TOM June 2022

T
TOPS
M
OF THE MONTH
O
Essential News About The Players In
The Retail Property Market In Germany
THE HOTTEST DEALS +++
INTERVIEWS +++ STATEMENTS
+++ PARTICULARS +++
ANALYSES +++ PROJECTS
presented by HI-HEUTE.DE
JUNE 2022
The future of German city centers: a feasibility study on the implementation of mixed-use concepts in former department store properties.
Photo: PwC Germany
From department store
to mixed-use property
In a study on the future of German
city centers, PwC shows
that promising mixed-use reuse
of former department store
properties is possible under
planning law in almost all the
locations studied. However,
in addition to comprehensive
structural changes, precisely
tailored utilization strategies
are required for the respective
location.
Today, little remains of the department
store as an epochal
symbol of the German economic
miracle. Changing consumer
behavior and the emergence
of new retail concepts have
already led to a profound transformation
of stationary retailing
in recent decades. And the
COVID 19 pandemic has acted
as an accelerator of change in
shopping behavior over the past
two years. In the process, online
retail appears to be emerging as
the biggest winner. Stationary
retail, on the other hand, which
had shaped the inner cities for
decades in post-war Germany
and into the new millennium,
is disappearing more and more
from the shopping streets of our
city centers.
Major challenges
Benjamin Schrödl, Director
PwC Germany: „In view of the
change, investors as well as
urban planners will inevitably
have to deal with the future use
of former department store properties.
Small to medium-sized cities in
particular are facing major challenges
in light of this development,
as department stores often
formed the heart of city centers.
The rapid remediation of vacancies
offers the opportunity to
significantly increase the attractiveness
of city centers again
and, in addition to shopping
opportunities, to attract other
types of use, such as housing in
particular, back to the centers.“
At around 88 percent, almost all
of the former department stores
surveyed are located in designated
core areas and only three
percent in other special areas.
In nine percent of the cases, the
development is based entirely
on §34 BauGB.
More than half of the former department
stores require structural
changes or adaptations.
Retail integration
In 91 percent of the cases, a
promising mixed-use concept
is possible under zoning law. At
50 percent, the mixed-use approach
is the most common type
of reuse. In another 38 percent
of cases, a decision regarding
the after-use and, consequently,
a potential mixed-use approach
is still pending.
For 63 percent of the existing
mixed-use concepts, the integration
of retail space is planned
for the first floor. Harald
Heim: „Municipal stakeholders
in particular are likely to be
particularly concerned about
strengthening downtown retail.“
Irrespective of the type of
building use individually specified
in accordance with the
BauNVO, a mix of uses can be
achieved by classic residential
forms, generally from the second
floor upwards, by means
of vertical structuring - this is
a building planning procedure
in which buildings are assigned
different uses in their vertical
arrangement. Beyond the basic
uses of retail, restaurant, office
and residential, site planning is
based on local trends and gaps
in demand. „Examples include
cultural after-uses such as an art
pop-up store, integrating a gym,
opera house or library,“ Schrödl
said.

Page 2 T O M
NEWS
June 2022
Dreiländergalerie
on the home stretch
Opening date set for September 29th
The opening date for the
Dreiländergalerie in Weil am
Rhein has been set. The doors
of the new center will open
to visitors on September 29,
2022.
Construction work is progressing,
90 percent of the rental
space has been leased, and contract
negotiations are underway
for the last vacant stores. Now
comes the crowning glory of
the project development: the
grand opening at the end of
September. The grand opening
event is to include many activities
and offers around the opening
day.
From daily needs to fashion and
lifestyle, visitors to the Dreiländergalerie
will find numerous
international brands in a total of
70 stores, including Abercrombie
& Fitch, Guess, Hollister,
Hunkemöller, Kult, Levi‘s,
Only, Peek & Cloppenburg,
Replay, Snipes and Triumph.
Daily needs are also catered for
- thanks to Rewe, Lidl, Alnatura
and Rossmann. The extensive
food court or the restaurant
n the competition for one of
Germany‘s biggest brand
awards, the German Brand
Award, Art-Invest‘s Kö-Bogen
project in Düsseldorf won
over the top-class jury of experts
with its brand competence
and came out on top in
Berlin. Initiated by the German
Design Council, the German
Brand Award honors
the most successful German
brands and brand builders.
With its future location in the
center of the Rhine metropolis
Düsseldorf and its cityscapedefining
silhouette, the Kö-Bogen
has already become an architectural
icon far beyond the
borders of the state capital.
As part of the German Brand
Awards 2022, star architect
Daniel Libeskind‘s lighthouse
The Dreiländergalerie in Weil am Rhein is scheduled to open at the
end of September.
Visualization: Chapman Taylor
with its large rooftop terrace
on the second floor are the
perfect places to enjoy a meal.
The food court with its twelve
different gastronomic concepts
offers an extensive culinary variety.
A spacious underground
car park rounds off the offer.
Andreas Thielemeier, Center
Manager of the Dreiländergalerie:
„I am delighted that we will
soon be able to show this modern
and stylish center to our
visitors and future customers.
The opening date right at the
end of summer is perfect. People
can get inspired, enjoy the
gastronomy and add great new
fashion to their closet.“
The building owner is CE-
MAGG Weil am Rhein GmbH
& Co. KG, whose representative
is Apleona GVA Argoneo
GmbH, and ASSMANN BE-
RATEN + PLANEN KG is acting
as overall planner. Chapman
Taylor is responsible for
the architecture.
Two awards for the Kö-Bogen
German Brand and Lighthouse Project of the Year
The Kö-Bogen in Düsseldorf won the German Brand Award and
the Lighthouse Project of the Year award. Photo: Art Invest
project was able to prove its
position as a lifestyle building
brand in front of a top-class panel
of experts - and with double
success:
In addition to the award for
„Excellence in Brand Strategy
and Creation,“ it also won
the „Lighthouse Project of the
Year“ prize.
The award was for the digital
content strategy at the Kö-Bogen
- from building brand to
public brand.
GfK and
NielsenIQ to merge
NielsenIQ and GfK SE, two global
data and analytics service
providers, have announced their
planned merger. The move will
create new opportunities for both
companies in the area of retail
and consumer analytics. Using
cutting-edge cloud technologies,
NielsenIQ and GfK will be able
to combine their complementary
data and analytics tools, giving
clients an even more comprehensive
view of consumer spending
throughout the shopping journey.
This will enable them to identify
trends early on, as well as
respond more quickly to consumer
needs and expectations. The
details of the agreement for the
merger were not disclosed.
HIH Invest acquires
three-unit portfolio for
local shopping fund
HIH Invest Real Estate has acquired
a grocery-anchored retail
portfolio of three properties
from international investment
company Gold Tree; the so-called
Oyster portfolio. The transaction
was carried out as part of
an asset deal for the open-ended
special AIF „Perspektive Einzelhandel:
Fokus Nahversorgung“.
The largest portfolio property is
the LudwigArkaden with 14,564
sqm of rental space in three sections
on Potsdamer Strasse in
Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg.
Built in 2016, the retail park in
the catchment area of Berlin and
Potsdam houses 19 broadly diversified
tenants with Edeka as
the main tenant. More than 400
parking spaces are available to
visitors.
Christian Rosen new
managing director at
COMFORT in Düsseldorf
COMFORT has appointed
Christian Rosen as managing director
of COMFORT Düsseldorf
GmbH. The 50-year-old economic
geographer has extensive
experience and knowledge in
the field of marketing retail-used
real estate and was active in the
Rhine-Ruhr region in leading positions
at BNP Paribas Real Estate
and Lührmann. Most recently,
Rosen was Head of Investment
Munich and authorized signatory
for Catella Property Consultants
GmbH throughout Germany.

Page 3 T O M
TOP STATEMENT OF THE MONTH June 2022
TOP STATEMENT
June
„The question of what
a shopping center
needs to bring to a
revitalization is a key
one. First, it‘s important
to determine why
the location is struggling.
Is it changes in
the micro-location,
e.g., a traffic connection
that no longer
exists? Do the supply
and tenant mix still
match demand? Has
an important competitor
in the surrounding
area perhaps disappeared?
This can also
turn a location into a
negative. And last but
not least, does the
property have structural
problems?“
Dr. Volker Kraft, Managing
Partner of ECE Real Estate
Partners, in an interview with
the trade medium „Immobilien
Zeitung“.

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Page 5 T O M
ANALYSES June 2022
BNP Paribas: The retail market
is on the move
Reasons for leasing: expansion, repositioning, market entry
After a significant increase in
letting momentum was already
felt on the German retail
market in the second half of
2021, take-up in city center locations
also showed a pleasing
result in spring 2022. This is
the result of an analysis by
BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Overall, the letting volume in
2021 was around twelve percent
higher than in the previous year,
while in the first quarter of 2022
almost 22 percent more retail
space was even newly let or
opened than at the start of 2021.
However, according to BNP Paribas
Real Estate, much more
exciting than the year-on-year
comparison of take-up is the different
intentions of the players
and sectors behind these figures.
Different
motivations
„Whether it is expansion in order
to expand one‘s own store
network, restructuring to improve
and optimize locations and
rental conditions in the wake
of the Corona crisis, or market
entry in Germany - the possible
motivations for renting retail
space are as varied as the brands
behind them,“ explains Christopher
Wunderlich, Head of
Retail Advisory at BNP Paribas
Real Estate. Accordingly, based
on current leasing transactions,
different motivations can be
assumed behind the expansion
plans of active retailers.
Dynamism
in the market
The category of the most expansive
labels across all sectors
includes Royal Donuts (27
deals), the eyewear label Mister
Spex (20 deals), the burger
chain Five Guys (14 deals), the
fashion chain Only (14 deals)
and the Dutch clothing expert
Scotch & Soda (ten deals). All
these brands already have a
network of stores in Germany,
which has been successively expanded
with the latest leases. In
BNP Paribas has noted increased leasing momentum in the retail
market.
Symbol image: Pixabay / StockSnap
addition, Dr. Martens (footwear),
Globetrotter (outdoor) and
JD Sports (sporting goods) are
among the most active retailers
outside the top four sectors of
food and beverage (proportionately
24 percent), textiles (23
percent), food (eleven percent)
and personal care (ten percent),
each with just under ten leases
and openings since 2020.
City center
as a platform
In the category of retailers repositioning
themselves or where
lease decisions are likely to be
related to acquisitions or mergers,
among other factors, Butlers
(13 deals), Thalia (eleven
deals) and s.Oliver (three deals
since mid-2021) are examples.
In this context, it can be assumed
that in the case of Butlers,
the chain store for home
accessories, current and future
activities on the retail market
are closely linked to the takeover
by Home24 and the associated
broadening of the range
of household articles. A merger
could also be one of the reasons
for the expansion plans of the
bookstores Thalia and Mayersche,
which have further expanded
their market position following
the merger, among other
things by incorporating former
Weltbild stores into their own
store network. At s.Oliver, on
the other hand, the repositioning
of the brand in prime locations
appears to be responsible for the
retailer‘s activities in the leasing
market. At any rate, the return
of the textile expert to showcase
locations such as Mönckebergstrasse
in Hamburg, Frankfurt‘s
Zeil and Neuhauser Strasse in
Munich lead to this assumption,
according to BNP Paribas.
The category of labels that have
only recently entered the German
retail landscape includes,
for example, the two international
e-car brands Polestar (six
deals) and Lynk & Co. (three
deals). Together with the numerous
deals of various bicycle
brands, they stand as an example
of the emerging (e-)mobility
sector, which now represents an
important demand group in the
retail rental market. In addition,
the market entries of the two
Danish brands in the jewelry or
menswear segment Maanesten
(five deals) and Shaping New
Tomorrow (three deals) recently
attracted attention with leases in
prime locations in A-cities. The
„Labels to Watch“ category also
includes the Dutch online electronics
chain Coolblue, which
has launched in Germany in
Düsseldorf‘s Kö-Bogen II and
on Limbecker Strasse in Essen
and is one of the pioneers of innovative
concepts in the areas of
same-day and bicycle delivery.
Often high rate
of expansion
The expansion behavior of active
labels must also be differentiated,
particularly in the selection
of the city category. For
example, there are a large number
of retailers with a high rate
of expansion who, when expanding
their store network, repeatedly
include locations outside
the A and B cities in their plans
in order to establish themselves
here as an important part of the
inner-city retail stock. These include
renowned retailers such
as Woolworth (32 deals), Ernsting‘s
Family (15 deals), Tedi
(15 deals) and Action (ten deals)
in particular, where around 90
percent of leasing activity since
2020 has taken place in cities
beyond the A or B locations.
There, they are often the solution
to corona-related vacancies
and, as important anchor tenants
in smaller communities, are making
a significant contribution
to the revitalization of city centers.
Trend
continues
„In summary, from today‘s perspective,
it can be assumed that
the positive trend in leasing momentum
is likely to continue.
The large pool of active retailers
from various sectors with
broadly diversified location
preferences suggests that there
are definitely developments that
represent countermovements
to the much-cited thesis of the
desolation and standardization
of city centers,“ says Christoph
Scharf, Managing Director of
BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH
and Head of Retail Services, forecasting
the further course of
2022.

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Page 7 T O M
NEWS June 2022
KODi is on course for expansion
with a new concept
Discounter offers full range of products in small spaces
Clear, barrier-free and with
a friendlier design: With a
new store concept, the household
and drugstore discounter
KODi aims to drive its nationwide
expansion and establish
itself as a neighborhood store
in urban neighborhoods.
Residents of two other towns
have recently been able to enjoy
a KODi store based on the latest
concept. In Langen in the district
of Offenbach, the chain is now
represented with a new location
on 415 square meters, as it is in
Rheine in North Rhine-Westphalia
on 440 square meters.
In the long term, KODi plans to
open new stores in all German
metropolitan areas and is therefore
constantly on the lookout
for new properties.
An average KODi store measures
around 400 square meters
according to the latest store
concept and thus offers sufficient
space to optimally present
around 3,500 articles. „With our
small-space concept, we are a
big step ahead of many competitors,“
reports Babak Kharabi,
Managing Director of KODi
Diskontläden GmbH.
„The days when customers liked
to stroll through large, impersonal
stores with an unmanageable
range of goods are over. A clear
presentation of goods, cuttingedge
assortment and discount
New figures: Positive
development at EDEKA Nord
Economically successful financial year concluded
Chairman of the Supervisory
Board Wolfgang Matthiessen
opened the annual general
meeting of EDEKA Nord eG
in front of around 90 merchants.
Afterwards, the board
presented the current figures
of the past fiscal year.
„In 2021, the Corona pandemic
still had us firmly in its grip and
presented us with many challenges.
Despite the ongoing enormous
burdens in the retail sector
and in our wholesale as well as
production operations, we were
able to continue our growth of
the past years. We have proven
to be a reliable partner for consumers
in the region,“ explains
Stefan Giese, CEO of EDEKA
Nord eG. Overall, the assessment
of the 2021 financial year
is positive.
In the 2021 financial year, the
independent merchants of EDE-
KODi wants to establish itself in city district locations with a new
concept.
Photo: KODi
KA Nord achieved a 2.9 percent
increase in like-for-like sales.
Group sales rose by 7.7 percent
year-on-year to 3812.3 million
euros. In total, three stores
were newly opened, two former
real properties were taken over,
six properties were relocated
and ten were expanded. As of
December 31, 2021, EDEKA
prices - that‘s what‘s in demand
these days.“
All the new openings differ from
previous stores in that they have
a fresh color concept - white
with magenta accents instead of
beige - as well as a more spacious
design with wide aisles,
signs with pictograms for the
different product groups, and
ground-level accessibility for
wheelchair users and families
with strollers.
EDEKA Nord is satisfied with the past financial year.
Nord supplied 658 stores (of
which SEH 643 and Regie 15)
with an average sales area of
1238 square meters and generated
consolidated net income
of around 36.1 million euros in
2021. At the end of 2021, six
MARKTKAUF stores and nine
EDEKA stores were operated by
the company itself.
SORAVIA acquires
large retail property
portfolio from
PFEIFFER
SORAVIA strengthens its
commitment in Austria and
acquires the EAGLE portfolio
from PFEIFFER Beteiligungs
GmbH. The real estate portfolio
comprises 45 properties,
mainly used as grocery stores,
in attractive urban locations
in seven federal states. For
sustainable project development,
SORAVIA relies on careful
redensification in close
coordination with the existing
commercial tenants and in accordance
with the individual
requirements of the properties.
In this way, highly sought-after
locations in central areas
are upgraded without sealing
further valuable land. By means
of new buildings, conversions
or extensions, SORA-
VIA creates additional usable
space for mixed use and expands
the portfolio with highquality
real estate offers for
commercial, residential and
mixed use. The transaction
was successfully completed
in June; the parties to the contract
have agreed not to disclose
the purchase price.
Frank Clemens new
managing director
at Wealthcap
Achim von der Lahr has left
the management of Wealthcap
and also the company after
about three years. Previously,
he was with UniCredit Bank
or Hypovereinsbank (HVB).
The new managing director
is now Frank Clemens, who
also comes from HVB, where
he had worked since 2012.
Rainer Krütten, who has been
a member of Wealhcap‘s management
board since 2007,
continues to be responsible for
investment, portfolio and asset
management as well as legal
and tax. Markus Schmitt remains
responsible for Finance,
HR and IT.
Peter Weidenhöfer, CEO of
HVB Immobilien AG, succeeds
Michaela Pulkert as a
member of the Management
and Supervisory Boards. Pulkert
intends to focus on her
duties at HVB. Boris Scukanec
Hopinski remains Chairman
of the Supervisory Board
of Wealthcap.

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Page 9 T O M
NEWS June 2022
HDE fears: Popular vouchers
face extinction
New EU directives threaten to make business model more difficult
The German Retail Association
(Handelsverband Deutschland,
HDE) and the Prepaid
Association Germany (Prepaid
Verband Deutschland,
PVD) believe that the sale of
vouchers and gift cards based
on e-money is at risk as
a result of the current draft
revision of the EU anti-money
laundering regulations.
In practice, the new requirements
under discussion would
mean that the customer‘s
identity would have to be recorded
for every purchase of
an e-money product.
„Vouchers have been the most
popular Christmas gift in Germany
for many years. Vouchers
worth around three billion euros
end up under the Christmas
tree every year. This includes
vouchers based on e-money.
There is no objective reason
to restrict this very successful
business sector now in the name
of the fight against money laundering,“
says HDE CEO Stefan
Genth on the EU plans.
The previous threshold of 150
euros, up to which the purchase
Olaf Petersen, managing director
and chief researcher
at COMFORT, gets in touch
mid-year with an interim review
of retail and its real estate.
The focus is on the leasing
situation in German shopping
cities and the development of
the investment market.
HDE and PVD fear that vouchers and gift cards based
on e-money will soon disappear from the market.
Symbol image: Unsplash / Blake Wiszt
of e-money vouchers is possible
without identity registration,
has proven its worth, he said.
On the Internet, the maximum
limit for a transaction is even
only 50 euros. There is no seriously
justifiable money laundering
risk with these small
sums in conjunction with the
risk-mitigating measures taken
by the issuers, he said. The EU
draft stipulates that in future the
identity of customers should be
recorded each time they purchase
an e-money product such as
e-money prepaid or gift cards.
At the checkout, for example,
the customer would have to
show his or her ID card.
„In times of growing sensitivity
to personal rights and data protection,
waiving this exception
would run completely counter
to the individual right to anonymity,“
says Jonny Natelberg,
executive director of the
PVD. Many customers would
avoid the cumbersome procedures
and forgo products of this
kind.
Inner-city retail by no means
comes to a standstill
COMFORT‘s report for German storefronts and commercial buildings
Real I.S. establishes
property management
company
Real I.S. AG has spun off its
former property management
operations with retroactive effect
from January 1, thus pooling its
resources in a specially founded
limited liability company.
Wolfgang Mußmächer, Andreas
Baumgärtner and Markus Hofmeister
act as managing directors
of the company. „For more
than 30 years, we have continuously
created added value for
our investors with our integrated
property management services,“
says Jochen Schenk, CEO of
Real I.S. AG, adding, „By bundling
our resources in a separate
company, we are taking the next
logical step in order to be able
to offer our expertise to external
asset managers via third-party
mandates.“
Real I.S. Property Management
GmbH currently manages assets
worth €2.4 billion with a total
leasable area of approximately
750,000 sqm in around 50 properties.
In addition, it already
manages five mandates for external
clients.
P&C closes online
store Fashion ID
Düsseldorf-based clothing retailer
Peek & Cloppenburg KG will
in future focus its online business
entirely on the Peek & Cloppenburg
and Anson‘s brands. The
e-commerce platform Fashion
ID, on the other hand, will be discontinued
shortly, the company
confirmed.
Due to the „similarity in name
with P&C Hamburg,“ the Düsseldorf-based
retail group opened
its online platform in 2013
under the name Fashion ID, the
company explained in a statement.
The e-commerce presence
of its own brand followed only a
few years later.
After almost the entire years
2020 and 2021 were characterized
by the Corona pandemic
and the associated restrictions,
the virus has still existed in
recent months, but has increasingly
receded into the background
of public discussion.
According to Petersen, this is
due in part to the removal of
restrictions on retailers and
restaurants, but also to the new
fears generated by the Ukraine
crisis. Sharply rising prices are
Retailers in downtown locations have done quite well so far, despite
tough times, according to COMFORT.
significantly clouding consumer
sentiment.
Yet, says Olaf Petersen, retailers
in German city centers seem to
have done quite well overall in
this mixed situation so far. So
far, they have benefited more
from the expired Corona regulations
and the normalization
of shopping opportunities than
they have been affected by renewed
uncertainty caused by
the war in Ukraine and strong
inflation.
EHI: Retail theft
declines slightly
In its latest study on inventory
discrepancies in German retailing,
the EHI Retail Institute
reports only a slight decline in
the figures. Despite merchandise
security and staff training, goods
worth 4.1 billion euros were stolen
in the retail sector in 2021.
The year before, the figure was
4.2 billion euros.

Page 11 T O M
NEWS June 2022
Scotch & Soda comes
to Überseequartier
Flagship store of the popular brand opens in Hamburg
The fashion and lifestyle segment
in the future flagship
destination in Hamburg‘s
HafenCity is increasingly gaining
profile: with Scotch &
Soda, another popular brand
is signing a lease agreement
with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
(URW), thus strengthening
the long-standing partnership
in Germany as well.
The fashion label, which originates
from Amsterdam, will
move into a 170-square-meter
retail space in the so-called
„Premium Loop“ on the way to
Breuninger‘s department store.
Modern urbanity for Hamburg
At Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier
in Hamburg‘s HafenCity
district, an ensemble of
a total of 14 buildings is being
created that will form a new
vibrant flagship destination in
Hamburg with outstanding architecture
and an exciting mix
of uses. Retail, entertainment
The Corona lockdowns have
accelerated the signs of erosion
in numerous German
city centers, as more storefronts
have been abandoned
and vacancies have grown.
Against this backdrop, Aengevelt
Research has been
thinking through promotional
measures to develop the
Cities.
Everyone agrees: To prevent
city centers from falling into
downward spirals, they need
help. The federal program „Zukunftsfähige
Innenstädte und
Zentren“ (Sustainable Inner Cities
and Centers) is designed to
support cities in their search for
innovative concepts. Aengevelt
Research has analyzed the 238
projects funded and found that
there are numerous good ideas,
but only a few of them are being
implemented.
Scotch & Soda has signed a lease for Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier.
Photo: Scotch & Soda
concepts and over 40 gastronomy
units will be finely balanced
with a total of 579 apartments,
offices for 4000 workplaces,
three hotels and a cruise terminal.
The neighborhood is optimally
integrated into the local
infrastructure through its own
For many years now, Aengevelt
said, a store death has been observed,
especially in less central
cities and in district centers,
triggered by growing Internet
trade and accelerated by pandemic
lockdowns. This threatens
to send centers into downward
subway station, bus lines and
various mobility services. The
mixed-use project consists of a
total area of 419,000 square meters
and will be realized by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
by fall
2023 with an investment sum of
over one billion euros.
Much untapped potential
in city development
Aengevelt analyzes development measures for German city centers
For downtowns revitalizing measures attract customers again.
Symbol image: Depositphotos / Igor Vetushko
spirals: When storefronts stand
empty for long periods, the attractiveness
of the city center
is further reduced, fewer and
fewer visitors come - with the
result that even more stores are
abandoned and investments are
not made.
DIC Asset extends
with CEO Sonja
Wärntges
Sonja Wärntges has been appointed
CEO of DIC Asset AG
for a further five years. She will
thus lead the SDax company until
the end of June 2027. Wärntges
has already been in this position
since October 2017, prior
to which she was responsible
for finance on DIC‘s Management
Board for four and a half
years. Her focus as CEO is said
to be on value, growth, sustainability,
innovation and talent
management. DIC emphasizes
that assets under management
have more than tripled under
Wärntges‘ leadership, from €4.4
billion to €13.8 billion from the
end of 2017 to mid-2022.
Drees & Sommer
highly successful at
European Real Estate
Brand Awards
As a leading European planning
and consulting company,
Drees & Sommer SE beat off
prestigious competition to take
top spot three times and several
Top Ten places at the European
Real Estate Brand Award. As
a repeat winner in the „Project
Manager“ category, Drees &
Sommer defended its title as
the strongest brand in Germany
for over ten years in a row. The
company also made it to the top
of the winners‘ podium in Austria.
Sandra Brand, Associate
Partner and Head of Communication
& Marketing at the Drees
& Sommer Group, received a
newly created award for this
excellent brand management in
Europe: The renowned European
Real Estate Brand Institute
named Sandra Brand the best
Chief Marketing Officer of the
year, the „CMO OF THE YEAR
2022“.
RATISBONA expands
management by
three people
Real estate developer RATISBO-
NA Handelsimmobilien is expanding
its current management
team to four people. In addition
to Marcel Steidl as long-standing
commercial manager, Ruth
Meister, Philippe Habermeyer
and Tobias Hümmer will be the
new members of the management
team, steering the company‘s
fortunes together with managing
partner Sebastian Schels.

Page 13 T O M
GUEST CONTRIBUTION June 2022
How a management change
becomes a booster ...
The latest changes at Multi Corporation and the implications for Multi Germany
Far-reaching changes at the
top are often a major trigger
for new, positive developments
at the bottom. The best
example is the management
buy-out (MBO) of Multi Corporation,
which was successfully
completed at the end
of March. One of Europe‘s
largest commercial asset management
companies has since
been owned by the two experienced
board members and
co-CEOs Elmar Schoonbrod
and Steven Poelmann. Hubert
Stech confirms to TOM that
this transaction also opens up
completely new perspectives
for Multi Germany GmbH,
the German organization of
the company.
The Managing Director Multi
Germany & Benelux leaves
no doubt that this MBO has an
enormous booster effect: „It gives
us a solid basis for dynamic
growth, greater financial flexibility,
sustainable quality and
secure jobs.“
For the Managing Director, the
new ownership means a whole
range of advantages. The company
is freer from asset classes,
he says, and can gradually develop
and expand its range of
services. Hubert Stech counts
the acquisition of further service
mandates, the increased management
of mixed-use projects
and the possibility of investing
in real estate as a co-investor
among these.
Further developing
the entire range of
services
„Overall, we have a great opportunity
to position ourselves
much more broadly in the market
than before and to consistently
expand our range of services,“
explains Stech. One of
the Managing Director‘s main
focuses is on consulting. The
focus is primarily on owners,
to whom Multi Germany offers
in-depth knowledge of the
entire retail sector, proactive
asset, center and property management,
as well as leasing,
marketing, redevelopment and
refurbishment.
CEO change, Mall of Switzerland, Römerpassage Mainz and QUINCY Cologne - Things are happening
at Multi!
Collage: Multi
In direct contact
with owners and
investors
Multi Germany sees a focus of
future activities in the area of
consulting. „For us, it is of elementary
importance to maintain
direct contact with owners and
investors and to support them
with professional competence
in sounding out weak points or
solving problems,“ emphasizes
Hubert Stech. At the same time,
Multi Germany presents itself
as a contact for foreign investors.
New mandates in
Germany, the
Netherlands and
Switzerland
For the implementation of corresponding
concepts, a highly
motivated multidisciplinary
team of over 500 specialists networked
throughout Europe is
available within the entire Multi
Corporation. „In addition, Multi
has an in-house design studio
for master planning, architecture
and interior design, which
brings decades of experience in
the development and realization
of creative and visionary solutions,“
emphasizes Hubert Stech.
Despite the challenges posed by
the pandemic, Multi has successfully
taken on the management
of 16 additional real estate
assets in Germany, the Netherlands
and Switzerland over the
past 24 months, thus consistently
expanding its portfolio.
For example, the center management
of Römerpassage Mainz
was taken over in January 2021,
a portfolio in the Netherlands
in October 2021 and the center
management for QUINCY in
Cologne in May 2022. „We are
very proud of our steady and
successful expansion. This is
further proof that our approach
of proactive and entrepreneurial
management is the right way to
go,“ says Hubert Stech.
In June 2022, Multi literally entered
new territory. „Multi took
over the center management of
the Mall of Switzerland in Ebikon
near Lucerne,“ says the Managing
Director happily.
The company‘s employees also
benefit from its success. „However,
we have fully succeeded in
setting ourselves up in a highly
professional manner and optimizing
the links between the
individual work areas. In this
respect, as an employer we offer
the best conditions for secure
jobs and successful careers,“
explains Hubert Stech.
T
TOPS
O M
OF THE MONTH
Essential News About The Players In
The Retail Property Market In Germany
IMPRINT
Publisher:
Handelsimmobilien Heute Verlagsgesellschaft
mbH
Address:
Alexanderstraße 16
45130 Essen
Germany
Tel. 0049-201-874 55 28
Web: www.hi-heute.de
Mail: tom@hi-heute.de
Frequency of publication:
monthly
Circulation: approx. 5000 copies
sent by e-mail
Editorial team: Thorsten Müller,
Susanne Müller
Responsible in terms of press
law: Thorsten Müller
Layout: K4-PR, Essen

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Page 15 T O M
INTERVIEW June 2022
„Perceive significantly
stronger omnichannel interaction“
Interview with Laura Wolke, expansion manager of Mister Spex
Mister Spex is the largest German
online optician not only
in Germany, but in all of Europe.
For about six years, the
company has also had a brickand-mortar
presence, which is
growing larger and larger and
now includes almost 60 stores.
TOM Editor-in-Chief Thorsten
Müller talked about the
latest developments and prospects
with Expansion Manager
Laura Wolke.
TOM: What is your expansion
strategy for the current year?
Laura Wolke: Founded in
2007, Mister Spex SE is a multi-award-winning
company that
has become the leading digitally
driven omnichannel optician in
Europe. Started as a pure online
player, we successfully rose to
become a listed omnichannel
optician - with more than 5 million
customers, 10 online stores
across Europe and currently 59
brick-and-mortar retail stores in
Germany, Austria and Sweden.
We offer a range of eyewear and
sunglass models from over 100
attractive premium and luxury
brands, trendy independent
labels and high-quality private
labels, as well as selected designers
and influencer collaborations.
Our expansion strategy includes
opening a total of around
20 new stores in 2022. We have
already opened 11 new stores in
the first five months and continue
to drive our expansion. In
Germany, we are focusing on
medium-sized cities for the upcoming
store openings, which
will allow us to further strengthen
our omnichannel presence,
right across the country. Among
others, locations such as Bonn,
Trier and Mainz are in the planning
stage. Internationally, we
are also planning to drive forward
our growth strategy, particularly
in the retail business -
but we are not revealing exactly
where we will be opening at the
moment.
TOM: Corona and the Ukraine
war have of course also had
an impact on your business.
How do you notice this in your
very personal everyday life?
Laura Wolke (Mister Spex), expansion manager at Mister Spex.
Photo: Mister Spex
Laura Wolke: The Corona
pandemic has of course changed
many things, and we too
have been affected by private
and business uncertainties,
lockdowns and increased competitive
pressure. Fortunately,
we are almost back to pre-Corona
levels of footfall at many
of our locations. Our new store
openings are also performing
satisfactorily from the start.
However, we have also noticed
that shopping behavior has
changed. Customers have learned
to take advantage of our online
benefits and, for example,
book their own online eye tests
at one of our stores or at our
partner opticians. With the end
of the lockdowns and the associated
opening of our stores, we
are seeing a significant increase
in omnichannel interaction. Our
customers have learned the concept
and are now empowered to
shop online and offline. To this
end, we bundle all information
such as vision values, frame
size and purchase history in one
place in the central customer
account and create a buying
experience that makes further
purchases, whether online or
offline, much easier.
My own area of responsibility
also includes shopfitting. Of
course, here in particular we are
extremely affected by the consequences,
especially supply bottlenecks
and material shortages,
and have to deal with the fact
that a completely different approach
is now required for store
expansion. This primarily affects
the topics of planning and
purchasing. Fortunately, we are
an agile company, so we were
able to quickly rescale procedures,
processes and structures. In
addition, we have a long-standing
and strong partner network,
so we were able to master the
situation crisis-proof.
TOM: What recent changes
have there been in Mister-
Spex‘s offering and which
are still planned in the near
future?
Laura Wolke: Most recently,
we pushed ahead with our
international expansion strategy
and opened additional stores in
Sweden and Austria. In May we
celebrated our store premiere in
Malmö and in March we expanded
our store network in Austria
with a store opening in Linz
and an opening in Vienna. As
part of the expansion of our offering,
we are also represented
locally with our own stores in an
increasing number of major cities.
Our service offering is also
to be expanded with digitally
supported innovations to make
buying glasses even easier and
more transparent. In the future,
we will focus on expanding our
product range and searching for
the latest eyewear and sunglasses
trends, among other things.
TOM: What criteria play the
most important role for you
when looking for a location?
In which immediate environment
does Mister Spex feel
most comfortable?
Laura Wolke: The focus for
the location search is still on
the highest-frequency locations
in the city centers, preferably
in the optician environment
and gladly in the young fashion
neighborhood. But shopping
centers can also be an attractive
store environment for us.
When deciding where to open
a new store, we act in a datadriven
manner and are guided
by the demand of current and
potential customers. However,
it is equally important to us in
the decision-making process
that the stores are highly visible
and that the overall appearance
of the environment fits
our brand. The advantage of
our location strategy is that we
can reach walk-in customers as
well as appointment customers
without having to spend a large
marketing budget. An eye test,
lens, frame or type consultation
is available at our store without
an appointment or long wait
times, so a spontaneous visit to
our store fits nicely into a shopping
day.
TOM: What are your company‘s
goals for the coming
years?
Laura Wolke: We have a longterm
business plan, of course,
despite Corona, but we set ourselves
up in a more agile way at
the beginning of the pandemic
to be able to rescale processes
and structures. We also introduced
an OKR process, for
example, an agile management
approach.

MOVE
CLOSER

Page 17 T O M
MAP OF THE MONTH June 2022
Retail turnover growth rate, Europe 2021
GfK’s Map of the Month for June shows the retail
turnover growth rate in 31 European countries in
2021. The highest growth rates were recorded in
smaller Eastern European countries such as Lithuania
(up 17 percent), Slovenia (up 16 percent)
or Estonia (up 13 percent), but larger markets
such as France, Spain and Italy also had retail
growth rates of more than 7 percent. In the 27 EU
states, retail turnover grew by an average of 6.8
percent in 2021.