with specialty leasing,” Lange says. “They have the chance to get the knowledge from a professional and specialized third-party company.” Retail Profile has been operating in the
UK since 2001, as a firm offering leasing, operations and servicing of specialty retail units. In 2009, the firm was operating 222 RMUs for 14 different landlords throughout the UK. It has since transitioned from its entrepreneurial roots with founder, Julia Langkraehr to a larger organization. In 2007, Retail Profile was acquired by
Amery Capital SPV; and then was bought by SpaceandPeople. SpaceandPeople is an aggregator of promotional space in the UK and Europe; the company offers media buyers and brands promotional space in shopping centers and other high-traffic venues.
Roots in historical markets The history of markets in German speaking parts of Europe can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The Dresden Market, which dates back to 1434 is one of the oldest Christmas markets. It only stands to reason that the German consumer is used to the concept of temporary tenants. As Lange points out, this has made the transition to the indoor mall programs easy for the consumer. “I
products except for the success of fresh seasonal fruits which seems to be quite German,” Lange says. Just as national brand names in the United States have specialty retail operations, Germany too, is seeing the emergence of national brands. Retail Profile’s leasing team scouts specialty retail entrepreneurs at fairs, outdoor markets and urban districts. They also have success working with local and regional entrepreneurial organizations to increase awareness of the retail opportunities in a market. Lange’s focus is to get specialty leasing fully operational throughout Germany over the next three years. She hopes
believe [the German consumers] understand the concept very well, as it has aspects of our traditional German markets which we basically have brought indoors. Customers are curious and shop on impulse from RMUs and kiosks,” Lange says. Shopping centers in Germany are centered downtown
in established commercial districts. There are some entertainment-oriented shopping centers with bowling facilities and cinemas as anchors in the suburbs, but the larger format shopping centers are very urban. Early successes in specialty retail concepts in Germany
include fresh fruits, toys, body cosmetics, scarves, chocolates and jewelry. “All are quite classical RMU
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Specialty Retail Report n Winter 2012
SpecialtyRetail.com
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