TOM 07 2023

T
TOPS
M
OF THE MONTH
TOMO
RETAIL REAL ESTATE
TOPS
OF THE
MONTH
Essential News About The Players In In
The Retail Real Property Estate Market In in Germany
THE HOTTEST DEALS +++
INTERVIEWS +++ STATEMENTS
+++ PARTICULARS +++
ANALYSES +++ PROJECTS
presented by HI-HEUTE.DE
July 2023
High prices are offsetting spending restraint in European retail.
Symbol image: Unsplash / Jacek Dylag
Inflation fuels EU retail trade
Significant increase in sales despite high purchasing restraint
The retail sector in the 27 EU
member states was again able
to significantly increase its
sales in 2022. Last year, for
example, around 2.83 trillion
euros flowed into the retail
sector, corresponding to a 6.5
percent increase in sales.
The highest gains were recorded
by the Eastern European
countries, all with growth rates
of over nine percent. At 23 percent,
Slovakia is clearly in first
place. This is shown by a new
study on retail in Europe, in
which GfK examines important
key indicators.
While retail sales in Eastern
Europe increased significantly
in 2022, the picture was different
in Scandinavia. Finland, for
example, achieved sales growth
of just three percent, while retail
sales in Sweden actually declined
slightly by one percent.
Eastern Europe top,
Scandinavia flop
A more detailed look at fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG)
shows that here, too, the Eastern
European countries and, above
all, Slovakia are among the leaders.
Across the EU, the growth
rate of FMCG products was 6.9
percent; in Slovakia, sales even
grew by 38 percent, which is
many times higher than sales in
the non-food sector.
Trade is in crisis
„First the Corona pandemic,
then the war of aggression on
Ukraine - European retail is
experiencing one crisis after another,“
explains study director
Dr. Philipp Willroth. „Despite
this, the retail sector recorded
a significant increase in sales in
2022. This is mainly due to increased
consumer prices, especially
for food and in the FMCG
sector in general. However, people
in Europe remain unsettled
due to high inflation and the war
in Ukraine, as well as the associated
economic consequences,
and tend to be more frugal with
their money.“
In the free „Retail Europe“
study, GfK‘s Geomarketing division
examined the key indicators
for European retail in 2022.
The study offers comprehensive
trend analyses for numerous
European countries and is thus
an important orientation aid for
retailers, investors and project
developers.

Page 2 T O M
NEWS
July 2023
IKEA celebrates 80 years:
Into the future!
From small mail order business to furniture giant
What began in 1943 as a small
mail-order business with orders
delivered on bicycles by
the then 17-year-old founder
Ingvar Kamprad has now
grown into a global company.
Over the past 80 years, IKEA
has come a long way and become
a beloved brand.
With more than 460 stores in 62
countries, around 700 million
visitors annually, and 2.6 billion
online visitors, IKEA is now one
of the largest furniture retailers
in the world. IKEA‘s vision is to
create a better everyday life for
the many people. What founder
Ingvar Kamprad proclaimed is
today filled with life by around
231,000 IKEA employees all
over the world. For 80 years, the
company has made it its mission
to help its customers with their
wishes, dreams and needs for a
better life at home - and to do so
at prices that are affordable for
as many as possible.
„We have been privileged to be
part of the homes of so many
people around the world for
eight decades now. It‘s a role we
intend to continue playing for
More than 6,000 employees
celebrated dm‘s 50th birthday
under the motto „Lust
for the Future“ with guest of
honor Olaf Scholz. The Chancellor
addressed strong words
to the dm working community.
Thousands of dm-drogerie
markt employees made their
way to the dm-arena at the
Karlsruhe trade fair despite
midsummer temperatures. The
hall was atmospherically bathed
in the warm orange and
magenta tones of the anniversary
year, which underlined the
motto. Many of the colleagues
who had come to the event
wore official T-shirts and bags
or had printed them themselves
especially for the event,
Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943.
the next 80 years and beyond,
because we are passionate about
homes and the lives people lead
at home,“ says Jon Abrahamsson
Ring, CEO of Inter IKEA
Group. „Without our employees,
customers, suppliers and
partners, it would be impossible
for IKEA to be where it is today.
We are grateful and proud, and
today we celebrate together the
successes of the past 80 years.“
IKEA is a company that puts
people at the center of everything
it does. As we move into
with which they expressed their
sense of belonging to their dm
working group.
Christoph Werner, Chairman of
the Management Board, welcomed
the employees and partners
of the company in front
Photo: IKEA
the future, IKEA aims to contribute
to a fairer and more equal
society, improving the lives of
millions of people who come
into contact with or are affected
by the company. As a global
player, IKEA has a great responsibility
and wants to continue
to advocate for positive change
and make a positive impact - inside
and outside IKEA. To this
end, the company has set ambitious
goals in its sustainability
strategy „People & Planet Positive,“
among other things.
50 years of dm: High-profile visit
from Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Big employee party with political guests
Chancellor Olaf Scholz was a guest at the dm employee party.
Photo: dm
of the densely packed rows of
the dm-arena. Fifty years in the
German single-payment retail
sector is a long time, especially
in view of the competition
in the retail sector, he said. The
basis for the company‘s
JLL analysis: Textile
sector slowly returning
to old retail strength
The German leasing market for
retail real estate held its own in
the first half of the year, primarily
with large leases of 2,000 sqm and
more from the textile sector. With
a letting volume of 213,000 sqm
at the half-year point and 112,000
sqm of this in the second quarter,
the market closed at around
the same level as in the previous
six quarters and only around two
percent below the half-year figure
for 2022, with the share of large
deals in total letting turnover rising
from 25 to 38 percent. The
textile retail sector was primarily
responsible for the strong increase
in this size class, with 51,000
sqm in the second quarter and a
total of 98,100 sqm in the first
half of the year. However, while
total take-up remained almost
constant, the number of deals fell
year-on-year from 470 to 414
new leases. Dirk Wichner, Head
of Retail Leasing JLL Germany:
„The textile sector is regaining its
old strength and clearly leads the
field again in a sector comparison
with 46 percent. Some brands
have done their homework during
the pandemic, implemented a
multichannel strategy with brickand-mortar
and online retail, and
are presenting themselves in both
areas in a customer-oriented manner.
However, not only the sales
side, but also the logistics infrastructure
with its delivery services
has been improved in many cases.
This is where the wheat has been
separated from the chaff in recent
years.“
Aygül Özkan to
succeed ZIA CEO
Oliver Wittke
Aygül Özkan (51), former Minister
for Social Affairs and Construction
in Lower Saxony and
Managing Director of a Deutsche
Bank subsidiary, will replace
former Parliamentary State
Secretary Oliver Wittke (56) in
the full-time leadership of the
Central Real Estate Committee
in 2024. Wittke had informed
the association‘s board that he
would like to leave the leading
association of the real estate industry
next year after three years
of service for personal reasons.
Özkan had already served as managing
director of the ZIA since
September 2020, most recently
as deputy chief executive officer
as well as managing director of
the ZIA Academy.

Page 3 T O M
TOP STATEMENT OF THE MONTH July 2023
TOP STATEMENT
July
„I‘m annoyed by analysts‘
doubts about whether online
retail will grow. Yes, e-commerce
was and is declining in
2022 and 2023. Many analysts
take a very mathematical
view and say that this will
continue. However, I have a
fundamentally different opinion.
You have to zoom out
further and look at the whole
thing from a multi-year perspective.
Then you can see
that the trend towards online
retailing is unbroken. It will
continue to grow, probably at
similar growth rates to what
it was before Corona.“
Tarek Müller, founder and CO-
CEO of About You in an interview
with the German trade journal
Textilwirtschaft
Foto: Johannes Arlt/About You

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Page 5 T O M
ANALYSES July 2023
In real terms, declines in food retail fell, but in nominal terms they rose.
Symbol image: Unsplash / Tara Clark
In food: High Prices Absorb Minus Sales
New Destatis figures on retail sales for the first half of the year
According to provisional results
from the Federal Statistical
Office (Destatis), retail
companies in Germany reported
4.5 percent lower sales in
real terms in the first half of
2023 than in the same period
of 2022.
By comparison, nominal sales
rose by 3.6 percent year-on-year.
The difference between nominal
and real results reflects
the significant rise in retail price
levels.
In the first six months of this
year, retail food sales posted a
significant decline of 5.8 percent
in real terms compared
with the first half of 2022, but
an increase of 7.6 percent in nominal
terms.
High rate
of inflation
The reason for the real decline
accompanied by a nominal increase
in sales is the sharp rise
in food prices, which was the
strongest price driver of the
overall inflation rate in the first
half of 2023.
The sharp rise in food prices is
also likely to be the main cause
of the decline in real industry
sales: In all 24 months of the
past two years, real food retail
sales have fallen compared with
the same month a year earlier.
Non-food retail sales also recorded
a decline in the first half of
the year. In real terms, it fell by
3.6 percent, while in nominal
terms it rose by 1.1 percent.
The decline in sales was particularly
high in internet and mail
order retail, which recorded a
drop of 7.3 percent in real terms
and 2.6 percent in nominal
terms in the period from January
to June 2023 compared with
the same period last year.
The sales performance of DIY
stores also paints a similar picture.
Here, sales fell by 6.9 percent
in real terms and by 0.8
percent in nominal terms. By
contrast, retail sales of textiles,
clothing, footwear and leather
goods were up 7.3 percent in
real terms and 9.3 percent in nominal
terms in the first half of
2023.
Non-food and
e-retail clearly
falling behind
The results are likely to be due
in part to base effects from corona-related
special developments
in the prior-year period. Internet
retailing and DIY stores in particular
posted high sales growth
at times during the pandemic,
whereas sales at clothing stores
fell sharply and only stabilized
once the Corona protection
measures were lifted.

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Page 7 T O M
NEWS July 2023
European Commission pro
purchasing alliances
Lower prices, more variety, better quality
The decision of the European
Commission is a strong signal
and confirmation for the action
of international purchasing
alliances. Particularly in
times of high inflation, it is important
that we, together with
our international partners,
can act as a counterweight to
the market-powerful, international
branded goods groups
in the interests of consumers in
the EU,“ says Markus Mosa,
CEO of EDEKA ZENTRALE
Stiftung & Co. KG.
For several years now, the European
Commission has been
taking a close look at the practices
of international purchasing
alliances. It now states that such
alliances represent an important
counterweight to large brand
manufacturers and thus promote
competition overall. In the
present case, the investigations
did not reveal any evidence of
anti-competitive effects of such
negotiations, so the Commission
sees no reason to continue the
investigation.
New world of experience
made by Breuninger
Extensive remodeling work to be completed in fall
More than 12,500 square meters
of retail space in total are
being extensively remodeled at
the new Breuninger flagship
store in Munich. A large part
of the remodeling has already
been completed, so the fashion
and lifestyle company is now
presenting a new shopping
and experience world full of
inspiring product worlds, hip
brands and innovative concepts.
The final completion of
all floors will take place in the
fall.
The extensive renovation work,
worth tens of millions of euros,
is entering its final phase, and
the traditional store on Sendlinger
Strasse will be resplendent
in new splendor. Fashion,
beauty, shoes and accessories
- exclusive designer brands,
selected newcomer brands and
must-haves of the season are
now presented on more than
12,500 square meters spread
over six floors at the Breuninger
flagship store in Munich.
With around 1000 square meters,
the company offers one of
The European Commission has confirmed the benefits of international
purchasing alliances.
Photo: EDEKA
the largest women‘s shoe worlds
in the upscale and high-fashion
segment in southern Germany.
Golden Goose, Jimmy Choo,
Isabel Marant, Tod‘s, Autry,
New Balance and Adidas Originals
are just a small selection
of the extensive range of brands
and products.
On the light-flooded floors above,
the collections for women
and men from coveted premium
The decision concerns, among
others, AgeCore, of which EDE-
KA was still a member at the
start of the investigations, and
the Epic Partners buying group
founded in 2021 by EDEKA and
other European retailers.
Breuninger CEOs René Weise (left) and Alexander Entov at the Munich
location.
Photo: E.Breuninger GmbH & Co.
and designer brands such as Iris
von Arnim, Etro, Marin, Vetements,
Max Mara, Brunello
Cucinelli, Zimmermann, Victoria
Beckham and Zegna are on
display.
In the high-fashion segment,
customers can expect brands
such as Sandro, Maje, Ami Paris,
Dsquared, Ganni, Bash, Offwhite
and Palm Angels.
„K in Lautern“ to get
a complete service
provider floor
The shopping center „K in
Lautern“ will change. According
to information from
SWR, a complete floor is to
be converted for service providers.
Due to store closures
and vacancies, operator ECE
is said to have revised its concept
accordingly. It is not yet
known which services these
will be. Basically anything is
conceivable, from a doctor‘s
office to a fitness studio. The
fashion and shopping stores
as well as Fst food providers
could then move to the lower
areas of the shopping center
and fill gaps there.
Aerium sells
‚Nordlicht Kiel‘
shopping center
The pan-European investment
and asset manager Aerium
has sold ‚Nordlicht Kiel‘ in
the state capital of Schleswig-
Holstein. The property at the
northern end of Holstenstrasse,
built in 2012, is a shopping
center with a leasable area of
approximately 20,000 sqm,
distributed over four sales levels
to a total of 15 stores. The
current main tenants include
Saturn, Rewe, dm, John Reed,
Tedi and KiK. A total of approximately
700 parking spaces
are available via two parking
garages. The buyer is the Danish
investor NPV, which
plans a comprehensive repositioning
and redevelopment of
the center in cooperation with
PPF Immobilien Management
GmbH from Ahrensburg. The
parties have agreed not to disclose
the purchase price. The
transaction was brokered by
Engel & Völkers Commercial
Hamburg and Copenhagen.
Signa Prime records
devaluation of
billions of euros
Signa Prime, the main real estate
company owned by Austrian
billionaire René Benko,
made a net loss of about one
billion euros last year. This is
according to a presentation by
Signa to its banks, which has
now been reported by Handelsblatt.
The loss is mainly
due to a revaluation of the
properties in Signa Prime‘s
portfolio.

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Page 9 T O M
NEWS July 2023
Viktoria Karree becomes
Husemann Karree
Bochum business district of HBB makes good progress
HBB Hanseatische Betreuungs-
und Beteiligungsgesellschaft
from Hamburg will
open parts of the business
district at Husemannplatz in
downtown Bochum this year.
Three multi-story buildings will
house a variety of uses including
shopping, restaurants, offices,
a hotel and fitness facilities.
The leasable area is 37,500
square meters plus a two-story
underground parking garage. In
the future, the business district
will be known as Husemann
Karree, inviting employees,
visitors and customers to work
and linger. Why Husemann
Karree and no longer Viktoria
Karree? The numerous existing
and planned projects on Viktoriastrasse
have led to frequent
name confusion. For example,
the city‘s House of Knowledge
is being built in the immediate
vicinity, but will not be completed
for several years.
The new name is intended to
emphasize the central location
The real estate industry views
the foreseeable return to full
VAT in the restaurant sector
with great concern. „Innkeepers
and restaurant operators
are already only able to pass
on their drastic cost increases
to customers to a limited
extent, and a VAT hike could
increasingly put businesses in
economic difficulties,“ warns
ZIA President Dr. Andreas
Mattner.
to Husemannplatz and the pedestrian
zone. Harald Ortner,
Managing Director of HBB,
comments: „With our project,
we see ourselves as an integral
part of the city center at Husemannplatz
and the one-A location
Kortumstrasse. That‘s why
we want to use the new name to
highlight the prominent location
of our project.“ Husemannplatz
is currently being completely
redesigned by the city and
is set to become the city‘s new
flagship.
Domino effect due to
gastronomy VAT?
ZIA sees threat to city centers ahead
Parts of the Husemann Karree in Bochum are scheduled to open
this year. Visualization: HBB
„Cafés, inns and restaurants are
often the social heart of city
centers. They contribute to liveliness
and ensure frequencies
in other areas such as retail. If
they disappear from the Cities,
then urban development is really
slowed down - especially in
a phase in which many centers
want to take off anew.“
Saying goodbye to the reduced
VAT rate could thus set in motion
a „domino effect for city
centers“ and stop their creative
further development, says Mattner.
At the beginning of the Corona
pandemic, the VAT on food
The originally earlier planned
opening date had to be postponed
due to numerous supply
bottlenecks, especially in the
area of security technology. However,
thanks to the excellent
teamwork of all those involved
in the construction, all problems
have now been solved, so
that the tenants in the first two
sections will be able to open
or move into their new offices
before the end of this year. The
third section will be completed
by the middle of next year.
According to ZIA, gastronomy plays a key role in revitalizing city
centers.
Symbol image: Pixabay / Felix Mittermeier
had been reduced from 19 to
seven percent. This regulation
of the old federal government
had been extended by the traffic
light coalition until the end of
2023, so the reduction will expire
on January 1, 2024.
Munich fashion store
Konen became
Breuninger flagship store
In 2021, Stuttgart-based fashion
retailer Breuninger took over
Munich-based fashion house
Konen. Now the traditional store
has been presented to the public
for the first time after extensive
renovation work and a re-branding.
The remodeling is not quite
finished yet, but a large part
of the total sales area of 12,500
square meters is already shining
in new splendor. To mark the occasion,
the fashion house invited
the press to take a sneak preview.
Various experts gave tours of the
newly designed rooms, including
model Sarah Brandner, presenter
Jenny Augusta, photographer
Simon Lohmeyer and fashion
expert Julian Daynov. The final
completion of all floors will take
place in the fall. Breuninger invested
an amount in the doubledigit
millions for the extensive
remodeling measures, the company
said. In the future, the new
Breuninger store will present
fashion, beauty, shoes and accessories
on six floors, including
exclusive designer brands such
as Iris von Arnim, Etro, Marin,
Vetements, Max Mara, Brunello
Cucinelli, Zimmermann, Victoria
Beckham and Zegna.
Lidl apparently
interested in taking over
600 supermarkets in
France
In the bidding war for the highly
indebted French retail group Casino,
the German discounter Lidl
has shown interest in taking over
600 supermarkets in the neighboring
country. However, there
are no talks with the German
supermarket chain in this regard,
a spokeswoman for financial investor
Attestor told dpa in Paris
on Thursday. Attestor is in the
starting blocks with billionaires
Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit
de Lacharrière to take over
Casino. The investor group 3F
had withdrawn on Monday. The
Lidl inquiry had been related to
a possible entry of 3F, the spokeswoman
said. According to
the statement, Lidl was interested
in acquiring a total of around
600 stores from Casino and the
Monoprix brand, which belongs
to the retail chain. Lidl did not
comment on possible expansion
plans in France when asked. Lidl
already operates more than 1,500
supermarkets in France.

Page 11
T O M
According to an analysis by
Savills, fashion outlet centers
have become more attractive
in Europe in recent years as
many consumers cut back on
spending on non-basic consumer
goods - including clothing,
or luxury goods such as
watches and jewelry - and instead
spend more on markeddown
branded goods, which
are primarily available in
outlet stores.
ANALYSES
Brand manufacturers favor
German outlet centers
Savills analysis: European FOCs gain in attractiveness
July 2023
Against this backdrop, a survey
conducted by the consulting
firm ecostra asked international
brand manufacturers
which European countries offer
the greatest expansion potential
for FOCs. Germany is the
country most in demand among
industry representatives - at
46 percent, almost one in two
companies said they planned
to expand here within the next
three years.
Indulging
This is followed by France (35
percent), Spain (29 percent),
the UK (19 percent) and Italy
(19 percent). According to Savills,
Germany‘s top position
in the survey is primarily due to
its high GDP per capita (46,149
euros) and the low density of
FOC space per inhabitant compared
to other European countries:
Germany has around four
square meters of FOC space
per 1,000 inhabitants, compared
with eleven square meters
in the UK and twelve square
meters in Italy.
„It is not only in Germany that
outlet centers enjoy extremely
high popularity. They also
attract customers from further
afield, and the conscious decision
to make a longer journey is
usually accompanied by a specific
desire to treat oneself and
spend money.
This often leads to an increased
conversion rate - which makes
retailers happy. Reduced prices
for branded goods, especially
from the luxury segment, are
particularly attractive to customers,“
says Daniel Kroppmanns,
Director and Head of
FOCs are popular with shopping fans.
Retail Agency Germany at Savills.
Remscheid under
construction
McArthurGlen is the largest
operator of factory outlet centers
in Europe and operates
25 locations in nine countries.
There are already three locations
in Germany, including
Designer Outlet Neumünster.
Construction of a fourth location
in Remscheid is currently
underway and is expected to
open in 2024/2025.
NEINVER ranks second with
19 managed outlet centers,
including The Style Outlets
in neighboring Roppenheim,
France, which is located close
to the French-German border.
This strategic location allows
the outlet to benefit from an
expanded catchment area, attracting
customers from both
countries. NEINVER is the
only industry player in Europe
to have received sustainability
certification for all the outlet
centers it operates.
With the growing popularity of
FOCs among both locals and
travelers, international retailers
are recognizing the potential of
these shopping destinations.
Growing market
segment
In response, more and more
international retailers are integrating
outlet centers into their
expansion strategies to capitalize
on this growing market segment.In
addition, FOCs offer
the opportunity to offer excess
inventory that could not be sold
Symbol image: Unsplash / Artem Beliaikin
during the pandemic period as
quality merchandise at lower
prices.
Due to their lower operating
costs compared to traditional
shopping centers, they are also
less affected by high energy
costs.
High performance
„The appeal of outlet centers is
due in part to their high performance
during economic downturns,
as they typically offer 30
to 70 percent discounts on merchandise
and provide value for
money to an increasingly costconscious
consumer. Highquality
design, a wide range
of brands and an attractive mix
of shopping and leisure facilities
are other factors that make
FOCs attractive,“ says Georgia
Ferris, European Research
Analyst at Savills.

The art of
investing
Tailor-made investments in German supermarkets
As real estate experts, we invest in grocery stores
and retail parks throughout Germany.
The advantage?
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Page 13
T O M
INTERVIEW
„Want to be a platform
for solutions to the major challenges“
EXPO REAL - Interview with Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München
In round about two months,
the entire real estate industry
will once again be looking to
Munich. From October 4 to 6,
EXPO REAL will take place
once again. As in previous years,
the focus will once again
be on major changes and
challenges facing companies.
Preparations are already in
full swing. Stefan Rummel,
Managing Director of Messe
München, gives an outlook
on the upcoming event in this
interview.
July 2023
TOM: Mr. Rummel, participation
at EXPO REAL 2022
was almost at pre-Corona levels.
What do you expect this
year?
Stefan Rummel: „As we are
still receiving registrations
from co-exhibitors, we do not
have final figures at this stage,
but we are expecting participation
of more than 1,700 exhibitors
- in other words, a slight
decrease. Trade fairs are always
the mirror of the industry
and therefore also correspond
to the current market situation,
which is not quite easy.
Some country participations
will not come this year, such
as Romania or Bulgaria. However,
we have succeeded in gaining
new exhibition partners,
such as the ‚joint stand UK Cities
and Partners‘ with the participations
Opportunity London,
Marketing Manchester,
Newcastle and West Midlands.
Also from Dubai we have again
a larger participation with Majid
Al Futtaim and for the first
time the Real Estate General
Authority exhibits from Saudi
Arabia. And there will also be
an Italian joint stand Real Estate
Italy.“
TOM: As the organizer, what
are you focusing on at EXPO
REAL 2023?
Stefan Rummel: „Clearly on
the quality of the trade fair. We
want to bring together the right
people from the right sectors on
the right topics here in Munich
- that is our aspiration and also
what has always distinguished
EXPO REAL.
To ensure that, we work with
Stefan Rummel, CEO of Messe München.
various committees that support
us in the further development
of the event, the nomenclature
or the setting of themes
- always mindful of protecting
the brand essence of EXPO
REAL at the same time.“
TOM: What can one imagine
by further development?
What‘s new for EXPO REAL
2023?
Stefan Rummel: „This year,
for the first time, we will present
the special show ‚EXPO
REAL Decarb - make the climate
change work‘, which is
aimed at startups, scaleups and
companies around the areas of
‚real estate as an ecosystem‘,
‚decarbonization of the real
estate portfolio‘ and ‚climate-neutral
neighborhood and
urban development‘.
The focus is on innovative and
practical solutions to implement
future projects in a climate-neutral
way or to modernize
existing buildings in a climateoptimized
way. We deliberately
wanted to create a platform
here to enable companies with
interface topics to other industries,
such as from the construction
and building materials
industry, photovoltaic industry,
providers of mobility concepts
or companies with a Climate-
Tech focus to have a presence.
On the one hand, there will be
the opportunity to discuss with
industry experts and city representatives
and to find joint cooperation
and solution approaches
for the challenges ahead;
on the other hand, companies
and their ideas will also be
made visible via pitches.
I am personally very pleased
that we are realizing this special
show at EXPO REAL 2023
- we have been developing the
topic and the corresponding
format for a good year and now
it is becoming reality.“
T
TOPS
Photo: Messe München
O M
OF THE MONTH
TOM
TOPS
OPS F THE ONTH
OF THE
RETAIL REAL ESTATE
Essential News About The Players In In
The Retail Real Property Estate Market In in Germany
IMPRINT
MONTH
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: Susanne Müller,
Thorsten Müller
Responsible in terms of press
law: Thorsten Müller
Layout: K4-PR, Essen
THE HOT
INTERVIE
+++ PART
ANALYSE
presente
March

URBAN CREATORS.
Architecture | Development & Project Management
European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP) Awards: Commendation for Best Renovation/Expansion for centres between 15.000 – 45.000 sqm

Page 15 T O M
INTERVIEW July 2023
„Our ESG expertise ensures the
sustainable value creation of our properties“
TOM exclusive interview with FOM Real Estate founder Professor Reinhard Walter
For more than 25 years,
FOM Real Estate has been
a partner and contact for investors
in the business areas
of project development, asset
management and investment
management. The company
was founded in 1997 by Professor
Reinhard Walter, a lawyer
by training, as a partner.
Since then, projects with a total
volume of more than four
billion euros have been realized
together with institutional
partners. Retail properties are
also a component of the portfolio,
which can be significantly
expanded in the future. In
this context, TOM editor-inchief
Thorsten Müller spoke
with the company founder at
the company‘s headquarters
in Heidelberg.
TOM: Professor Walter, take
us back to the early days of
your company. What drove
you back then and what does
the abbreviation FOM actually
stand for?
Prof. Reinhard Walter: Back
in the 1990s, it was about the
use of a large piece of land that
a friend and I had acquired and
for which we were looking for a
possible use. We had it in mind
for SAP. We developed a so-called
BIT Center in close cooperation
with the Fraunhofer Institute.
That was a really strong
concept, especially because
it was geared toward the user
and not primarily toward a high
margin. Here, SAP employees
and partners were already able
to coordinate personal appointments
via the intranet. Our original
plan had to be significantly
adjusted in terms of size due
to the enormous interest on the
part of the users and also moved
to a different location - for us
personally, this was a huge success
and the starting signal for
the founding of the company.
Because we are convinced that
office buildings of the future
should adapt to the needs of
their users, we came up with our
company name FOM, which
means „Future Office Management“
for short. Innovation, flexibility
and sustainability play
the main role in our modern office
concepts. This has been the
case for almost three decades,
Professor Reinhard Walter
and not just since the topics became
fashionable.
Twenty-six years ago, we shaped
the industry with our acronym
and paved the way for a
modern working world. Today,
that is still our claim. And so
we, too, are reinventing ourselves,
evolving our acronym from
Future Office Management to
„Future Obligation Mindfullness,“
or translated, „Mindfulness
of Future Obligations.“
TOM: While in the early days
of FOM you primarily realized
large corporate headquarters,
such as those of
Microsoft, T-Online, MAN or
Allianz, retail real estate initially
did not play a significant
role for you.
Prof. Reinhard Walter: At
least only a minor role. However,
through our family office,
we have developed and leased
retail projects before. With the
establishment of our AIF capital
management company FOM
Invest, this type of use then became
significantly more important
for us. In 2021, we carried
out a transaction for our special
fund „FOMREF I“ and acquired
a value-add portfolio from
Photo: FOM Real Estate
the investor group SCP for this
purpose. The portfolio comprised
four food retail locations
in Duisburg, Hanover, Hildesheim
and Mönchengladbach
with a total site area of around
170,000 sqm, which had previously
been used predominantly
by Real. They were part of a
conversion project in the context
of which a future-oriented
repurposing of the locations
took place. By repositioning the
properties, we wanted to offer
institutional investors attractive
returns and create ESG-compliant
investment opportunities.
The three institutional investors
then included FOM Invest‘s sister
company, FOM Real Estate.
The special fund had a volume
of around 400 million euros.
Our project was a great success.
Today, Kaufland in Mönchengladbach,
EDEKA in Hanover
and OBI in Hildesheim are the
new occupants; only Duisburg
is not home to any retail partners.
Here, a complete conversion
is taking place and with it
around 300 residential units.
TOM: So is the retail asset
class still of interest to you?
Prof. Reinhard Walter: Definitely.
Of course, we take an opportunistic
view of the business,
as we do in other areas. Wherever
an interesting investment
opportunity arises - preferably
combined with the possibility
of increasing the value of the
property through refurbishment
or repositioning - we will do so.
And if it‘s even a large portfolio,
we‘re even more open to it.
TOM: Your team expertise in
renewable energies and ESG
also helps you in this regard,
doesn‘t it?
Prof. Reinhard Walter: We
have recently strengthened our
team in this area. The area of
renewable energies offers attractive
investment opportunities
and fits perfectly with our
ESG strategy and our DNA as
a project developer. Together
with our partner, the BRAWO
Group, we are consistently expanding
our KVG FOM Invest
in this direction. Recently, the
KVG was additionally granted
permission for the asset class renewable
energies. For us, environmental
protection is also an
essential factor for sustainable
value creation in the real estate
business - both for the KVG and
its managed investment assets
as well as for society. With our
project developments, we make
an active contribution to improving
the eco and CO2-balance
of our portfolio. As part of active
asset management, we are
improving the efficiency of our
portfolio properties.
TOM: All of this can also be
applied to your current and
future retail properties, can‘t
it?
Prof. Reinhard Walter: There
are more and more examples
of photovoltaic uses on the flat
roofs of large food markets. This
is also very interesting for us. In
general, it‘s all about the complex
implementation possibilities
for the benefit of the desired
energy turnaround. What is
economically justifiable, what is
required to stabilize the value of
the property? These are important
questions to which we find
the right answers, depending on
individual requirements. Not
many capital management companies
can do this.

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Page 17 T O M
MAP OF THE MONTH July 2023
GfK Regional Consumer Styles, Idealists, Germany 2023
GfK’s Map of the Month for June shows the regional
distribution of idealists in Germany in 2023. Inflation,
war in Ukraine, climate change – people have
a lot on their minds at the moment. Especially the
idealists, who are generally open-minded and want to
enjoy life but not at the expense of the earth, are concerned
about the climate and their environment. But
where do most idealists live in Germany. According
to the latest GfK study on regional consumer styles,
the share of idealists is highest in the urban district of
Braunschweig (24.95 percent), followed by the urban
district of Mainz (23.65 percent) and the rural district
of Erlangen-Hoechstadt (22.29 percent). On the
other hand, the urban district of Suhl ranks last, with
idealists accounting for just 4.45 percent of the population.

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