Arcadio GIl, CEO of Lasba
‘Shopping centers are having a challenging time’
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CEUSTERS l Retail: interview
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ith the continuing rise of influential online retailers such as Zalando, Amazon and the likes, shopping centres are having a challenging time. But is e-commerce steering physical stores into a slow and steady demise? Or will retail developers find inspiring ways to reinvent themselves? Arcadio Gil, a Spanish real estate agency located in Madrid and offering retail consulting services across the Spanish region, specializing in shopping centers. Lasba is the Spanish member of the international network TIRCA, The International Retail Consulting Alliance, created by independent businesses that are experts in their respective markets and share the same values and business philosophies. The breadth and quality of their cross-border service is significantly enhanced through sharing knowledge, regular international trips, meetings and constant communication with each other. Together they provide the best advice to help their clients cross borders. High online shopping rates are impacting revenues of traditional shopping centres. How can retail developers counter this trend? “The growth of the e-commerce retail has spread all over and the impact on the present and future revenues of the traditional bricks and mortar retail is without question.
X-Madrid
What is also clear is that the impact will not be equally distributed, that shopping centers are by far the retail property elements that will suffer least and the ones that are much more ready to find different ways to overcome the situation. Developers are already reacting to this, and, for instance, the percentage of square feet that is being dedicated to leisure and food and beverage is quickly expanding. This evolution is driven by the fact that consumers have a higher need for new experiences. They want to find something exciting outside of their own homes. At the same time, they want public spaces to play into their need for convenience. Hence, shopping centre developers are making more of an effort to create meeting points where consumers can relax or be entertained. The key is to give consumers what they cannot find online.” What type of concept appeals most to today’s consumers? “A very noteworthy example is X-Madrid, a groundbreaking retail concept by Merlin Properties, one
of the three largest shopping centre owners in Spain and Portugal. This new 40.000 square metres shopping mall that will open its doors this autumn, has truly reinvented the shopping and leisure centre experience. What is interesting here is that they have put together a collection of entertainment venues, health clubs, sports centres and fashion stores and thus combine untraditional retail services with entertainment and educational services. For instance, there is a deep diving centre where people can also buy diving equipment, but they can also follow scuba diving lessons, join a fan club, and rent or repair their own equipment.
'The key is to give consumers what they cannot find online'
