TOM 06 2025

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
June 2025
Shouting customers are increasingly making life difficult for retail workers.
Symbolic image: AdobeStock /LiezDesigns
Violence in retail is on the rise
More respect for employees demanded
Violence in the workplace is
no longer an exception for
many retail employees, but
rather a sad reality. This is
shown by a recent survey conducted
by the Austrian trade
union GPA. Almost half of
those surveyed have experienced
violence in the course of
their work in retail—around
one in ten in the past year
alone. Alarmingly, more than
half of those surveyed report
an increase in violence over
the past five years. A similar
picture is emerging in Germany
and Switzerland.
„Going shopping does not give
you a license to treat employees
disrespectfully. Anyone who
shouts at, insults, or threatens
people in retail is crossing a
line—legally, but above all, as a
human being,” emphasizes Barbara
Teiber, chairwoman of the
GPA. The incidents range from
loud shouting to sexual assault.
More than six out of ten employees
have been shouted at or
insulted, and over a third have
been threatened. Women are
particularly affected: four out
of ten report sexist jokes, one in
five has been verbally sexually
harassed, and one in 25 women
has been sexually assaulted at
work.
Respect
is not optional
More than half of employees
say they are barely able to cope
with the psychological demands
of their job, or can no longer
cope at all. Almost one in four
is considering leaving their job
because of violence. „This is
not about someone calling for
the second cash register or forgetting
to say ‘please’.
Commitment
to safety
It‘s about shouting, intimidation,
threats – situations that
have a lasting impact on employees.
Serious prevention, clear
procedures in the workplace
and, above all, a rethink in society
are needed,“ says Teiber.
The GPA is therefore calling
for the right to supervision, minimum
staffing levels during
peak times, violence prevention
officers for companies with 20
or more employees, and violence-free
workplaces. „Many
companies are already taking
steps, but a structured, longterm
commitment to safety and
respect is needed,” emphasizes
Sabine Grossensteiner, works
council member at Austrian
food retailer BILLA. „Violence
prevention cannot be a one-off
measure. It‘s about empowering
employees, listening to them,
and creating a working environment
that protects them.” „If
an employee is shouted at or
insulted by a customer, if she
feels alone with the stress after
a shift, that is unacceptable. We
need clear structures for dealing
with such incidents. And we
need employers who don‘t just
react when something happens,
but take preventive action. It‘s
about respect – not only from
customers, but also within companies,“
says Barbara Teiber.

Page 2 T O M
ANALYSES
June 2025
Aengevelt sees positive trends for the retail sector.
Retail consulting firm Aengevelt
believes the time is right
to invest more heavily in retail
real estate again. Despite
US tariff policy, fundamental
economic data has developed
much better than expected,
according to the Düsseldorfbased
specialists.
As predicted, the consumer climate
is initially brightening at a
low level, as is typical for consolidation,
but broad consumer
groups once again have good
reasons for significantly more
optimistic income expectations.
Aengevelt therefore forecasts a
further upturn in retail sales in
the second half of the year and,
in particular, a livelier Christmas
season than in the previous
two years.
Companies more
optimistic
After several weak years in a
row, the German retail sector
can once again look to the future
with more optimism, according
to Aengevelt‘s research department.
Economy
at a two-year high
Although the Bundesbank is
forecasting only minimal economic
growth of 0.2 percent for
2025, gross domestic product
already achieved unexpectedly
strong growth of 0.4 percent in
the first quarter of 2025 compared
with the previous quarter,
despite the US‘s anti-business
tariff policy. This was mainly
due to a sharp rise in orders
received by the manufacturing
sector in March, which increased
by a total of 3.6 percent,
with orders from abroad growing
by as much as 4.7 percent.
Companies‘ expectations have
also become significantly more
optimistic again. The stock market
has also reflected the now
more tangible economic upturn.
In view of the recent wage agreements
and the noticeable decline
in inflation, the majority of
private households are benefiting
from real wage growth. The
GfK index of income expectations
jumped from 4.3 to 10.4
points in May compared with
the previous month. The economic
expectations index improved
from 7.2 to 13.1 points in
the same period, reaching a twoyear
high. Overall, the GfK consumer
climate index recorded a
moderate increase from -24.3 to
-20.8 in May compared with the
previous month.
Increased
consumption
The HDE consumption barometer,
which uses a different methodology
and already provides
estimates for June 2025, sees a
significantly more optimistic
mood among consumers. The
index value has risen since January
2025 from 94.99 to 97.35
points in June, the income index
from 96.99 to 102.80, the economic
index from 79.16 to 83.45
Symbolic image: AdobeStock / Syda Productions
More positive outlook for retail
Düsseldorf specialist Aengevelt sees favorable timing for investments
and the propensity to buy index
from 85.21 to 87.79, while the
savings index fell from 108.91
to 106.64, suggesting that many
consumer groups are once again
deliberately reducing their savings
and already consuming
more on a moderate basis.
Upturn
after a lean period
Dr. Wulff Aengevelt, managing
partner of DIP partner Aengevelt
Immobilien: „The leading
indicators show that consumer
sentiment is beginning to reflect
the improvements in the
fundamental data. After a long
lean period, an upturn in retail
sales is finally expected. From
a real estate perspective, this
means that the time has come
to think specifically about ways
to increase the attractiveness of
locations and amenities, expand
businesses, and even open new
ones, and to start preliminary
market research and consultations
for leases or investments.“

Page 3 T O M
TOP STATEMENT OF THE MONTH June 2025
TOP STATEMENT
June
„The duty-free allowance
must be abolished!
Customs authorities
need the appropriate
equipment and a clear
move toward digitization
in order to be able
to check the volume of
parcels from China, at
least on a reasonable
random basis.”
Alexander von Preen, President
of the German Trade Association
(HDE), in an article
for the German trade publication
DER HANDEL.

Page 5 T O M
CENTER MANAGEMENT June 2025
Numerous industry players and decision-makers come together at the ECE Retail & Placemakers Meeting.
ECE: Retail industry
gathering once again a top event
More than 20 years of networking and 60 years of expertise
More than 20 years of networking
and exchange – and more
than 60 years of experience
and expertise in the retail real
estate business: This combination
forms the framework for
the 21st edition of the international
retail meeting hosted
by ECE, which is celebrating
its 60th anniversary this year
and has been operating, leasing,
and developing shopping
centers since 1965.
At the ECE Retail & Placemakers
Meeting in Hamburg‘s
Fischauktionshalle – the largest
industry gathering of its kind –
around 800 decision-makers,
experts, and partners from the
retail, hospitality, placemaking,
and entertainment sectors are
once again meeting to discuss
current developments, new projects,
and exciting concepts in
the retail real estate sector.
This year, one focus is on networking
with international retailers
and the opportunities that
cross-border expansion offers
retailers, operators, investors,
and consumers.
International
networking
„As a leading shopping center
operator and landlord in the retail
sector in Europe, we have
been an important partner in the
expansion of retailers into new
markets for over sixty years.
We want to actively continue
this international networking in
order to bring exciting new concepts
to our centers and thus offer
added value for retailers, investors,
and visitors. Our Retail
Meeting is an excellent platform
for partnership-based exchange
on this topic,“ said Joanna Fisher,
CEO of ECE Marketplaces.
ECE was founded 60 years ago
by mail order pioneer Werner
Otto and brought the concept of
the modern shopping center to
Germany for the first time. Since
developing its first shopping
centers in Nuremberg and Hamburg,
among other locations, it
has become Europe‘s leading
service provider for shopping
center management.
Pioneer for
shopping centers
Today, ECE Marketplaces operates,
markets, and leases around
130 shopping centers and over
65 retail parks in Europe on behalf
of the respective owners
and continues to develop them
in close cooperation with them.
Since 2003, the company has
hosted the ECE Retail & Placemakers
Meeting once a year—
the largest industry networking
event in the retail sector.
T
TOPS
Essential News About The Players In In
The Retail Real Property Estate Market In in Germany
Photo: ECE
O M
OF THE MONTH
TOM
TOPS
OPS F THE ONTH
OF THE
RETAIL REAL ESTATE
IMPRINT
MONTH
Publisher:
Business News Group GmbH
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

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Page 7 T O M
ANALYSES June 2025
Shoplifting causes immense damage every year.
Symbolic image: AdobeStock /Moopingz
Gangs of thieves
are increasingly targeting retailers
Alarming study reveals inventory losses running into billions
Shoplifting – and the measures
taken to prevent it – have
been a problem for retailers
for as long as they have existed.
“Despite security measures
and employee training, anything
that isn‘t nailed down
gets stolen in stores. Organized
and professional shoplifting
in particular has caused
painful losses for retailers in
recent years,” explains Frank
Horst, EHIexpert for security
and inventory differences and
author of the study “Inventory
Differences 2025.”
Inventory losses amounted to
€4.95 billion in 2024, with gross
sales of around €495 billion.
This represents an increase of
around three percent compared
to the previous year. The average
level of inventory differences
as a percentage of net sales
deteriorated from 0.63 percent
to 0.64 percent in 2024, based
on the same population.
By far the largest share of inventory
differences is caused by
theft by customers, employees,
suppliers, and service personnel,
amounting to a total of €4.2
billion (2023: €4.1 billion). According
to the companies surveyed,
shoplifting by customers
accounts for around 2.95 billion
euros. Losses of 890 million euros
are attributed to the companies‘
own employees, and 370
million euros to the staff of suppliers
and service companies.
The economic damage resulting
from theft in the form of lost sales
tax amounts to around 570
million euros per year. Shoplifting
is increasingly being committed
in an organized manner.
Either as commissioned lone
perpetrators or in groups with
specific tasks. According to the
latest retailer survey, around
one-third, or almost one billion
euros, of the total damage is
attributable to such groups of
perpetrators. This represents an
increase of five percent compared
to the previous year.
Increased security
budgets
98 percent of all thefts are not
detected and therefore not reported.
Based on the average
loss from all reported thefts and
the losses identified during inventory,
it can be estimated that
around 24.5 million shoplifting
incidents worth €120 each go
undetected every year. Across
all sectors, retailers currently
spend an average of around 0.33
percent of their turnover on security
measures. This includes
external costs for article security
measures, camera surveillance,
detective services, test
purchases, and training measures,
as well as other security
measures such as theft-resistant
sales racks and software analysis
tools for data evaluation.
In total, the retail sector spends
€1.6 billion to reduce inventory
discrepancies. In view of the
high theft figures, one in four
retailers has increased its budget
for security measures.
Consumers are
also liable
Taking into account all internal
activities caused by the risk of
theft – such as setting up security
measures, inventory checks,
training, data analysis, camera
surveillance, and reporting theft
– a conservative estimate puts
the additional costs at €1.5 billion.
The total costs therefore amount
to 3.1 billion euros per year. Ultimately,
this means that all consumers
have to pay for the costs
of theft and its prevention (7.3
billion euros) at around 1.5 percent
of the retail price of every
purchase they make.

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Page 9 T O M
ANALYSES June 2025
Supermarkets rank
far ahead of other formats
Study reveals shopping behavior in food retail
Whether we are omnivores
or vegetarians, we all buy
food. But how and where we
shop depends largely on our
eating habits. This is confirmed
by the new KPMG Consumer
Barometer on shopping
behavior in food retail. The
barometer was developed in
collaboration with EHI. For
the study, 2,000 people in Germany
were surveyed for the
first time about the correlation
between their eating and
shopping habits.
„The German food retail sector
offers manufacturers and retailers
a valuable opportunity to
better understand and respond
to the wide range of consumption
patterns and dietary styles,”
says Stephan Fetsch, EMA
Head of Retail and Consumer
Goods and Partner at KPMG
in Germany. „Different types
of consumers shop differently,
influenced by their everyday
lives, personal values, and desire
for convenience. Our study
provides empirical insights for
retailers and helps them understand
and strategically address
complex consumer patterns,”
adds study author Dr. Tobias
Röding from EHI.
Gender-specific
differences
At 57.5%, omnivores – i.e.
people who eat everything –
make up the largest share of
consumers surveyed, with men
(62.6%) significantly more likely
to be omnivores than women
(52.3%). Flexitarians, who
consciously reduce their meat
consumption, account for 16.7
percent – their share is higher
among women at 19.2 percent
than among men at 14.1 percent.
Around a quarter of those surveyed
eat a primarily or entirely
plant-based diet, of which 8.5%
are vegetarian and 3.8% are vegan
– here too, with higher proportions
among women. Overall,
the study shows that there
are gender-specific differences
in consumption: men tend to eat
more meat, while women are
Supermarket or organic store? For German consumers, the decision depends on many factors – these
have now been broken down.
Photo: AdobeStock / Kristina
more likely to choose meat-reduced
or meat-free diets.
Backbone of the
food retail sector
Supermarkets are the most frequently
used shopping venues
and thus form the backbone of
brick-and-mortar food retail.
80.6% of respondents across
all dietary types shop there frequently
or very frequently. Discounters
follow closely behind
with 79.2%.
Supermarkets and discounters
also rank in the top two places
with similarly high scores
among omnivores, flexitarians,
vegetarians, and vegans. Around
one-fifth of all respondents
(20.6 percent) shop “frequently
to very frequently” in organic
stores, with 48.4 percent of vegan
customers and 36.2 percent
of vegetarian customers doing
so. Markets, farm shops, and
organic shops are less popular
among omnivores, with an average
of around 17 percent.
How we eat also influences how
often we shop: omnivores and
flexitarians shop an average
of 2.7 and 2.6 times per week,
respectively. Vegetarians go
grocery shopping 3.1 times per
week. Vegans top the rankings
with the highest frequency of
3.4 purchases per week. Compared
to omnivores, vegetarians
visit grocery stores around 15%
more often, and vegans around
25% more often.
Discount
campaigns
remain popular
It is not only eating habits that
influence our shopping and information
behavior. Gender,
age, and living environment
also play a role. The barometer
shows that people prefer different
channels to find out about
offers in food retail.
Digital discount and coupon
campaigns via apps are the most
frequently mentioned channel,
at 71.2 percent of all respondents.
Interest is particularly
pronounced in urban areas,
especially among women and in
the 34 to 49 age group. In-store
notices follow with 57.9 percent
and are particularly relevant for
younger target groups and in
urban areas.
The classic flyer remains significant
with 54.9 percent. Differences
are particularly evident
in two areas: flyers are significantly
less important for 18- to
33-year-olds than for the 50+
generation. There are clear gender
differences when it comes to
app discounts: women respond
significantly more strongly to
this format (75.5%) than men
(66.8%).
Factors
for success
„Shopping habits are as diverse
as consumers themselves. Those
who specifically take factors
such as proximity, good value
for money, digital services, and
sustainable solutions into account
are actively contributing
to shaping the future of retail,”
says Stephan Fetsch.

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Page 11 T O M
PARTICULARS June 2025
Karim Esch and Kirsten Ludwig. Photos: Union Investment
Union Investment reorganizes
its management team
Karim Esch and Kirsten Ludwig join the management team
Karim Esch will join the management
team of Union Investment
Real Estate GmbH
on July 1. At the same time,
Kirsten Ludwig will move up
to Union Investment Institutional
Property GmbH, which
is responsible for institutional
real estate business, where she
will take over Karim Esch‘s
responsibilities in fund management
for open-ended and
closed-ended real estate funds.
Karim Esch has many years
of experience in the real estate
fund business and will take
over responsibility for investment
management at Union
Investment. He succeeds Martin
Brühl, who left the company
in April at his own request.
Esch holds a degree in banking
and finance and a Master of
Finance in Real Estate. Most
recently, he was managing director
of sister company Union
Investment Institutional Property
GmbH, which specializes in
institutional clients. He began
his career at Union Investment
in 2011, having previously held
positions at Commerzbank,
Commerz Grundbesitz-Spezialfondsgesellschaft,
and Commerz
Real.
Experienced
transaction expert
“With Karim Esch, we are gaining
an experienced transaction
expert for the management
team,” explains André Haagmann,
Chairman of the Supervisory
Board of Union Investment
Real Estate GmbH and Union
Investment Institutional Property
GmbH.
„In the current situation in particular,
reliable and forward-looking
management of our real estate
fund companies is of great
importance.” Esch has extensive
qualifications in institutional
fund management and brings
the necessary expertise to his
new role.
Personnel
changes
In the new management structure,
Dr. Michael Bütter remains
Chairman of the Management
Board and, in addition to fund
management, is responsible for
strategy, legal affairs and communications.
Karim Esch will
take over investment management,
while Gerald Kremer will
remain responsible for control,
controlling, and data analytics.
Henrike Waldburg will continue
to be responsible for asset
and project management, while
Volker Noack will head the
areas of fund support, shared
fund services, risk management,
investment management, and
compliance.
Kirsten Ludwig is joining the
management team at Union Investment
Institutional Property
GmbH. She will take over the
fund management division for
open-ended and closed-ended
real estate funds (service KVG
and real estate umbrella funds)
on July 1, 2025. Ludwig, who
was born in Hamburg, started
her career at Bausparkasse
Schwäbisch Hall and KPMG.
From within our
own ranks
She joined Union Investment
in 2009, initially in investment
management and later in the
group‘s third-party business,
where she was responsible for
client services. In 2014, she
took on fund management responsibilities
and has headed
the department since 2021. “We
are delighted to be able to fill
this position from within our
own ranks in order to ensure
continuity for our institutional
investors,” said Haagmann.

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Page 13 T O M
MAP OF THE MONTH June 2025
Purchasing Power for Clothing and Shoes, Europe
The Geomarketing Map of the Month for June shows
the regional distribution of purchasing power for
clothing and shoes in Europe in 2024. According to
the latest study on GfK Purchasing Power for Retail
Product Lines, the average per capita purchasing
power for clothing and shoes in Europe is 772 euros.
However, there are significant differences between the
25 analyzed European countries: At 1,777 euros, Luxembourgers
spend the most money on fashion, whereas
Romanians, with an average spending potential
of 375 euros, make up the rear. There are also strong
regional differences within the respective countries.