ECE last week announced that the company will expand the scope of its leasing activities in the non-retail sector and put additional focus on leisure and entertainment concepts to further strengthen the idea of placemaking.
In this context, Jonathan Doughty, global head of foodservice at ECE, is also taking responsibility for leisure and placemaking.
This expansion of his role will enable ECE to plan, integrate and deliver more effectively the non-retail activities that are going to be introduced across the ECE portfolio. These will include sports, leisure and entertainment activities such as, cinemas, bowling centres, climbing walls, sports locations or jump houses, which will provide a more attractive entertainment offer and, together with an up-to-date food offer, contribute to further establishing ECE shopping centres as places for shopping, dining and leisure.
Steffen Eric Friedlein, ECE managing director Leasing: “I am really pleased to confirm that our team is now organised under Retail and Non-Retail activities to reflect the changing world in which we operate. We want to continue to stand out in the marketplaces in which we operate. We have recognised that our non-retail activities are growing in importance and need their own focus.
“Our proactive approach to the market, integrating our foodservice, leisure and placemaking in Key Account Management will give us the opportunity to provide a growing sector of our market with successful growth opportunities. Jonathan will focus on activities that bring Emotion, Excitement and Experience to our shopping centres and our guests.”
RPA Perspective Jonathan Doughty, a regular speaker at RPA events, joined ECE in July 2017 to further strengthen the foodservice competencies at the company and to strategically promote the development and implementation of foodservice, restaurants and innovative food areas in ECE-managed shopping centres.
Since then, he has been working with ECE’s new “We Love Food” programme on further developing projects such as the new food and entertainment concept “Foodtopia” at MyZeil or the new FoodSky dining area at Europa Passage in Hamburg.
The company has developed a number of initiatives based around technology, customer services and entertainment as it attempts to reposition its shopping centres.
The move also comes at a time where Europe’s most stable retail market has experienced some worrying indications of challenges ahead.
In Germany, retail investment transactions took a dramatic and unexpected fall in the first half of 2018, to the alarm of observers both inside the country and outside. The worst-hit sector was shopping centres which, according to research from JLL, had their worst start to the year on record — a remarkable 63% year-on-year fall from the first half of 2017. And of all the retail deals in the period, only one transaction worth more than €100m succeeded in getting over the line.
“People are much more risk adverse now,” said Anke Kaukers, head of shopping-centre services at JLL in Germany. “When it comes to leasing, people are less confident. The market has been difficult, but I think it’s adjusting itself. Prices have found a new level. In Germany, people have different rental-growth expectations and different pricing levels. But I can see things picking up in the second half of the year.”