There’s a famous saying that the three most important criteria when buying property are “location, location, location”. This is as true for retail and commercial real estate as it is for residential properties. In addition to the products on offer and the employees, it is ultimately the location of our REWE, PENNY and toom stores that determines whether footfall and sales will grow in line with our hopes and forecasts.
Location is therefore much more than a physical address. It also includes such factors as the roads and pavements that serve the store, the store infrastructure and even broadband internet for the customer Wi-Fi. Do the local conditions and legal provisions allow us to provide customers with an attractive and contemporary store?
The REWE Group’s site development team, otherwise known as the Expansion Team, deals with questions of this nature in the course of their everyday work. We aim to draw up a suitable approach for each location to create an appealing local store for customers. After all, local, everyday shopping facilities are a fundamental public service and, if developed successfully, will improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood, district or rural community.
There has been much talk in recent years of the “death” of the city centre. At the heart of this debate is the crisis facing traditional department stores, which have long been under pressure due to changing customer needs and the constant increase in online shopping. However, an attractive retail landscape is essential for vibrant urban areas, and the food retail sector is part and parcel of this.
City centres are therefore gaining increasing political attention across the board from the Federal Government, the states and the local municipalities. High-density housing and the conversion of existing buildings are often part of the debate because people want their homes, workplaces, shops and leisure to be closer together. One topic under discussion is the 15-minute city, a concept where all basic public services, including childcare, doctors, cinemas and shops, can be accessed within 15 minutes of home.