International flavour
Published: 07 April, 2011
Retail property has become more international thanks partly to the annual Mapic show in Cannes
One of the most visible changes the UK shopping centre industry has seen over the past two decades has been the growing internationalisation of the business, both on the occupational and investment fronts.
Two of the biggest owners of UK shopping centres – Westfield and Lend Lease – are Australian and last year saw the world’s biggest mall owner, Simon Property Group of the USA, bid for Capital Shopping Centres which itself has a large list of South African shareholders.
And 20 years ago the Dutch clothing retailer C&A was one of the few international brands to have a major UK portolio. C&A has fallen by the wayside but it has been replaced by a plethora of international fascias from all round the world.
One event in particular has come to epitomise this globalisation, as every November owners and their advisors make their annual pilgrimage to the South of France for the Mapic trade show.
Mapic – it stands for Marche professionnel de l’implantation commercial although nobody ever spells it out – was launched in 1995 as a spin-off from the highly successful Mipim property show. It follows a format that originally evolved for the music and TV industries and which has changed little over several decades.
During three days, all sectors of the retail real estate industry - such as retailers, mall operators and property developers, local and regional authorities, and investors – gather in Cannes to promote their projects and share know-how.
Last November some 7,400 delegates from 67 countries assembled in Cannes. That was 10 per cent up on the previous year but still down on levels seen at the height of the property boom.
“We have made a significant effort to attract retail brands this year and the results have been very positive, with over 100 retail companies attending for the first time,” said Mapic director, Nathalie Depetro. “The presence of new retailers has clearly contributed to the 10 per cent increase in the number of companies attending this year.”
Cannes is not a cheap place to do business – its hotels are among the most expensive in the world and everything from taxis to restaurant menus is marked up when there’s a big show on in town. But that may be part of the event’s success. Because of the costs involved, companies send high-level delegations. The people manning the stands or walking the halls are the actual decision makers and that makes it more productive from a business point of view.
And over the years companies have found more cost-effective ways of attending. The BCSC, for instance, promotes the UK stand with Pipers Modelmakers. This allows British companies to attend mapic, and mix with their peers, without building an all-singing all-dancing stand.
