TOM June 2018

Page 05 T O M
INTERVIEW June 2018
Food markets have
great potencial for reneval
Interview with Sebastian Schels, managing partner of RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien
The company RATISBONA
Handelsimmobilien, which
was founded about 30 years
ago in Regensburg, specialises
in the conception, development,
realisation, marketing
and administration of
food and specialist stores. It
is one of the market leaders
in this segment in Germany.
TOM editor-in-chief Thorsten
Müller spoke with Sebastian
Schels, the managing partner.
„Find the right
properties or build
them yourself“
TOM: Your father Rudolf
invented the NETTO brand
discount at the beginning of
the 1980s and built up an impressive
retail chain in the
following years, which now
belongs to the EDEKA Group.
A few years after the successful
NET beginnings, RATIS-
BONA Handelsimmobilien
was established. What was the
main reason for the creation
of your company at that time?
Sebastian Schels: I have to go
back a bit ... We Schels have
been a family of traders for several
generations. It all started in
the 1920s with my great-grandfather
Michael, who supplied
grocery stores with goods. My
father realized early on that the
economic opportunities were
very limited in the long run and
was looking for new concepts.
He tried a lot and finally came
up with the decisive idea: the
sale of branded articles at a discount
price! Theory became reality
and the idea became a success
story. The rapid growth of
NETTO was also accompanied
by a great challenge: to find the
right properties or to build them
yourself. This is a key aspect for
the sustainable development of
the trading business. Instead of
always working with external
providers, my father decided
to do this himself in the future.
That is why he founded the
property development company
RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien.
In the beginning, we
Sebastian Schels, Managing Partner of RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien.
Photo: RATISBONA
were primarily responsible for
the development and realization
of the NET markets, which
grew rapidly. We are now also
building new markets for other
customers.
TOM: What does the cooperation
with NETTO look like
today?
Sebastian Schels: It is a very
trusting and still very successful
cooperation. Of the approximately
1200 grocery stores that we
have developed and realized
at present, about 900 are NET
stores.
TOM: But RATISBONA does
a lot more in the meantime.
What does your corporate
strategy look like?
Sebastian Schels: We have set
ourselves the goal of implementing
around 40 new projects
every year in the coming years.
This was the case in 2017
and our very concrete goal for
2018. However, with the difference
that the projects tend to
be larger because the volume of
rental space is increasing.
TOM: Is there anything else
imaginable for you in the
medium term besides the above-mentioned
property types
and sizes?
Sebastian Schels: We occasionally
look at other asset classes,
but this always depends on
the project environment. New
apartments are currently in particularly
high demand in large
cities. We would certainly conceive
and develop such projects,
we would involve architects and
create building laws, but then
leave the building to others.
We follow the motto: „Cobbler,
stick to your last! Our focus
is clearly on food markets and
specialty shopping centres. We
have been experts in this field
for three decades and we still
see significant growth opportunities
in the long term.
„Modernization is
an essential component
for their
economic growth“
TOM: How do you currently
rate the German market?
How much potential is still
available in this country so
that you can implement your
planned projects as far as possible
without risk?
Sebastian Schels: In our view,
the potential is enormous. Both
in terms of new settlements and
revitalisations. Of course, there
are market participants who say
that every German municipality
already has a centre of its life
and no one has to starve. This
is true, but at the same time it
is also a very undifferentiated
view that does not fully reflect
reality and thus also the potential
for new buildings and revitalisations.
I would estimate
an average increase in sales of
around 20 percent for retailers
as a result of modernized stores.
For dealers, modernization is an
essential component for their
economic growth.
TOM: What specific tasks will
RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien
be dealing with in the
coming months?
Sebastian Schels: Digitisation
is also a major issue for us. We
recently commissioned our own
team to lay the foundations for
BIM - Building Information
Modelling. In this area, we want
to take on a pioneering role in
the segment of food stores and
specialty shopping centres and
are well on our way to achieving
this. We also want to increasingly
offer project development as
a service for external companies.
So far we have realized the
majority for us as property. We
consider this to be an important
addition.
TOM: And which projects
will be completed shortly?
Sebastian Schels: An exciting,
because unusual project is the
realisation of a combined EDE-
KA and NET market in Gerolzhofen
in Franconia. The project
is particularly demanding when
it comes to the technical aspects
of the construction work, because
it involves increasing the
speed of completion. We also
intend to complete the conversion
of the Regental Center in
Regenstauf near Regensburg,
with almost 8,000 sqm of rental
space and an EDEKA as anchor
tenant, and subsequently sell
the property. A REWE store is
currently under construction at
a top location in Leonberg near
Stuttgart.