As MAPIC entered day three with the sunshine trying to breakthrough it was time for the Jones Lang LaSalle Retail2020 panel discussion.
The debate was kicked off with a film star performance from Guy Granger – befitting a truly packed auditorium (standing room only for late arrivals). Guy cantered through three chapters of JLL’s Retail2020 programme: Easy Shopping, End of Silent Retailing and Going Beyond Retail.
This set the scene for our high calibre panellists to debate some of the changes we expect the shopper, retailer and real estate owner to face over the next 10 years.
The panel included luminaries from the world of retail – Scott Abbey (Footlocker Europe), Richard Collyer (Abercrombie and Fitch), Marcus Wild (SES Spar European Shopping Centres and ICSC), Josip Kardun (ECE) and John van Haaren (Corio). My job was to facilitate the debate and get the panellists to proffer their opinions – of which there were many.
The discussion was lively: do fashion retailers see augmented reality as genuine driver of sales? Will retailers pay more rent for centres investing in experiential environments and technology? Is ECE going to role out its Cat Show crowd pleaser in Lodz Europe-wide? And most importantly would Abercrombie introduce a new comfort fit shirt range for the larger shopper?
Audience participation was lively and at this early stage in our Retail2020 programme made it clear that they believed the retail real estate industry is yet to truly embrace technological change. That Social Media is going to become essential in reaching customers for both retailers and landlords. And finally that despite the changing environment, landlords’ drive for short-term returns is going to restrict long-term performance.
All in all a really good debate – lots of positive feedback from the audience afterwards. It was a great reminder that if you blend a truly exciting and challenging topic together with exceptional expertise on the panel you cannot fail to have an entertaining, informative and engaging discussion.
By Richard Bloxam
Director, European Retail Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle
Tags: European Shopping Centres, MAPIC, Retail, Retail 2020
