TOM 08 2024

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
August 2024
Around 58,000 new stores opened in the first half of 2024.
Numerous start-ups in the retail sector
German Retail Association calls for subsidies for new entrepreneurs
The retail trade in Germany
remains a dynamic sector despite
difficult conditions for
consumption. This is made
clear by a recent figure from
the Federal Statistical Office.
According to this, the retail
sector recorded around 58,000
new start-ups in the first half
of 2024.
Despite a decline compared to
the previous year, retail is therefore
an important start-up
sector that is also characterized
by many small and micro businesses.
“The high number of
start-ups clearly shows how lively
the retail sector is and how
many new ideas and concepts
are growing,” said HDE Managing
Director Stefan Genth. A
functioning economy is dependent
on courageous people and
entrepreneurs with passion.
Seeing vacancies
as an opportunity
In order to make it easier for
founders in the retail sector in
Germany, however, the German
Retail Association (HDE) is
calling for a start-up offensive.
“On balance, we are likely to
lose 5,000 stores this year compared
to 2023. We must also
see the resulting vacancies as
an opportunity and encourage
more people to open their own
business in the city center,” says
Genth.
According to the plan, founders
should receive a grant for a maximum
of 60 months. For example,
the business equipment,
data processing including the
cash register system and a digital
merchandise management
system as well as marketing
measures should be supported.
In addition, ongoing training
courses, for example in business
Symbolic image: Unsplash /Artem Beliaikin
management or marketing, are
to be financed.
Boost for new life
The trade association is also
considering the creation of relocation
managers. These are to
record vacancies, organize new
tenants and organize exchange
formats with potential tenants.
Genth: “This is money well
spent. Permanent vacancies and
deserted city centers cost us all
significantly more. Politicians
must act quickly and provide a
boost for new life in city centers.”

Page 2 T O M
Sierra Germany recorded a
positive letting performance
in the first half of 2024. A total
of 32 new leases were concluded
and 36 existing leases were
extended for a total area of
19,000 square meters.
The shopping centers managed
by Sierra in Germany thus achieved
an average of more than ten
leases for 3166 square meters
each. One highlight is the fully
let Mercado shopping center in
Hamburg, which is a rarity on
the German market. The new
tenants in the centers managed
by Sierra in Germany include
well-known brands such as Stradivarius,
Skechers, Paper&Tea,
Lindt, Hugo Boss, Lacoste and
Action. In addition, the longstanding
cooperation with the
Spanish group Inditex with the
labels Pull&Bear, Bershka and
Stradivarius and the Bestseller
Group with Only, Only&Sons,
Jack&Jones and Vero Moda
was further expanded. Among
the tenants who have extended
their contracts, thus confirming
their commitment to the centers
Starbucks, the world‘s leading
coffee house chain, is bringing
one of the most sought-after
managers in the US economy
to the top: Brian Niccol (50)
will take over the role of CEO
in September.
NEWS
Sonae Sierra scores
with many rental agreements
The Mercado in Hamburg under the management of Sonae Sierra is
100 percent let. Photo: Sonae Sierra
managed by Sierra, are Thalia,
Manufactum, H&M, Deichmann
and Kiko.
Sierra is continuing its remarkable
letting successes in Germany
in view of the challenging market
situation. At the same time,
the company is observing an increasing
demand for professional
letting strategies and solutions.
In response to this new need,
Sierra Germany is now offering
its letting services separately.
Owners and investors of real estate
can specifically commission
Sierra‘s letting expertise without
The announcement of his appointment
alone caused the market
value of Starbucks to rise by an
impressive 19 billion dollars - a
clear sign of investors‘ confidence
in Niccol‘s abilities. He
succeeds Laxman Narasimhan,
whose 17-month tenure was
marked by an almost 25 percent
drop in the value of Starbucks
shares.
Niccol faces the task of repairing
Starbucks‘ tarnished image. The
chain, which is known for its expensive
Frappuccinos, lattes and
the like, has increasingly moved
away from its former cozy coffee
house atmosphere in recent
years. The company is also facing
a growing unionization of
its workforce in the USA and is
suspected of having violated labour
laws. One indicator of the
tensions is the recent closure of
the flagship store on Astor Place
in Manhattan.
Niccol has a remarkable track
record. When he became CEO of
the fast food chain Chipotle Mexican
Grill in 2018, the company
was in a deep crisis. Following
having to commit to a comprehensive
management mandate.
In addition to pure letting, owners
of retail properties can also
receive analyses and new concepts
for their properties. Dirk
von der Ahé, head of the Sierra
letting department, emphasizes:
“Our centers are excellently positioned
and our tenants feel very
well looked after. In the current
difficult market situation, it is
crucial to know which retailers
with which requirements are looking
for growth opportunities in
which locations.”
Starbucks: New CEO
to polish up tarnished image
Starbucks is facing a new beginning with the arrival of Brian Niccol.
Photo: AdobeStock / nmann77
food scandals that had driven
many customers away, Niccol
introduced radical change. With
fresh ingredients and improved
working conditions, he was able
to win back the trust of consumers.
Under his leadership, sales
doubled, profits increased sevenfold
and the share price rose
sharply. Niccol had previously
achieved similar successes at
Taco Bell.
August 2024
Scotch & Soda:
40 stores closed
The fashion brand Scotch
& Soda has ceased business
operations in its almost 40
stores in Germany. Around
290 people are losing their
jobs. Around five stores could
possibly remain open for
longer to sell the remaining
goods.
The employees have been
informed, said insolvency expert
Rhode. Most of the employees
are to be made redundant
in September. The owner
of the rights to the brand and
goods, a private equity fund
based in the USA, had no interest
in transferring both to
new investors or agreeing a
corresponding license, it was
said.
German retail sector
threatened
with job cuts
Companies in Germany are
being more cautious in their
personnel planning. According
to the Ifo Institute, significantly
more companies in industry
and trade are planning to cut
jobs than to hire new staff.
The Ifo employment barometer
fell for the third time in a
row in August. It now stands at
94.8 points, compared to 95.3
points in July.
“The weak economic development
is also reflected in
a weak employment trend,”
says Ifo survey manager Klaus
Wohlrabe. “The lack of orders
is slowing companies down
when it comes to hiring new
staff.”
Online fashion
retail has increased
significantly
According to the latest Fashion
2024 industry report,
the online market share in
fashion retail rose to 42% in
2023, compared to 28% in
2018, reports online retailer
NEWS.DE. Total sales in the
fashion sector reached 57.9
billion euros in 2023 thanks
to e-commerce and are expected
to grow by a further
1.7% to 58.8 billion euros
in 2024. The experts are forecasting
steady growth of
1.4% to 1.8% per year until
2028, with an expected
market volume of 62 billion
euros.

Page 3 T O M
TOP STATEMENT OF THE MONTH August 2024
TOP STATEMENT
August
„Sales growth in
food retail is only
possible through
expansion, no longer
through product
range and
price!”
Uwe Trocha, Head of
Consumer Markets and
Discounters at the Bremenbased
estate agent Robert
C. Spies in an interview
with Immobilien Zeitung,
Wiesbaden.

Page 5 T O M
ANALYSES August 2024
Market volume in
the fashion industry is growing again
But bricks-and-mortar retail continues to lose share
Hardly any other retail sector
is developing as dynamically
as fashion: bankruptcies,
new players such as Shein and
Temu and more sustainability
in products and consumer behavior
have played their part.
Following the coronavirus
slump - down 12.7% in 2020
- the industry has leveled off
again since 2022 and, at €57.9
billion in 2023, was above the
pre-crisis level of 2019 (€57.4
billion).
Nevertheless, inflation, general
savings behavior and price
increases are now putting the
industry under pressure again.
Prices in the largest product
group, women‘s clothing, in
particular, have risen sharply
in 2023 (up 2.8%). In 2024, the
price momentum with inflation
rates in the sector will slow
down again somewhat. These
are some of the findings of the
new “Fashion 2024 industry report”
published by IFH COLO-
GNE in collaboration with BBE
Handelsberatung.
Significant
challenges
“The fashion industry is facing
considerable challenges, driven
in particular by inflation and
changing consumer behavior.
While the channel shift towards
online retail is continuing and
sustainability is gaining in importance,
many bricks-andmortar
retailers need to question
their current positioning,”
says Lukas Reischmann, Senior
Consultant Strategy Consulting
at BBE Handelsberatung.
The impact of the pandemic
is very clear in the fashion industry
- a retail sector that has
sometimes suffered the most
from brick-and-mortar closures.
After strong online growth in
2020 and a record high market
share of 46.4% in 2021, online
retail was initially slowed
down by reopened stores with
a share of 42% in 2022 - and
is currently leveling off at this
level with slight annual growth.
The rapid onlineization of the
fashion industry is particularly
The fashion industry is a highly competitive market.
evident over time: in 2018, the
online share was still at 28%.
The situation in city centers is
correspondingly challenging:
Between 2018 and 2023, 21
percent of brick-and-mortar fashion
retailers closed.
Slow growth and
new players
The market experts from IFH
COLOGNE and BBE Handelsberatung
expect steady but slow
growth for the fashion market
as a whole until 2028.
The percentage market growth
over the next four years will
be between 1.4% and 1.8%.
According to these initial forecasts,
the market volume could
reach around 62 billion euros by
2028. “The fashion industry is
currently characterized by two
trends that could not be more
different: The importance of
sustainability continues, which
is also reflected in the growth of
second-hand. At the same time,
in times of inflation and rising
prices, low-cost consumption,
in the form of rapidly growing
ultra-fast fashion providers such
as Shein or Temu, is becoming
increasingly present.
The siphoning off of large volumes
of demand sometimes
deprives the rest of the market
of considerable purchasing potential.
The next few years will
show to what extent Asian suppliers
can stabilize their position
and continue to assert themselves.
In any case, the market
is facing structural upheavals
in the supply chain, while the
changes in distribution channel
shares are slowing down,”
predicts Hansjürgen Heinick,
Senior Consultant at IFH CO-
LOGNE.
Symbolic image: Unsplash / Armen Aydinyan
T
TOMO
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RETAIL TOPS OF REAL THE ESTATE MONTH
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Essential News About The Players In In
The Retail Real Property Estate Market In in Germany
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Publisher:
Business News Group GmbH
Address:
Alexanderstraße 16
45130 Essen
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Tel. 0049-201-874 55 28
Web: www.hi-heute.de
Mail: tom@hi-heute.de
Frequency of publication:
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INTERVI
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ANALYS
present
Marc

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 7 T O M
ANALYSES August 2024
Increased optimism in the retail sector
Latest Hahn Retail Real Estate Report gives cause for hope
The 19th edition of the latest
HAHN Retail Real Estate
Report once again provides a
comprehensive market overview
of the retail real estate
investment market. It was
once again produced in cooperation
with CBRE, bulwiengesa
and the EHI Retail Institute.
Yesterday, Thursday, the
Hahn Group presented it at
its Retail Property Day, which
was, as always, very well attended.
In 2023, the German retail sector
achieved a new sales record
of 649 billion euros net. Against
the backdrop of the high inflation
rate, however, a real decline
in sales was recorded. For 2024,
the HDE again expects a nominal
increase in sales of around
3.5% to 583.3 billion euros net
for the bricks-and-mortar retail
sector, which, thanks to the declining
inflation rate, suggests a
real increase in sales of around
one percent.
Increasing turnover
This upward trend is also reflected
in the Hahn Group‘s expert
survey: compared to the previous
year, retailers are more
optimistic about sales growth
in the second half of the year.
More than half (60%) of retailers
expect their sales division‘s
sales to increase by the end of
2024 (previous year: 57%). The
proportion of respondents forecasting
falling sales has fallen
from 20% in the previous year
to 13% this year. The proportion
of sales divisions that expect sales
to remain stable at the current
level in the second half of
the year has risen slightly accordingly
(27% compared to 23%
in the previous year).
The investors surveyed see the
general increase in regulatory
requirements and the energy requirements
for properties as significant
risk factors with regard
to retail real estate investments
(71%, previous year 74%).
Only half of the experts are still
concerned about the development
of interest rates, compared
to 77% in the previous year. In
contrast, competition from e-
commerce in the retail sector
is viewed more critically again
compared to the previous year
At the packed Hahn Retail Property Day in Bergisch-Gladbach, Dr. Joseph Frechen (bulwiengesa)
presented the key findings of the Retail Real Estate Report 2024/2025 with a view to the retail market.
Photo: HI HEUTE
(49%, previous year 33%). This
year, only 29% see the negative
consequences of the inflation
trend of recent years as a challenge
(previous year: 36%).
When making an investment
decision for a retail property,
37% of investors in the Hahn
expert survey consider ESGrelated
aspects to be relevant
or 56% consider them to be
very relevant and take them
into account accordingly in the
process. In addition, a large majority
of participating investors
(87%, previous year 76%) have
already invested in designated
sustainability investments. In
the current market phase, 42%
of the market participants surveyed
are prepared to pay a
price premium of up to 5% for
an ESG-compliant or green premium
property, with 26% even
willing to pay a premium of up
to 10%. This is closely linked
to recognized and established
ESG initiatives, benchmarking
and certifications, which have
a significant influence on the
investment decision for 80 percent
of investors. The integration
of green lease agreements
into rental contracts is already
a fixed component for 44%,
although it is still a desirable
addition for 44%. Digital energy
consumption measurement
(smart metering) is a standard
process for half of the survey
participants. The continuous
implementation of energy efficiency
measures is also essential
for 66% of investors.
As in many other sectors of the
economy, the retail sector is
also experiencing a noticeable
shortage of staff (58%). Real
estate costs and rents are also
perceived as a burden by sales
divisions this year (51%, previous
year 65%). As in the previous
year, the subdued consumer
sentiment (41%, previous year
53%) and the existing ancillary
and management costs (31%,
previous year 52%) are perceived
as challenging.
While more than half (56%) of
sales division representatives
classified the inflation trend as a
serious problem in the previous
year, this year only 25% of sales
division representatives do so
due to the fact that the inflation
rate has fallen in the meantime.
The increase in competition
from new market participants
(four percent, previous year six
percent), competition from online
retail (ten percent, previous
year five percent) and the
change in consumer shopping
behavior (21 percent, previous
year 24 percent) were assessed
as almost unchanged compared
to the previous year.
Local suppliers
remain favorites
Retail parks remain the preferred
expansion targets for retailers
and are clearly preferred
over shopping centers and inner-city
locations. For example,
56% of the retailers surveyed
expect a positive development
for retail parks and local supply
centers in the current environment,
while only 9% forecast a
negative development.
In contrast, only three percent
expect a positive development
for shopping centers, while
54 percent expect a negative
development. High-street properties
lie in between, with 26
percent expecting a positive
development and 33 percent
expecting a negative development.
Consequently, investors
have similar preferences: Retail
parks are the focus of 88 percent
of investors (previous year 74
percent).
Supermarkets and food discounters
follow in second place
with 63% each (previous year
68%) as well as hypermarkets
and consumer markets, which
were still at 26% in the previous
year. DIY and home improvement
stores came in fourth place
with 25% (previous year: 21%).

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Page 9 T O M
ANALYSES August 2024
There could be a shortage of friendly food sales assistants in the future.
Skills shortage threatens the food trade
IW study: Many thousands of employees will be missing by 2027
The German economy is facing
a growing challenge: the
shortage of skilled workers is
expected to increase further
in the coming years, and the
food retail sector in particular
could be severely affected.
According toa recent study by
the German Economic Institute
(IW), a significant gap of
around 37,000 skilled workers
is expected in the sales sector
by 2027.
The predicted shortage of trained
sales assistants, who are
one of the essential pillars of the
retail sector, is particularly alarming.
According to the study,
this shortage of skilled workers
is partly due to the effects of the
coronavirus pandemic. During
the pandemic, many employees
in the sales sector have changed
careers and have not returned
to their previous positions. The
resulting bottlenecks are already
being felt today: at 45,000, the
number of unemployed people
in the sales sector is well below
the 65,000 vacancies.
Competitiveness
at risk
With almost 850,000 employees,
the sales sector is one of
the largest occupational groups
on the German labor market.
The authors of the study warn
that a persistent shortage of
skilled workers could not only
jeopardize the day-to-day operability
but also the competitiveness
of companies in the
food retail sector. Stefan Genth,
Managing Director of the German
Retail Association (HDE),
emphasizes: “Politicians must
act urgently and create suitable
framework conditions to close
the skills gap.”
It is particularly worrying that
the shortage of skilled workers
could not only affect work processes
in the retail sector, but
also the entire food retail value
chain. This development carries
the risk of supply bottlenecks
and rising costs for consumers.
Risk of
supply bottlenecks
Symbolic image: Pixabay / Alexa
In addition to the food retail
sector, the IW also expects significant
staff shortages in other
key areas such as social work,
nursing and IT.
To counteract these developments,
study author Alexander
Burstedde recommends targeted
measures: Older employees
should be kept in the labor market
for longer and the potential
of immigrants should be utilized
more.
Eastern Germany
particularly
affected
Urgent action is needed, particularly
in eastern Germany,
where the decline in junior staff
could be particularly severe.
The industry faces the challenge
of adapting to a growing shortage
of skilled workers and developing
appropriate strategies in
order to remain competitive in
the long term.

Page 11 T O M
INTERVIEW August 2024
„Service development is
an important building block for our future!
Interview with LIST Develop Managing Director Michael Garstka
The Oldenburg-based project
developer LIST Develop
(LIST Group) expanded its
range of services a few years
ago and now also acts as a
service developer. Managing
Director Michael Garstka:
“We believe this will enable us
to achieve even better market
coverage and offer our clientele
exactly the properties they
need - regardless of whether
they are residential, commercial
or mixed-use properties.”
TOM editor-in-chief Thorsten
Müller met him for an interview
at the LIST business location
in Essen.
TOM: What has been your
perception of 2024 so far?
How did you start the year
and how has it developed for
your company since then?
Michael Garstka: It started
with a lot of unknowns. The
year was characterized by the
hope of finally finding the allimportant
guard rails for our
industry again. Too many framework
conditions have changed
too quickly in recent years
- and that is simply causing a lot
of companies problems at the
moment. However, I expect that
we should have found them by
next year at the latest and that
we will then finally be able to
get back to our usual business.
TOM: What does that mean in
concrete terms in terms of your
current projects and goals?
Michael Garstka: We have tackled
a number of projects, but
some of them are also - as a consequence
of the current generally
tense economic situation - in
an over-planning phase, and we
cannot yet say exactly how long
this will last. Of course, we are
trying to implement all of them,
but then under new parameters.
TOM: Can you give an example
of both holding on and
over-planning?
Michael Garstka: One project
that we are very confident about
- despite all the challenges
- and are pushing ahead with its
implementation at full speed is
the mixed-use quarter in a prime
location in Osnabrück‘s city
center. By the end of 2025, we
will have successfully opened a
Michael Garstka, Managing Director LIST Develop, Germany
Photo: LIST
budget hotel (172 rooms) combined
with around 100 serviced
apartments, as well as restaurants
and, of course, retail outlets.
As the LIST Group, we
are not only responsible for the
development and planning, but
also for the construction. This is
why taxonomy and ESG-compliant
realization at the highest
quality level is mandatory for us
and has basically already been
internalized. We now completely
dispense with fossil fuels
and increasingly rely on either
district heating, heat pumps or
photovoltaics.
It is also very pleasing that all
tenants are clearly committed to
both the location and our entire
project.
The situation with our planned
district center in Wolfsburg is
more difficult. Although we already
have all the tenants here
and the development plan is in
place, we can no longer maintain
the use of the upper floors
as we originally planned before
the coronavirus pandemic. We
will now include other uses in
our re-planning and, once we
have agreed on a promising
path, we will also resume implementation.
TOM: Which asset classes will
you then focus on?
Michael Garstka: First and
foremost, profitability must always
be ensured. Therefore, in
these uncertain times, it is even
more important than before to
check and calculate carefully.
The latest developments in
construction costs and interest
rates have made everyone involved
thoughtful and cautious. As
a result, a detailed risk assessment
must be carried out before
deciding on a particular asset
class. Thanks to our decades of
experience and detailed knowledge
of the market, we are in
a good position to find the right
individual solution in the right
asset classes for each location.
Here we also benefit from the
synergies between the companies
of the LIST Group, so that
we can realize the best possible
project development. And in the
area of service development, we
also find the ideal solution together
with our clients. In principle,
we also see the development
of mixed-use properties as a
sensible way forward.
TOM: How do you see the situation
with food service providers
in general - are they
still the rock in terms of project
realization?
Michael Garstka: It is clear
that we will continue to rely on
them - regardless of whether
we are talking about traditional
supermarkets, discount stores or
city center concepts. The same
applies to the drugstore sector.
In mixed-use projects, which
are now the norm for us and
many other project developers,
they are indeed an important anchor
that also plays an important
role in footfall. But we have also
noticed that retailers have become
much more flexible when it
comes to space sizes.
TOM: What else has changed?
Michael Garstka: Banks and
end investors have now adjusted
to the asset class mix. For
a long time, this was difficult
when there were only single-issue
projects. Nevertheless, their
demands on developers have
not diminished.
Increasingly, realization depends
not only on perseverance
and reliability, but also on
imagination and a sure instinct
when it comes to selecting locations
and the tenant mix. And:
the interaction with the owners
should not be underestimated.
TOM: So what does that mean
for the future?
Michael Garstka: Too many
speculative projects for which
no future owner is yet certain
can get a company into serious
difficulties in these challenging
times. You have to take countermeasures
as quickly as possible
before it‘s too late. You have to
think very carefully about what
you want and then at some point
find the time to commit to the
project with heart and soul.
TOM: What is your company
doing to position itself as stably
as possible for the coming
years.
Michael Garstka: We started
our transformation over
two years ago by deciding as a
group of companies to act more
strongly as one company again.
This means offering a wide range
of services, such as planning,
construction and taxes, from a
single source - and also as a general
service provider for third
parties at a fixed price. Companies
like to deal with a single
point of contact during the work
process. We are certain that service
development will become
an important component of our
future!

www.wisag.de
Your shopping centre in the best hands
Perfect cleanliness, uncompromising security and optimum service:
all this keeps not only the customers satisfied, but also tenants and
owners. With our tailored solutions and experience, you will benefit
from optimum management costs. And at all times, we have value
retention and the sustained development of your centre in mind.
We go one step further for you.
Joaquin Jimenez Zabala
Tel. +49 162 7861-324 joaquin.jimenez.zabala@wisag.de

Page 13 T O M
INTERVIEW August 2024
„Our customers‘ planning security
is our top priority”
Interview with Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala, Retail Managing Director of facility specialist WISAG
Facility management for
shopping centers and other
large retail properties is becoming
increasingly complex
and demanding. Digitalization,
AI and ESG have become
focal points in discussions
with customers in recent years.
In an interview with TOM
editor-in-chief Thorsten Müller,
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala,
Managing Director Retail at
WISAG, explains what clients
and contractors currently value
most.
TOM: Despite the most difficult
socio-political and economic
conditions, WISAG has
managed to win over large
portfolios of well-known retail
chains as customers. What
was decisive for this?
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala: You
have to look at this in a wider
context. The right adjustment of
our strategy was extremely important
for our success. Around
ten years ago, we initially focused
on shopping and retail parks
and were able to generate a lot
of orders here. Then came corona,
which led us to rethink our
approach.
From then on, we concentrated
on classified retail and aimed to
become a service provider for
the largest possible portfolios.
We succeeded because we were
able to convince our clients
with clear ideas and practical
concepts that emphasized the
advantages over solutions with
multiple service providers. Our
approach is always that we first
take care of the solution approaches
- i.e. the content side - and
only take care of the costing in
the second step.
TOM: Climate change has
taken a back seat in recent
months due to many current
events and influences.Nevertheless,
ESG topics are always
on the agenda in your discussions
with clients, aren‘t they?
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala:
Both are true. ESG is seen as
a must topic by the majority of
our customers, but is not pursued
out of real conviction. On
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala, Retail Managing Director of WISAG.
the other hand, almost all companies
are increasingly focused
on the price and reliability of
the service provider due to the
recent increasingly difficult
conditions. Energy efficiency is
of course still a very important
issue, as it also has a significant
financial impact.
When it comes to ESG, we are
still experiencing an unsatisfactory
situation for everyone
involved, as many things are legally
unclear and companies are
therefore not sufficiently prepared.
We proactively incorporate
corresponding measures into the
reporting system, which clients
appreciate, but they themselves
also have to assign employees
to ESG-relevant implementations.
This rarely happens.
TOM: What do customers
particularly want from WI-
SAG when it comes to advice
on content?
Joaquin
Jimenez-Zabala:
First and foremost, they want
planning security. They want
reliability from the service provider
over a longer period of
time - usually three to four years
- but at the same time they
want it to be within their budget.
Logically, they want us to take
on as many tasks as possible
and, in case of doubt, to assume
liability for them. But of course,
negotiations can take longer in
such cases, because risk assessment
is not a quick matter.
In addition to the general provision
of services and energy-efficient
implementation, consulting
issues are also increasingly
about transformation and the
use of innovative products.
TOM: How much artificial
intelligence and digitalized
support do you now use in FM
processes?
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala: A
lot has happened here recently.
Photo: WISAG
For example, we have our own
chat bot (“Elli”), which helps us
to meet the ESG criteria.
In my view, AI will become a
decisive factor in the coming
years when it comes to the shortage
of skilled workers. It will
increasingly take over certain
tasks and thus ensure that personnel
capacities can be reduced.
TOM: WISAG is known for
expanding its service portfolio
with targeted partnerships.
Are there any current examples
of this?
Joaquin Jimenez-Zabala: We
have been in regular talks and
negotiations with companies
that could help us in individual
areas for some time now. It‘s
also about our ambitious expansion
targets, which now extend
far beyond Germany. Of course,
we are also interested in investing
in companies - internationally.

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Page 15 T O M
MAP OF THE MONTH August 2024
Retail share of private consumption, Europe 2023
GfK’s Map of the Month for August shows the retail
share of private consumption in 31 European countries
in 2023. The retail share of private consumption
is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels in the European
Union. In 2023, a decline was recorded for the
second year in a row, meaning that EU citizens now
only spend 33.9 percent of their money in retail. The
highest share is in Hungary, where every second euro
is spent in retail. In Germany, on the other hand, only
just under 27 percent of consumer spending is made
in the retail sector, putting Germany in last place in
the EU.

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