Restructuring of shopping centers: Individuality is the secret of success

According to EHI, more than half of the currently 509 shopping centers in Germany with a total area of ​​16,3 million square meters are in urgent need of revitalization. Many of the German shopping centers therefore urgently need fundamental revitalization or repositioning. Changing consumer habits and changes in the tenant market are contributing to this development. For some tenants, the size requirements for the rental space have changed, some have left the market, others are reducing their branch network - for example as part of insolvency proceedings - and completely new concepts are also coming onto the market. Against this background, aging shopping centers without a clear positioning and without a USP will find it very difficult to assert themselves on the market in the future. Since goods can be purchased more conveniently and cheaply via online trading - directly from the sofa - the time when shopping centers could mainly be "shopping machines" is over. Wardrobes are full and for many people, shopping has become a leisure activity that is supposed to be fun. Against this background, it is now necessary to combine many more functions and options under the roof of a shopping center, also in order to stabilize the frequency in a center and attract additional visitors through uses such as offices, health services or apartments. Accordingly, a mixed-use approach with a variety of types of use is now the prerequisite for a functioning shopping center. In addition, there is a suitable design, a high quality of stay - because of the leisure feeling - and innovative and creative management. In short: In order to get people to come to the shopping center, it is about creating places where they feel comfortable and enjoy spending their (free) time. For investors, properties with different types of use mean risk diversification.

Before planning such fundamental restructuring, however, a number of questions must be clarified, such as: Where in the property do I have the opportunity to bring daylight into the building, for example for office use? What about the TGA (technical building equipment) and the statics? What load-bearing capacities are available where and which are required? What does the building law allow and what about the necessary official permits? Are the delivery options suitable? - and much more. For leisure and entertainment concepts, other points also need to be clarified: How can the areas be operated beyond the usual center opening hours? Issues such as accessibility outside of opening hours, security and surveillance, fire protection, distribution of additional costs and others must be taken into account here. Since not every commercial property will remain a (pure) commercial property in the future, we at HBB Centermanagement take a lot of time to analyze the specific features of properties that we want to revitalize for investors. Because what is exactly right at one location can be completely wrong at another location. For some properties, this can also mean demolition and new construction if restructuring of the existing building is not possible. We then develop a "Unique Place Strategy" that is tailored to the respective property. This naturally also includes a suitable tenant and industry mix from different uses, a suitable architectural design and the creation of places to stay with exciting gastronomic concepts. We do not pursue a "one-size-fits-all approach". Every location is different and the secret of success lies in taking individuality into account. Our expertise in the areas of project development and restructuring of centers and commercial buildings is currently in great demand in view of the revitalization needs outlined above. For many properties, it is about fundamental restructuring and about positioning the centers on the market in a future-proof and sustainable way. Our advantage is that we can offer "everything from a single source", so that the owners of the shopping centers receive all the services they need for repositioning from us. We also see the “Real Estate Brand Award”, which was awarded to us as “Strongest Brand Germany Developers Retail” 2023 by the Real Estate Brand Institute, as confirmation of the path we have taken so far. HBB has always developed special projects and never off-the-shelf centers where one looks like the other. It is important to us to develop properties that fit into the environment and are sustainable. Incidentally, we have been pursuing mixed-use approaches for years, when it was not yet such a “hyped” term. We are also pursuing our high quality standards and our innovative approaches in the current revitalization of the Rathaus Galerie Essen, which we are revitalizing on the basis of our Unique Place strategy and adapting to current consumer habits and market conditions. The center is an excellent inner-city project in a good location, with high footfall and a lot of potential. But it suffered from a few problems before the restructuring. One of the two mall arms was much less frequented and the center was hardly anchored in the region. It lacked clear positioning. Before we acquired it together with Henderson Park, the question arose as to how the property could be made future-proof again. In the interests of better visibility, we first tore open the facade facing the city center and - in line with today's demands on modern shopping centers - created a beautiful outdoor area with a café. We completely closed one mall to retail. This is where the new food mall was created. And here too we opened the facades to the outside so that customers can look out while eating and lingering and have a pleasant feeling of space. Because daylight is known to promote well-being. In the new concept, we are deliberately avoiding too high a proportion of textiles and are focusing more on local supply concepts. Most recently, the Dutch department store chain Hema opened a branch here and Rewe, Rusta and Woolworth will soon operate their branches on the 7 square meter area previously used by Real. The topic for the Rathaus Galerie Essen is: "My home, my territory". This is reflected in the architecture, but also in the tenants and the mix of industries. The design of the new meeting place and the materials are based on the typical characteristics of the Ruhr area. Industrially inspired materials and colors meet the colorful architecture of allotment gardens, kiosks, etc. We will start the next repositioning of a shopping center shortly.