CANNES, France, Nov. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The booming
Russian retail market, coupled with digital developments and the
continued demand for prime, centre city retail locations, were the
talking points of MAPIC 2012, where representatives from some 70
countries gathered for three days of high-octane business
discussions.
Under clear Cote d'Azur skies, 8,500 delegates (+6,2%),
including 2,400 retail representatives and 850 investors, met in
Cannes, with no fewer than 400
retail brands, including the likes of Calvin Klein Jeans, Costa, Tiffany & Co and
Dairy Queen, making their first appearance at MAPIC. The biggest
attendance surge came from the United
States. The US delegation of 113 companies represented a 39%
increase on 2011.
"We have seen a significant jump in American participation this
year, driven by interest from retail brands and investment
companies," confirmed MAPIC Director Nathalie Depetro. Major US names on the
exhibition floor included Howard
Hughes, Vornado Realty Trust and Thor Equities, which
recently opened a Paris-based
office to expand its European business and to encourage European
retailers to enter the US market.
As MAPIC progressed, real estate financial and professional
services companies CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Jones Lang
LaSalle, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Savills rolled out their
latest retail real estate reports. They concluded that strong
demand from luxury and fashion brands and a shortage of available
premium space in prime centre city locations has seen rents rising
in key cities including New York,
Hong Kong, London, Paris, Moscow, Milan
and Madrid.
One of the territories drawing most attention throughout the
week was Russia, the 2012 MAPIC
Country of Honour and Europe's
leader in terms of projected retail real estate investment. Russian
participation rose 28%, with 294 companies in Cannes.
According to the country's State Statistics Service, retail
sales in Russia rose 4.4% in
September compared to 12 months ago and overall retail sales for
the first half of 2012 increased by 7.3%. "With disposable incomes
growing and a growing middle class, Russia is predicted to become Europe's leading retail market," commented
Robert Bronwell, CEO EMEA Retail at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).
In his packed keynote address, Cushman & Wakefield's Head of
Retail in Russia, Maxim
Karbasnikoff, said one current trend among retailers is to target
second tier cities. "In some small cities there is almost nothing.
We'll see a shift in cities like this in the next three to five
years." He added that there is a significant growth in outlet
stores, a previously under-used format in Russia where some 100,000 sq m of outlet
development is due to be completed by the end of 2013. Cushman
& Wakefield data, released during MAPIC, reported retail
property investment in Russia hit
a record €4 billion for the first nine months of 2012.
Among the major retail names with expansion plans in the Russian
market are Auchan, which is opening its first Auchan Drive outlet
in Moscow next year, Spanish
fashion chain Inditext, which has plans for 50-60 new stores, DIY
retailer Leroy Merlin and fast food
specialist Burger King.
Russian powerhouse real estate developer Tashir, whose President
Samvel S. Karapetyan was the MAPIC
2012 Personality of the Year, brought nine new projects to MAPIC,
four of which are in Moscow.
Speaking in Cannes, Tashir's Vice
President, Artak Evoyan, said the
company plans to increase its retail real estate business in the
Russian capital from 50% to 70% of Tashir's total portfolio, with
one million sq m currently in development.
Not surprisingly, one of the hottest subjects for conversation
in Cannes was how retailers manage
the marriage of physical stores and online retailing. For the first
time, MAPIC hosted the inaugural Digital Summit where Pamela Wolf, Partner of Digital Business at
consultancy Invalio, urged retailers to move fast to embrace the
digital landscape. Clem Constantine,
Property Director at Marks & Spencer, which has been praised
for its online stores, said that one challenge facing landlords is
identifying where revenues are generated, as clients habits vary
between shopping online and collecting goods in shops or checking
out goods in retail stores before completing purchases via the
web.
In a standing-room-only MAPIC keynote address, Robert Tercek, Founder of General Consulting
Creativity, asked his audience, "Your customer has evolved. Have
you?" He noted that retailers are adopting three strategies towards
digital shopping – pretending it's not happening, making empty
gestures by setting up un-empowered digital teams, or embracing
change. He warned retailers not to try to go head-to-head with
digital on price, product and data, but to capitalise on the unique
in-store experience of human contact, advice, and bespoke
services.
In particular, Robert Tercek
urged retailers to put the mobile phone at the heart of their
digital strategy. "50% of customers in your store are using mobile
phones and 50% of them are shopping on that phone." He said brands
needed to significantly up their game in the social media field,
where he cited Red Bull, Burberry
and Zara as good examples of brands successfully interacting with
clients and using social media as valuable marketing tools.
Throughout MAPIC, the major real estate financial and
professional service companies released a series of market reports
covering aspects of the industry.
In its survey of 100 leading retailers, 'How Active are
Retailers in EMEA,' CBRE noted a continued appetite for expansion,
with 75% of companies planning to open five or more stores and 20%
aiming to open 30 stores or more, with Germany, Austria, the
Netherlands and the UK as favoured targets. Peter Gold, Head of Cross-Border Retail EMEA at
CBRE, commented that online shopping drives traffic to stores. He
said the news is that multi-channel will lead to greater investment
in new and existing stores.
JLL's Destination Europe 2013 report noted that Paris now commands the highest retail rentals
in Europe, followed by
Zurich and London. Paris' Champs Elysees this year set a new
record for the French capital with prices hitting €18,000 per sq m
according to BNP Paribas Real Estate. BNP Paribas said that
expansion of fashion retail brands and a shortage of prime supply
is pushing rents up in Germany,
France and central London.
To access a selection of MAPIC photographs click
here
Discover the MAPIC Awards winners click
here
MAPIC 2013 will take place in Cannes November 13-15
2013.
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