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ECE Market Report 2015 Eng
ECE Market Report 2015 Eng
2015
Focus on the
customer
Focus on the
customer
MyZeil, Frankfurt,
Germany
ECE in figures 3
Preface
In 2015, the shopping center sector is in a Retail partners want to be better informed
far-reaching upheaval full of challenges. and taken along. They expect more detailed
The overall number of purchasing channels analyses about market potential and center
grows – consumers can choose between performance – and above all, a clear and rec-
shopping centers, downtown, e-commerce, ognizable property positioning. In day-to-
outlet centers, and retail parks. At the same day business, they would like customized and
time, there is an increasing concentration of flexible support and solutions.
shopping center operators. Especially interna- Among investors, benchmarking occupies
tional, many owners operate their own cen- the first place and with it, the expectation of
ters. On the investor side, we see changes the biggest possible transparency with the
too: For example, we are seeing an increas- operator. We must perform intense work to
ing number of internationally active inves- increase the long-term value of properties
tors making the most varied demands on while we help the owners to reach their spe-
the property management. And in the ten- cific investment objectives.
ant market, in which constant change is vir- However, how do we find out what we
tually a natural characteristic, digitalization have to do? By conducting regular surveys
drives completely new developments. Entire of our stakeholders - because only when we
sectors and product assortments are boom- know the needs and expectations of our cus-
ing in e-commerce, while pure online players, tomers, we will learn to understand them bet-
in turn, search for presence in brick-and-mor- ter. Only in this way we can offer customers
tar stores. Generally speaking, the expansion- the best possible service at all levels.
Alexander Otto,
ary urge of retailers has slowed down. As cen- With the help of various surveys, the link-
Chief Executive Officer
ter operators, we must always react faster and up of many different data and information,
more flexibly to these trends. as well as interdepartmental cooperation, a
How can we face these challenges? With data trove unique in European retail is gen-
even more attention and customer orienta- erated. The analysis of these data constitutes
tion for our various stakeholders. The relevant the foundation of the market report. For the
customer groups are investors, retail partners, first time, we would like to publish a few of
and visitors of our centers. The demands from these results in this report to make them
all these target groups have changed in recent available to the interested public too. In the
years. Visitors expect more service, quality of future, we intend to publish market reports
stay, and food offerings. They want an indi- about specific subjects on a regular basis. I
vidual approach to their needs and variety hope that you will find this information as
through always new entertainment offerings. useful as we found it and wish you an enjoy-
Yet the best innovation is useless when core able time reading it.
sectors such as directions, the parking garage,
the sanitary installations, or the quality of the Sincerely, only when we know
stay do not satisfy customers. the needs and expecta-
tions of our customers,
we will learn to under-
Alexander Otto stand them better.
Table
of contents
Our Partners
AS of: June 2015
1. 2.
ECE in figures The Investors
3. 4.
The Retail partners The Visitors
Outlook62
Imprint63
Milaneo, Stuttgart,
Germany
ECE in figures
Europa-Galerie, Saarbrücken,
Germany
8 ECE | Market report
Key Facts
196 vs. 14
Portfolio centers planned
4.4 million visitors per day
(doubled in the last ten years)
centers or under
construction
20,000 stores
(5,000 in the year 2000)
more people than Hamburg, Cologne
same amount as all Aldi and and Munich put together
Lidl branches worldwide
7 1,000
= million m2
sales area
(1.5 m. m² in the year 2000)
soccer stadiums
3,600 in 16
employees countries
ECE in figures 9
23
Retail Turnover in ECE
Shopping-Centers
20 billion €
nominal GNP of Estonia
(9 billion € in 2005)
billion €
Largest ECE center
international
176,000 m2
Marineda City
280,000
56%
in La Coruña, Spain
parking places
at the centers
+18%
largest German
ECE center
Marmara Park,
Istanbul, Turkey
ECE
IN FIGURES
For more than 50 years, ECE
develops, plans, builds, leases,
and manages large commercial
real estate and is European market
leader in the sector of downtown
shopping centers.
250
196
200 International
centers
150 144
Total number
of centers
German
centers
100
50
52
+35% Germany
+15% Germany
+20% international
-10% international
-4% Germany
-20% Germany
+17% international
-10%international
© Jens Kirchner
12 ECE | Market report
The average sales area per shopping center Contrary to downtown shopping centers, the
varied within the last 50 years and depends average sales area of neighborhood centers
clearly on the real estate location. In the did not develop as well in the last five years.
last 15 years, ECE shopping centers in Ger- In return, the average number of stores in
many are stable, with a sales area of approx. Germany decreased by about 20 percent and
27,900 square meters for new constructions international by 10 percent after all. It becomes
without taking retail parks into account. clear that the retail partners, contrary to gen-
International shopping centers are, on aver- eral market perception (smaller product line
age, considerably larger and had a leasable owing to more online presence, more relevant
area of about 45,200 square meters in the last showroom effect of sales areas, etc.), keep bet-
15 years. ting on large sales areas in the shopping cen-
ters operated by ECE. The trend is confirmed
Trend to larger spaces by shopping center visitors, who apart from
Also interesting is the development of the wanting a certain shopping variety, also see
sales area when the number of stores in the product comparison as an advantage.
various shopping center locations is consid-
ered. In the downtown shopping centers, the
average sales area in the last five years has
increased significantly more than the number
of average stores. The trend towards a higher
number of large retail partners is seen here.
Main-Taunus-Zentrum,
Sulzbach, Germany
33,600 m2
2010 – 2015
≈ 45,200 m2
• Poland: 45,200 m² leasable area
• Austria: 26,800 m² leasable area
• Turkey: 58,500 m² leasable area
22,500 m2
2000 – 2005
• Hungary: 42,100 m² leasable area
127 160
(only new buildings, without retail parks) (from 2000 to 2015, only new buildings,
without retail parks)
942000 – 2005
2010 – 2015
•
•
•
•
Poland: 182
Austria: 100
Turkey: 188
Hungary: 139
ECE in figures 13
Greenfield site
shopping centers
(2000: 8%)
Neighborhood
shopping
centers
Downtown
(2000: 37%)
shopping centers
(2000: 55%)
8%
28%
64%
14 ECE | Market report
Germany
Expansion in
144 vs. 7
3,996,930 m
2
sales area
12,528 stores
European markets
1968
In the last 50 years, ECE has been Current shopping center devel-
able to gain a foothold in many opments in Germany, Poland,
European countries and even Italy and Turkey show that the Country information
beyond. As always, ECE has the diversification strategy will
largest presence in Germany, its also be followed in the future. Number of SCs (in operation vs. planned /
country of origin, with 144 cen- In doing so, ECE is looking for under construction)
ters (including 43 retail parks expansion possibilities in exist- Total sales area or total leasable area (GLA)
managed by MEC) and currently ing and new markets as well.
seven developments. In addition, Number of stores
the company looked eastward as Year since the first center is under management
early as in 2001: Poland and Tur-
key have since then been well
established attractive expansion
destinations. Even Austria and
Hungary, with six and five shop-
ping centers operated by ECE,
respectively, have become the
focus of portfolio expansion in SWITZERLAND
recent years. An important step 1
towards Western Europe could 32,000 m2 GLA
be achieved with the takeover 120 stores
of the Spanish shopping center 2009
operator Auxideico Gestión SAU.
In recent years, constant portfolio
expansion has also been the aim
in other countries – 196 shop-
ping centers distributed in 16
countries ensure diversification Spain
and stability. 7
388,300 m2 GLA
1,170 stores
2010
Italy
QATAR
1 vs. 1
1
48,500 m2 GLA
120,000 m2 GLA
110 stores
370 stores
2011
2004
ECE in figures 15
POLAND
RUSSIA
8 vs. 1
3
376,500 m2 GLA
99,200 m2 GLA
DENMARK 1,428 stores
390 stores
1 2001
LITHUANIA 2009
100,000 m GLA 2
1
160 stores 62,000 m2 GLA
2013 180 stores
2009
CZECH REPUBLIC
3
161,540 m2 GLA
455 stores
2005
SLOVAKIA
1
36,000 m2 GLA
150 stores
2012
HUNGARY
5
210,500 m2 GLA
695 stores
2002
GREECE
2 TURKEY
BULGARIA
AUSTRIA 99,000 m2 GLA 10 vs. 5
2
6 325 stores 582,000 m2 GLA
90,000 m2 GLA
215,000 m
2 2005 1,815 stores
340 stores
sales area
2010 2001
646 stores
2006
16
Shopping-Center
„K in Lautern“,
Kaiserslautern,
Germany
Proximity to
visitors
M ore than half of the residents in Ger-
many (56 percent) are able to reach
an ECE shopping center by car in
The catchment areas of the ECE shopping
centers represent the modern German
urban population. Characterized by the
62 percent of German households with a
household net income of over 4,500 euros lie
within the reach of a center. Not only is the
less than 30 minutes. Thus, ECE reaches over demographic change, the catchment areas income above average, but also the willing-
45 million people in more than 23 million are made up mostly of single-person house- ness to spend it in a retail store. Thus, people
households representing an important retail holds. Almost two-thirds of German single- living in the catchment area of ECE centers
purchasing power of over 293 billion euros. person households are located only a 30-min- spend 342 euros more a year in retail per per-
ute drive away from an ECE center. son than those outside an ECE center catch-
In the heart of cities ment area.
Most centers are centrally located in the heart Above-average household income
of downtown areas. Traditionally, downtown The center locations have been chosen in To sum it up: ECE is where people are.
is the center of commerce and consequently such a way that the people in their catch-
ECE shopping centers have been an integral ment area have an average income consid-
part of urban life for decades. erably above that of the national average:
30-minute drive 45.3 m 56% 23.6 m 58% 10.0 m 62% 6.4 m 54%
45-minute drive 59.7 m 74% 30.6 m 76% 12.6 m 78% 8.6 m 73%
Accessibility
of the German
centers
Center
30-minute drive
45-minute drive
Heartbeat of ECE
F ootfall is an important indicator for ECE and its partners. Against
the background of growing online trading, footfall has become
more important in the eyes of investors, retail partners, and ECE
Top 10 ECE centers according to the number
of daily visitors
Ø Number of
itself. Contrary to many stores in pedestrian zones, ECE can answer the Rank Center visitors per day
question how online trading affects the footfall in brick-and-mortar
retail. 1. Galeria Krakowska Krakau 98,854
For more than six years, ECE has been using automatic people 2. Promenaden Hauptbahnhof Leipzig 77,866
counting devices for monitoring footfall in its centers. The high foot-
fall at ECE shopping centers is one of the reasons why many domes- 3. PEP Munich 62,769
tic and international retailers start their expansion in an ECE shopping 4. ANKAmall Ankara 61,025
center. The architectural design, the arrangement of the retail partners
and the mixture or sectors in the centers also allows smaller retail part- 5. Bahnhofcity Vienna West 59,495
ners and local retailers to benefit from the appeal of the entire cen- 6. Europapassage Hamburg 54,698
ter. Thus, shopping centers offer ideal conditions for retail concepts
that depend on high numbers of walk-in customers. A total of about 7. Altmarkt-Galerie Dresden 52,788
4.4 million people visit ECE shopping center per day. 8. Maltepe Park Istanbul 52,162
Neighbor-
hood Greenfield site
5 shopping
centers
shopping centers
Down-
town
shopping
centers
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun.
2012 2013
ECE in figures 19
Footfall
more than on one more than all Facebook more than the inhab- more than all the
Bundesliga match users in Germany itants of Germany, the world’s landline phone
day in stadium (2015: 23 million) Netherlands, Austria connections
(2014 season: and Switzerland put (1.134 billion)
approx. 383,598) together (approx. 113.5
million inhabitants)
ECE Germany
40,000
ECE international
30,000
20,000
Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
2014
A changing
market
Thier-Galerie, Dortmund,
Germany
ECE
Shopping-Center
the side of end-user customers, as they have restructurings, expansions or even complete
become not only more mature and mobile, modernizations. In addition, we are very suc-
but also more demanding with regard to the cessful right now with the development of
products offered and especially to the shop- hotels, logistics properties, and offices.
ping environment.
Do you also expect preferably fewer new
You are responsible, among other things, shopping centers and more modernizations
for the investment business. What does this and restructurings in the future?
mean for ECE and how do you proceed? Kötter: Certainly. However, the
Kötter: We work for a large num- interesting aspect of this is that,
ber of investors. Apart from our although the project tasks men-
own sources of capital, an essen- tioned above differ, the important
tial building block of strategy is skills critical for success remain the same.
to render services for external investors. Our Development know-how is therefore also
investor partners include open funds, special essential for generating value in the Portfolio
funds, pension funds, state funds, other fam- Business. It is precisely in restructuring and
ily offices, etc. Our investment team observes expansion, i. e. in the work performed in exist-
all shopping centers in Europe and analyzes ing centers during their operation, where
Henrie W. Kötter
the strategies of the owners. Our close inter- complexity is especially high. All steps, from
connectedness in the market allows us to talk the sound analysis and precise conception of
with our investors about market opportuni- the measures to be implemented all the way
ties in an early stage. Thus, as a rule, we start to the efficient control, concern all our cus-
Many investors have focused on the shop- supporting investors already in the acquisi- tomers, i. e. the interests of consumers, retail
ping center as investment property. Why? tion phase of an asset, i. e. from the start. In partners and investors. In the final analysis, it
Kötter: Shopping centers are eval- the later stage of a transaction process, inter- is about increasing values – both in the Port-
uated as being an especially disciplinary teams analyze the properties in folio and in the Project Business.
attractive investment product question very rigorously. The results flow into
because of their risk-yield profile. a business plan and constitute not only the What role plays customer orientation in all
Professionally managed properties in good basis of an investment decision but at the of this for you?
locations are considered a future-proof form of same time also create the basis for the opera- Kötter: Shopping centers are a
investment. Their adjustment capability allows tional work in the property after the purchase. very management-intensive
them to react flexibly to changes in the trade, The active and early inclusion of our col- property class. My mission is to
both to the brands offered in the center and to leagues from Leasing, Center Management, offer our services to our investors.
the changing area needs of individual sectors and Asset Management ensures that the By meshing the disciplines that we combine
and concepts over time. However, it becomes interests of end-user customers, retail part- at ECE, we increase the value of the properties
clear already here that the property value is ners, and investors are considered adequately. entrusted to us while always finding the bal-
greatly influenced by the operator’s skills. ance between the demands of all customers –
You talked about the change in the trade. that is, investors, retail partners, and visitors.
How has the shopping center investment What does this mean specifically for project Some of the individual requirements do not
market changed? development? supplement one another. This weighing pro-
Kötter: In Europe – and especially Kötter: We have evolved from a cess is real teamwork. Shopping centers are
in Germany – there is a limited project development company only successful when all customers are appro-
number of shopping centers and to a property management com- priately taken into account.
an enormous demand on the pany. Nowadays, in view of the
investor side. Fewer new centers are being largely saturated markets in the shopping
developed. On the one hand, we are sector, we are focusing more on refurbish-
approaching the saturation point in many ments than on new developments, even if we
regions; on the other hand, there is a trend are still seeing needs and business opportu-
among retailers to expand more cautiously. nities by developing new properties in
Retailers are reviewing their store portfolio selected places in Germany and Europe. Cur-
while implementing multichannel strategies. rently, approx. 80 percent of our development
We are also experiencing many changes on projects concern the portfolio. They are about
The
investors
MyZeil, Frankfurt,
Germany
24
Best possible
service for
the investors
63
words – as proven by many successful mod-
ernizations through which investors could
not only obtain growing yields but also clear
value increases in their properties.
%
different objectives and demands with regard
to yields, market value, strategy and report-
ing must be considered – a big challenge for
ECE as well. As the results of the investor sur-
vey indicate, ECE defines objectives in close
cooperation with investors, thereby generat-
ing healthy and sustainable growth. In all of
this, it is ECE’s claim to respond to the individ-
ual demands of its investors in order to pro-
vide them with the best possible service.
26 ECE | Market report
+
Foreign
investors
Trust build-up
and increase in
complexity +
German
investors
+
Deutsche
Bank
Otto
family
1965 2015
Assets under
management
2015
28
bn. €
2005
11 bn. €
28 ECE | Market report
A conversation
with Claudia Plath, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ECE
What does "Focus on the Customer" What characterizes ECE for you?
mean for you? How does it differ from competitors?
Plath: Quite simply what the Plath: Contrary to the other mar-
name already indicates: We con- ket participants, ECE has a long
centrate fully on asset manage- experience in the development,
ment so that our customers management, and transaction of
achieve their respective investment objec- shopping centers. Decisive here is that a really
tives. A necessary service orientation leads to successful management of retail real estate
a successful implementation of the individual becomes possible only through the success
wishes, allowing the respective challenges to factor of experience. In the course of the last
succeed. 50 years since it was founded, the high qual-
ity of ECE services based on experience has
In your opinion, what will be the biggest led to an intense relationship of trust between
challenges in the coming years? customers and ECE. Emblematic for this are
Plath: Some of the largest chal- the investments of the Otto family in numer-
lenges in the retail real estate sec- ous shopping centers, which are successfully
tor are above all the ability to looked after together with ECE customer
make shopping centers attractive investments to increase value.
places that will continue to be venues for
several generations in the future. In addition, The investor market is highly competitive.
the effective combination of online shopping What characterizes shopping centers com-
Claudia Plath
and stationary retail will be a challenge for the pared to other assets?
future. Plath: The long-term positive per-
Another challenge for ECE is conserv- formance of shopping centers
ing the value of the assets in an increasingly can be traced back essentially to What measures do you offer investors
competitive environment. Thanks to the two aspects: First of all, the vari- to satisfy their demands and maintain
long experience and intensive integration ability in space utilization that allows a flexible a long-term partnership?
with the market stakeholders, ECE is opti- reaction to future space demands and sec- Plath: As family-run company,
mally equipped for this demanding chal- ondly, the long-lasting positive consumer ECE can operate the facilities
lenge. Intensive market knowledge, coupled behavior in Germany and selected European from an entrepreneurial perspec-
with the capacity of thinking and acting as countries. For years, these two aspects have tive. ECE is totally familiarized
an investor, results in a decisive advantage led to a constantly growing interest in shop- with customer and co-investor expectations
for investors. This establishes an excellent ping centers as investment class. The resulting owing to its own successful investment in
foundation for a trusting collaboration with continuously increasing demand shows that shopping centers for decades. Thus, our ser-
investors. ECE is pursuing the right strategy. vice is provided with the eyes of the investor
and is therefore the essential foundation for
What types of investors are pushing a trusting and long-term collaboration.
increasingly into the market and what
are their demands?
Plath: The market is changing
Intensive market due to the planned regulations.
knowledge, coupled The AIFM guideline affects deci-
sions to invest in shopping cen-
with the capacity of ters. Pension funds and insurance companies,
thinking and acting as in particular, have a higher need for high-
an investor, results in a quality management that focuses on invest-
ment-specific interests. Since these compa-
decisive advantage for nies do not manage their own facilities, ECE
investors. has been a trusted partner already for years.
The Investors 29
As before, we
have the good
Well-trained staff
feeling that our for center and asset
asset is in good
and professional
management.
hands at ECE.
Investor survey
I n the investor survey conducted last
year, ECE’s asset management was the
most important factor in investor expec-
The insights gained about the significant influencing factors for
investor satisfaction became apparent from detailed analysis of the data.
tations. Asset management has crucial stra- Three factors, in particular, proved to be decisive satisfaction drivers:
tegic importance for ECE. For this reason,
after a successfully completed reorganiza- Responsiveness of ECE to
tion that also took place last year in which
short-term asset problems
regional organization was dropped in favor of
a stronger investor orientation, the investors
requested a detailed feedback. The insights Capacity to long-term
gained allow an even better alignment with
positioning and further develop-
investor requests, which in spite of different
investment objectives and strategies still have ment of the asset
large overlaps.
Quality of the full-service
High quality services
ECE received more than 50 detailed exter- asset support
nal opinions in the survey time period that
lasted several years and began in July 2014.
More than 60 percent of the companies sur- are expected, both in day-to-day business
veyed participated in the survey. The answers and issues of the conceptual further devel-
to 34 questions reflected the assessments of opment of the property that is looked after.
the surveyed companies with respect to the Generally, investors expect first class, cus-
performance of their respective contacts, the tomized asset management and ECE aspires
organizational performance of asset man- to provide it. The survey results and the sug-
agement, and the specialized departments gestions we received from the investors
assigned to operate the property. The quality have once more confirmed to us that ECE’s
of the services used received a positive eval- new property management strategy is on the
uation and the recommendation rate was a right path.
gratifying 98 percent. The grades given within
the positive evaluations allow inferences and
development fields. Special significance falls
to the aspects of customer orientation and
transparency. Both are in the center of the
key account structure, which was imple-
mented last autumn and is subject to contin-
uous improvement. Thus, the survey has con-
firmed the path taken that will continue to be
pursued consistently and improved. A large
need for information with regard to innova-
tions could also be derived from it, and this
publication, among other things, contributes
to satisfy this need.
Main Future topics
%
Recommendation
(yes 66% / qualified yes 32%)
Together towards
success
E CE’s retail partners with their approxi-
mately 20,000 shops know the advan-
tages of a shopping center operated
most of them would recommend ECE shop-
ping centers to their business partners. Need-
less to say, the objective is to satisfy every retail
Number of lease con-
tracts in ECE centers vs.
by ECE. In addition to a wide and balanced partner with ECE’s performance – because ECE
total number of stores
variety of stores in the respective location, can operate successful shopping centers only
a great deal of attention is paid at the time with successful retail partners as well. in Germany:
of the lease not to offer retail spaces only to
the large and well-known chains. Custom-
ized concepts and regional retailers are very
Apple 7 of 14
welcome at ECE centers. Only with these
rental partners and the regional attachment Reserved 5 of 7
associated with them, are centers capable
of integrating harmoniously to the existing
cityscape and become actual “third places” to Inditex 31 of 122
27.8%
their visitors, i.e. places where people gladly
congregate and meet when they are not at
home (first place) or at work (second place).
Primark 5 of 18
INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS RELY ON ECE of stores in German H&M 73 of 417
That ECE has a lot of experience leasing retail shopping centers are located
spaces is also indicated by the comparison in an ECE center.
with the total sales area in the German retail Bestseller 155 of 596
business, where according to information by
Jones Lang LaSalle, 580,000 square meters of
area were brokered in 2014. During the same
time period, ECE leased over 650,000 square
Top 10 retail partners in 2014
meters in its German and international shop-
(by number of leases and leasable area)
ping centers. Another positive aspect is that
many international retailers prefer to expand
in shopping centers managed by ECE.
ery, center apps, and coupons supplement 5 Orsay / Pimkie / Xanaka C & A 5
the offerings to the retail partners. That ECE
works successfully for its retail partners was 6 s.Oliver / Comma / Liebeskind REWE / DER Dt. Reisebüro 6
also confirmed by the results of the retail part- 7 Esprit Inditex Gruppe 7
ner survey, in which more than 6,200 part-
ners participated. Among the results: 84% of
8 Inditex Gruppe Real 8
respondents would renew the ECE lease and 9 CBR Companies (Street One / Cecil) New Yorker / Ann Christine 9
580,000 m
ECE is the ideal partner for retailers
because, among other things, it
offers a performance-based lease 2
system aligned to the profitability
of the various sectors. Another total leased area in German retail
advantage: First-class locations, (according to Jones Lang LaSalle 2014)
high quality of stay, top service and
unusual events attract thousands
650,000 m
of customers to ECE centers every
single day. Retail partners value
this concept.
2
Kim Gögge, Retailer in hamburg’s leased area in all ECE shopping
AlstertaL-EinKaufszentrum centers 2014
15.07
10 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
36 ECE | Market report
relationship manage-
ment CREATES TRUST
A shopping center will only be successful
when the property’s variety of different
stores and retail partners is geared to
UNDERSTANDING OF
RETAILERS’ INTERESTS
Apart from the sector-specific requirements
to the retail partners at all levels and in all
places have priority here. Leasing is present
on-site, allocations and responsibilities (“who
customer needs, i.e. consumers and retailers. of any retailer, one thing is especially impor- takes care of whom”) are clearly defined and
Here, it is important to consider the wishes of tant in current negotiations: Retail partners the contacts can be easily reached. ECE’s key
the visitors on the one hand, and the require- and owners need to understand the real and account management is responsible for cross-
ments of the retail partners with regard to daily interests of retailers and must develop departmental activities, and retailer meetings
area profile, location and lease expectation joint models quickly and flexibly to attain initiated in Germany and abroad provide a
on the other and to combine them skillfully. everybody’s objectives. personal framework in which retail partners
Therefore, the motto is “Focus on the can engage in dialogue. Finally, it is impor-
Customer”. Consequently, all actions and any PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS tant to get to know the people and faces with
day-to-day business decision must be aligned STRENGTHEN TRUST which business is done.
with the needs of the customer groups and In the leasing sector, various measures are
should always be at the beginning of any pro- implemented to strengthen the trust of retail
cess or problem. partners in ECE – and personal relationships
An interview
WITH KLAUS STRIEBICH, MANAGING DIRECTOR LEASING of ECE
What characterizes ECE for you? How does it How will the retail offering change in the
differ from the competition? future?
Striebich: In spite of the size and Striebich: On the one hand, there
internationalization that we have will be clear concentration on the
attained in the meantime, we are strong and nationwide partners.
still a family-run company with The successful partners will accel-
persons you can meet and talk to in order to erate their speed of expansion and interna-
find a solution to an issue. We also discuss and tionalization, and to achieve this they need a
process decisive details and want to look after good platform, such as ECE. On the other
the interests of all our stakeholders. Fast hand, we will – also due to increased profes-
action and autonomy from any institution are sionalism – discover new start-ups and new-
a clear competitive advantage. comers or have to develop them jointly that
they will subsequently be found in the shop-
Online trade grows steadily. What measures ping centers.
convince retailers to keep relying on the On the retail partner side, the chang-
shopping centers operated by ECE? ing process will accelerate further, but new
Striebich: The innovative and names are precisely an incentive for our visi-
changing power of a partnership tors to go to the shopping centers once again.
is decisive. The key to the future
Klaus Striebich
will be dealing continuously with In your opinion, what are the biggest chal-
new ideas and subjects, weighing them as lenges in the coming years?
partners and implement them successfully. Striebich: How we will deal with retailers and retail partners of the shopping
With our future labs on the operational side, a project with the multitude of centers and the insight how to satisfy the
we show many approaches, likewise with the stakeholders in a world that is requirements of our visitors.
inclusion of new concepts (from the online changing increasingly fast and
world, for example) that flow into brick-and- becoming more complex. This needs, among
mortar retail. Two examples worth mention- other things, a thorough understanding of
ing are MyMuesli and sheego.
The Retail partners 37
Stephan Koof,
Manager of Expansion
Vollsortiment national
of the REWE Group We have come to appreciate Like Douglas, ECE focuses
ECE as a reliable, competent,
on prime locations, stylish
and innovative developer of
shopping centers during the ambiance, and an atmos-
50 years of ECE, 100 years of over 40-year collaboration. phere in which customers
Deichmann – we have been ECE’s professionalism makes feel at home. That’s what
us confident that our future
treading a common path to path together will be successful matters. That is why ECE
success for a long time. A despite new competition has been a professional
look behind both brands models like online retail and and valued partner to us
factory outlet centers.
reveals family businesses that for many years.
plan for the long term – they
think in generations, not
quarters. What I remember Dr. Horst Clemens,
well is the cooperation with Managing Director of Dr. Henning Kreke,
P & C Düsseldorf CEO of Douglas Holding AG
ECE when we entered
unusual markets like Lithua-
nia and Turkey, which require
a lot of countryspecific With ECE’s experience and portfolio across Europe we have created
expertise. Then, we found a great partnership with a win-win approach. At the beginning of
with ECE very helpful con- our cooperation and after a relatively weak season for LPP, ECE was
tacts and a foundation we not just interested in the rent levels, but also in our situation from a
could build upon. retailer’s point of view. This helped us a lot and it was a good foun-
dation for good mutual cooperation and understanding. In ECE, we
have also found a strategic partner for the development of our
flagship brand ‘Reserved’ in Germany.
Heinrich Deichmann,
chairman of the board of Piotr Dyka,
directors of Deichmann SE member of the supervisory board at LPP
Advantages for the
Retail Partners
O nly those who know their customers
can ensure optimal support. So this
support can be secured, Key Account
comparison of the retail partner trend over
the years. Moreover, the analysis includes a
breakdown of the leases that will expire in the
comparison possibilities. This database allows
the development not only a meaningful indi-
vidual analysis for the rental partner but also
Management has developed various tools for next two years, so that Key Account Manage- makes a detailed comparison possible that
retail partners that have many agreements ment can already discuss various approach allows a specific assessment of the own mar-
with ECE in the leasing area. possibilities and recommendations for action ket position and the development of the
with the retail partner in advance and take respective sector.
PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS the necessary steps for this. Apart from ana-
A basic tool is portfolio analysis, which focuses lyzing the rental partner-specific key figures, SECTOR ANALYSIS
on developing concept- and sector-rele- the tool also compares them to the trend seen Another important tool used by Key Account
vant key figures such as total sales, produc in the respective sector. This becomes pos- Management is sector analysis, applied
tivity or lease burden. In principle, the period sible thanks to ECE’s comprehensive data- especially when a retail partner is interested
under consideration is fixed to five years to base made up of data from many retail part- in individual centers because it indicates
allow for a meaningful consideration and a ners that can therefore point out extensive the respective area and sales potential. Key
39
Milaneo, Stuttgart,
Germany
60
Turnover / m2
50 Sales
40
20
Lease / m2
Sales
E F
6% German
shopping centers
Clothing store
- 12.5%
+ 10.5%
in shopping centers
DOB 1
operated by ECE
+ 2.5%
HAKA 2
International
in openings of German
shopping centers
- 1.7% + 26.7%
Other
in the last five years + 5.2%
1
DOB = Women’s clothing
2
HAKA = Men’s and boy’s clothing
Potsdamer Platz Arkaden,
Berlin, Germany
10% 7% 39% 4%
2005: 16.0% 2005: 9.8% 2005: 28.8% 2005: 2.8%
Centrál, Bratislava,
Slovakia
Retail partner
survey – requests
and expectations
C ompetition in the leasing market has
become fiercer in recent years. The
higher needs and demands of retail
of the retail partners even more, both in day-
to-day business and in strategic decisions. Surveyed components
The purpose of the retail partner survey
partners are seen not only in the acquisition RETAIL PARTNERS VALUE FLEXIBILITY was to find out the satisfaction of the re-
tail partners with the four essential com-
of new retail partners but also in the active AND EXPERTISE ponents of ECE center management:
customer retention of the retail partners in Overall, the results reflect high satisfac-
the portfolio. The relationships between tion with ECE and show that retail partners The center as a whole
retail partners and the center – in this case, would keep collaborating with ECE in the • S atisfaction with the center as a whole
• Strengths & weaknesses
especially the center management – must future. They especially value the flexibility • Evaluation of the overall maintenance
be actively maintained and developed. Natu- and expertise of center management, but also condition, variety of stores, etc.
rally, not just the large chains play a role here, image and positioning are evaluated highly.
Facility management
but also the local retailers on-site. In order to However, the evaluation fluctuations show • S atisfaction with facility management
accomplish this, the demands and wishes of needs for optimization. This applies, among as a whole
the retail partners must be known and the other things, to satisfaction with the restau- • Evaluation of cleanliness, safety,
own performance checked and compared response time, etc.
rant offerings, where a strong fluctuation was
• Suggestions for improvement
on a regular basis. seen. While the significance and share of cen-
ters with food courts increases steadily, there Center management
HIGH RESPONSE RATE are still shopping centers that need more food • S atisfaction with center management
as a whole
Accordingly, it is indispensable to get an hon- choices. • Evaluation of accessibility, reliability,
est feedback of the retail partners through an presence, etc.
extensive and anonymous survey, in which CUSTOMIZED MEASURES NECESSARY • Suggestions for improvement
almost 12,000 retail partners from 100 cen- Moreover, when evaluating footfall and sales
Center marketing &
ters participated from October to November trends, the generally difficult market situ- campaigns
2014. A response rate of 53% showed that the ation in Germany becomes apparent. The • S atisfaction with campaigns as a whole
retail partners took advantage of the addi- fluctuations also show that these assess- • Effects on campaigns on turnover,
footfall, image
tional possibility of exchanging their views ments depend very much on the center and • How advertising fits the center, satisfac-
and stating their opinions. This extensive therefore local customized, sales- or footfall- tion with the media channel mix, etc.
feedback helped us to consider the interests increasing measures are needed. Overall,
43
Top-grades to:
friendliness:
80%
1.9 would recommend the
shopping center to a
reliability: business partner
2.0 84%
expertise of
the center of retail partners would
management: r enew their lease with
2.0
the center
there is here according to this a clear starting results, ECE shopping centers will now ana-
point for ECE to keep meeting the challenges lyze the visitors’ shopping process further to
of a changing market with its retail partners identify their relevant points of contact. The
on a partnership basis and to develop strat- insights gained from this will allow shopping
egies for a joint future. In all of this, the use centers to align them even more to the needs
of the resulting synergy and agglomeration of visitors, thereby ensuring an increase in the
effects as well as the development of the quality of their stay from which retail partners
resulting competitive advantages must have can also benefit.
priority.
satisfaction Germany
1. Marketing activities & campaigns
2. Turnover and footfall trends
3. Quality of the stay & offerings
in the center
Increase Secure
satisfaction satisfaction
Average
Dwell time
in Germany
Ø 105 min.
in Turkey
Ø 143 min.
Shopping center “K in Lautern”,
Kaiserslautern, Germany
The
visitors
48 ECE | Market report
88
Key Facts 1
%
of the visitors
Have fun
while shopping
1
ECE customer survey Germany, November 2014, n = 46,125
2
ECE customer survey Germany, November 2004, n = 79,467
The visitors 49
by foot or
by bike
22% 60 years and older 31%
Total Change
public trans- 2005 2014 4
Gender allocation 3
portation Car + 8.4%
Short-distance
41% Male 49% public transp. /
by foot / bike + 11.2%
59% Female 51%
91%
TOP 3
of the most important services
73%
Customer information
of visitors recommend
the center
67%
Digital signposting
system
But
66%
Center coupon
66% 65%
of visitors also shop of customers visit their shopping
on the Internet center every two weeks as before
3
Michael Bauer Research. 2012
4
ECE customer survey Germany, November 2005, n = 81,843
50 ECE | Market report
An eye on
the visitor
VISITOR NEEDS BECOME MORE HETEROGENEOUS
In the past, retail consisted of downtown stores and shopping cen-
ters. The visitor justified the added value of shopping centers because
everything could be found under one roof and thus a certain contact
was offered. Nowadays, this situation is a lot more complex; shopping
The client is king – this basic principle also applies to options are more varied and customer needs more heterogeneous.
The visitor can choose among several shopping channels, research
shopping centers, because in ECE’s customer f abric, products at home and compare offerings via smartphone. Subjects
visitors are just as important as investors and retail such as multichannel shopping and digitalization, as well as the quality
partners. Retail has become increasingly dynamic of the service and stay, are gaining in significance. Ultimately, it’s about
creating an added value to the shopping center visitor compared to
and c ompetitive in recent years, and therefore visitor other channels. Only in this way it is possible to increase satisfaction of
needs have also changed. visitors and thus their loyalty too, so visitors become repeat customers.
An interview
WITH JOANNA FISHER, MANAGING DIRECTOR CENTER MANAGEMENT
of ECE, ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF CUSTOMER ORIENTATION:
What do visitors to the centers expect nowa- In this context, what is the biggest challenge
days as customers? and how do you face it?
Fisher: They expect shopping Fisher: Due to the tougher com-
centers to reflect their life – that petition and the rapid pace of
is, digitalization, connection of change in the market, the chal-
online with offline; it is about ser- lenge is to keep trying and know-
vice and added value. This means: When the ing well the wishes of the visitors. Ultimately,
visitors go to a shopping center, it must make we must see to it that the visitors will have no
sense to them to go there and not lie on a sofa negative experiences of any kind during a
and order online. Today, visitors expect inter- visit to a shopping center. The time that they
activity and emotional inclusion, they want spend with us is so valuable for them nowa-
to participate and experience something. days that we must organize every minute that
Apart from home and work, shopping centers they spend with us in the most pleasant man-
are regarded nowadays as the third place, ner possible.
where people spend their leisure time shop-
ping, meeting friends and lingering a while.
To achieve this, centers need to be very visi-
tor-friendly: Visitors want to feel reasonably
Joanna Fisher
welcome, find a parking spot easily, a pleasant
In your opinion, what is meant by customer atmosphere and the possibility to rest once
orientation? in a while from shopping and strolling, and
Fisher: For me, customer orienta- drink a cup of coffee. For example, we have
tion is the essence of what we do. found that the share of visitors who take
As a service provider, we must advantage of the food offered has more than
align all our thoughts and actions doubled in the last ten years. At the same
with our customers. In doing so, it is not about time, the share of those who see shopping APART FROM HOME AND
just meeting the expectations of the custom- centers as meeting places has increased WORK, SHOPPING CENTERS
ers, but especially to surpass them. We must tenfold. ARE REGARDED NOWADAYS
surprise with new ideas and services, be the
first ones to recognize needs early and AS THE THIRD PLACE, WHERE
actively offer our solutions – ideally when the PEOPLE SPEND THEIR LEISURE
customer himself is not even aware of the TIME SHOPPING, MEETING
need yet. And when these solutions are bet-
ter than those of our competitors, our cus- FRIENDS AND LINGERING
tomers are satisfied and we are successful. A WHILE.
51
Foodcourt at Sophienhof,
Kiel, Germany
Tracking of
visitor opinions
Visitor
satisfaction
Visitor satisfaction is the difference between the expectation
and satisfaction of a need. The objective must therefore be to
satisfy visitor needs, at least according to expectations or
ideally to satisfy these needs beyond the expectations.
Factors influencing
customer satisfaction 1
Food offered
Store selection
Atmosphere
Store quality
Air quality
Everything under
one roof
1
ECE customer survey Germany, November 2014, n = 46,125
80%
of the visitors get their
expectations fulfilled
2.1
Overall satisfaction with
the center (grade)
72%
like to spend some time in
the shopping center
80% 72%
positive evaluation of
the Food offered
80% see the shopping center
as first choice
Stern-Center, Lüdenscheid,
Germany
54 ECE | Market report
Adult
(Mid-30s)
81%
visit a center mostly to shop
41%
61%
take a long way to
reach the center
55%
of adults arrive with
87%
their cars
1
ECE customer survey Germany, November 2014, n = 46,125
The visitors 55
13%
59%
use the center to
meet their friends Teenager
27%
arrive to the
center on foot
42% 77%
arrive to the center live within a 15-minute
with the car radius of the center
87%
66% Senior
buy their daily needs citizens
in the center
Significance of
shopping centers
What channels do people use nowadays to shop? What functions do shop-
ping centers occupy in this fabric and what are the resulting expectations
for shopping centers? To get to the bottom of these questions, ECE collab-
orated with Forsa in May 2015 to conduct a representative survey dealing
with the subject of opinions and attitudes about shopping centers. A total
of 1,003 German residents over 14 years old were surveyed.
Frequent use of
shopping channels
(Grey: Share who never uses this channel)
downtown
retailers 62%
2%
56%
than 30 years old (43%).
85%
local supply
Important Factors
31%
food offered use the gastronomy offering
70% 26%
buy focused stay without
specific reason 29% 32%
pleasant places to linger
74% atmosphere and rest
Important Aspects good, friendly
service
window-shopping 61% easily understandable
visitor guidance 35%
meeting friends or
acquaintances 14% 76% 76% entertainment and leisure
pleasant price-performance facilities such as movie
atmosphere ratio theatres, fitness centers 8%
Many visitors,
high turnover?
“The asses must rub against one These insights influence above all the mar- On the other hand, retail sales in the service
keting activities of shopping centers, but also and food (on large areas) sectors do not ben-
another”, as Hertie founder Her-
the marketing and store design of the center’s efit as much from high footfall. Rather, sales
rmann Tietz once described some- retailers. Thus, the season when footfall-driv- here are more likely planned routine pur-
what succinctly the relationship ing and sales-promoting measures will more chases, such as the large weekly grocery
likely be successful is shown. While it makes bulk purchases or the regular haircut in the
between footfall and turnover. Yet
sense to lure additional visitors to the center barber shop or beauty salon. However, credit
does this retail wisdom still apply with the corresponding measures in the sum- purchases prepared and planned at home or
nowadays? mer months, visitors in the Christmas season on the way, such as fashion purchases, play
must be specifically stimulated to purchase a significant role too. Here, the challenge for
SECTOR-DEPENDENT FLUCTUATIONS
shopping centers consists of creating visi-
tor incentives through the intelligent link-up
of the online and offline world so the shop-
strongly does footfall decline affect sales and Yet the footfall-sales relationship is not the ping center is already considered as potential
how much should German retailers fear this same only from one season to another; the channel when the purchase is being planned.
decrease? Naturally, there is reason to assume sectors represented in the center also ben- This also prevents the purchasing process
that there is a very strong relationship, yet an efit to a varying degree from footfall. Thus, a from being prepared and processed exclu-
analysis of footfall and sales data for the last clearly stronger influence of footfall on sales sively in online stores.
five years shows another reality. is seen in those sectors characterized strongly
LURING VISITORS WITH APPS
THE INFLUENCE OF FOOTFALL To successfully lure the visitor already during
87%
DECLINE ON SALES purchase preparation and create incentives
The results show only a moderate over- for a visit to the center, smartphone applica-
all influence of footfall fluctuations on sales tions that send the visitor customized – and
changes. Hence, a decline in footfall does therefore relevant – information about the
not lead automatically to a corresponding of consumers prepare their pur- range of goods are one of many good ideas.
sales decline. Responsible for this is also the chases online at least occasionally Visitors are increasingly using these multichan-
changes in shopping behavior of center visi- nel options and want to know already before-
70%
tors. According to BITKOM (2012), 87% of con- hand what kinds of goods are available in the
sumers prepare their purchases online at least retail stores. Thus, the respective approaches
occasionally and then purchase specifically in such as Click & Collect or Click & Reserve are
a brick-and-mortar retail store. Accordingly, gaining significance and bring the advan-
some of the footfall that served the purpose tages of online shopping and local purchasing
of purchase preparation and information in the of people go to a center together. The customer can access the retail
past does not take place any more. specifically to buy something, product range at any time quickly and com-
run errands or eat fortably with mobile devices and can reserve
IT’S A QUESTION OF THE season or buy the corresponding articles while still
The picture is more heterogeneous when the having the opportunity to feel the materials
relationship between the individual quarters by impulse purchases, such as food (on small- or compare colors in the store.
is analyzed. Here, it becomes apparent that scale formats), health, hardware and gastron-
the relationship is lower in the fourth quar- omy. These sectors are characterized by the
ter, whereas it is considerably higher in the fact that visitors decide to buy spontaneously
third quarter. It therefore appears that visitors in the center to pamper or reward themselves.
in the summer months make more specific Therefore, analogous to the Christmas season,
purchases than during the Christmas season, it is also important for retailers to have very
when aspects like inspiration, window-shop- specific purchasing incentives through an
ping and the search for gifts play a substantial attractive design of the point of sale and the
role, while people in the summertime go to a creation of shopping experiences.
shopping center more specifically to satisfy a
certain need.
The visitors 59
The relationship between these two factors was analyzed with the help of regression analyses based on footfall
and sales data for 76 German shopping centers between 2009 and 2014.
1 st quarter ++
2 nd quarter +
++
3 rd quarter ++
++
4 th quarter +
Food, Women’s
large-format outerwear
Hardware Health
more hardly
sensitive sensitive
to visitor to visitor
frequency frequency
business case
Heavenly Services
Christmas purchases in the middle of Christmas decorations, music and “Glühwein” booths
should be pure pleasure – but a representative Forsa survey commissioned by ECE has
shown that the Christmas spirit makes many gloomy.
43%
of people do not know what
Help!
55%
find stores too full
Christmas gifts they should give
50%
of men often have no gift ideas, while only
24%
37% of women are clueless
26%
to wrap gifts nicely-wrapped gifts
important
97.9% 95.0%
Great service – that’s
a super welcome!
Christmas bellhops Gift advice
the Christmas shopping. Extended business “Very Good”
hours in many places also contributed to add or “good”
time and leisure for shopping so that the rush
to the stores could be distributed better. And
in Frankfurt’s Skyline Plaza, as part of a pilot
project, the German Postal Service even set 83.3% 96.2%
up mailboxes so the gifts could be sent right Children’s paradise Wrapping service
away from the center to relatives and friends.
The new services offered in the Christmas
n = 1,513
season were used almost 150,000 times in 18
selected ECE shopping centers. The numbers
justify the success of the project and the sig-
nificance of sales-promoting measures during Use of the Services – Frequency
13,812
times in which there are already many visitors,
but sales can still improve. In particular, the
All services were used almost
150,000
aspect of purchasing advice that overlaps the
one given by retail partners shows how shop- children were
looked after
ping center operators embrace the available
synergies of a varied mix of retail partners so
64,413
they can consciously set themselves apart times in all centers
from competitors.
7,892
Christmas bellhops gift advice given
19,524
Wrapping service 17.5% gifts were wrapped
bags were carried
by bellhops
24,535
Gift advice 15.5% users employed app for
digital gift advice
Outlook
Only those who meet the expectations of their customers have satisfied
customers. Maximum customer orientation is the basis for a long-term, partner-
ship-based cooperation.
The objective of the market report is to analyze in depth the needs and requirements of all ECE customers
and shopping centers in order to derive action implications from them. The focus here was to identify the
influencing factors that are especially important for customer satisfaction.
The analyses revealed the following important starting points from the point of view of the respective
customer groups:
Investors
• T ransparency: the basis for trust; at the same
time, investors benefit from ECE’s know-how
• F lexibility: customized adjustment to
investor trends
• I nnovation capability: recognize new
market trends and offer solutions
• Customer orientation: personal and fast
contact with decision makers and a
partnership-based relationship
Retail
partners Visitors
• Professional advice: customized •
Attractive variety of stores: many
expansion planning different, high-quality products offered
• enchmarking: portfolio and sector
B • F ood: exciting concepts and
analyses large selection
• arketing: positioning of shopping
M • E motions: shopping center as third
centers and their marketing place with feel-good atmosphere
• Center offerings: high quality of stay and • Convenience: optimizing the stay
attractive variety of stores through services and new technologies
The core competence of ECE as service provider consists in satisfying these needs extensively with its high
customer orientation and offering the corresponding solutions. In this way, customer satisfaction is main-
tained at a high level in the long term, which ensures successful cooperation.
Ernst-August-Galerie, Hanover,
Germany
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Dr. Till Dunemann
Simon Zehler
Petra Jacobsen
Katrin Rings
Arne List
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