European retail property markets secondo DEGI

11 luglio 2007

L'ultima ricerca della tedesca DEGI (Fondi Immobiliari) verte sul mercato retail in Europa. Ecco la Nota diffusa da Francoforte in data 11 luglio.

"Europe’s retailing sector has since the 1990s been undergoing a process of radical change, characterised by a growing degree of internationalisation in retailing operations, says a recent trend study from DEGI Research, entitled "Perspectives for Europe’s Retail Property Markets" which is now available in an English version. The underlying causes are to be sought both in the restricted opportunities for growth in the domestic markets, in the increasing harmonisation of legal and economic framework in Europe, and in the structural return differentials within the continent. The study drawn up by analysts at the German property fund company DEGI Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immobilienfonds mbH provides a comprehensive picture of the structural changes in Europe’s retailing sector, and spotlights the ongoing trends on the retail property market. Retail properties popular with institutional investors

The area expansion entailed by the international expansion thrusts of the retailing chains is meanwhile being supported on a broad front by institutional property investors. Expectations of higher returns compared to office properties, and lower structural risks have been salient factors in causing the proportion of retail properties in institutional investors’ portfolios to rise significantly over recent years. In fact, for adequate retail properties in the prime locations of Western Europe, we are already seeing excess demand, which is putting the overall returns achievable under pressure, and consequently steers investments towards suitable second-order locations. Dynamic markets in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe

While the retail markets in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, particularly, have a notable amount of qualitative and quantitative catching up to do, and exhibit high growth potentials rooted in economic development, in Western Europe the retailing sector is undergoing a qualitative transformation towards a more holistic shopping-experience concept. DEGI’s analysts are predicting the most vigorous development for this sector over the upcoming five years in Russia, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Turkey. Demographics the crucial factor in demand

A nation’s economic capabilities and its population trends are the crucial determinants for long-term consumption development, and accordingly shape the demand for retail areas. "Even though for many economies only low population growth is being forecast, continuing urbanisation is driving further structural changes in the world of retailing, with a concomitantly expanding demand for modern retailing space", say the analysts at DEGI. Innovative retailing concepts at central locations can, however, achieve higher sales per unit area, and in this way more than compensate for adverse demographic effects. Farewell to department stores – the rise of new retailing formats

"New sales channels utilising the internet have by no means rendered stationary retailing superfluous. But the retailing sector has to spotlight its characteristics more emphatically and offer new incentives in order to generate purchasing impulses", to quote DEGI Research. So in order to attract consumers in the supply-side dynamic of more mature retailing markets, new retailing formats are emerging. Thus franchisers, discounters, specialist markets, chains of specialist shops and factory outlet centres are upgrading their abilities in terms of attuning to the customers’ wavelength. According to the study, traditional-style department stores and non-affiliated specialist shops have already passed their zenith. It is currently impossible to predict how far enhanced environmental awareness among the populace will in future affect the retailing clusters involved"..