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News NEWS IN BRIEF
Q REALITY BITES FOR AISOLVE AiSolve was founded in 2007 by a multidisciplinary team of engineers specialising in augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer games. AiSolve is now presenting at MAPIC for the first time to introduce: Envision, an immersive real-time visualisation driven by 3D gaming; Ads Reality, a mobile product recognition app and Interactive Environs, which brings adverts to ‘life’ using bespoke oversized displays or shop window solutions.
Q ALTAREA BOOSTS RETAIL PIPELINE ALTAREA’s retail project pipeline amounts to €1.8bn at a net initial yield of 8.8%, according to the French developer’s half-year results. The last six months have seen two iconic events for the group: the opening of the Qwartz shopping centre in the North West of Paris, and the contract to modernise the Paris Montparnasse train station, which is the fourth largest in France.
Q NEW FOR OLD IN SWEDEN CITYCON has signed a joint-venture agreement with NCC Property Development to develop the 25,000 sq m Molndals Galleria on the site of an existing retail property. The 70-store mall will be a modern gallery focusing on daily necessities and anchored by a grocery store. Construction is expected to start during 2015 opening in early 2018.
Strong Czech presence signals gathering momentum in CEE AN INCREASE in retail activity in Central and Eastern Europe has boosted the Czech Republic market, with a number of companies with key schemes in the country attending MAPIC. Among these are the 31,000 sq m The Prague Outlet, which will open in 2015 adjacent to Prague’s Vaclav Havel International Airport and close to the city centre. New investor Dreitone, which recently renamed the centre as The Prague Outlet, plans to open the project in three phases of 12,000 sq m and 80 stores, 8,000 sq m and 50 stores, and 6,000 sq m and 40 stores respectively. Another active player in the market is Otvicebased Saller Group, which has become one of the top five investors in the country. “At MAPIC we will present the expansion of our shopping centre Galeria Kosice, based in the second largest city of Slovakia,” said manager Jiri Suremka. “At this point, there is about 6 million sq m of prime retail space in the Czech Republic and one third of this area is split between the top five players. The top 10 owners control about half of the market,” said Michal Sotak, head of research at Cushman & Wakefield in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Galeria Kosice is to be expanded
The country’s retail logistics sector is also booming. In August, PointPark Properties (P3), a joint-venture subsidiary of Ivanhoe Cambridge, bought 627,000 sq m of logistics warehouses and associated development land for €523m from two funds advised by Tristan Capital Partners and VGP. Ian Worboys, P3 CEO, said: “The Czech Republic is a strategic market for us because it sits at the crossroads of the main transport routes between Western, Central and Eastern Europe.”
Record expansion for McArthurGlen DESIGNER outlet specialist McArthurGlen has either under way or in planning approximately 250,000 sq m of new outlet retail space, reflecting a total development spend of nearly €1.5bn and the most extensive development pipeline in the history of the group. New centres announced since MAPIC 2013 are McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Remscheid in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
McArthurGlen’s Provence scheme
Q BRIGHT IDEAS FROM LUG LUG Light Factory, a leading Polish manufacturer of professional luminaires and lighting systems, will be showcasing its products at MAPIC. Celebrating 25 years, the company’s products are suitable for a wide range of retail applications. preview magazine I October 2014 I www.mapic.com
and the company’s first two designer outlets in Istanbul — one on the European side of the Bosphorus, near to the new international airport, and one in an affluent suburb on the Asian side of Turkey’s largest city. The announcement follows Simon Property Group’s 2013 decision to become a jointventure partner with Kaempfer Partners in McArthurGlen Designer Outlets. Gary Bond, McArthurGlen’s managing director of development, said: “Becoming a joint venture with Simon has given us a new level of financial strength. This is helping us grow at a time when outlet retailing is in full expansion and our focus is on Europe.” McArthurGlen will also open McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver Airport next spring. Construction is also due to start next year on centres in Provence and Ghent, as well as the new Turkish centres.