Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2017 | Page 18

Disruption Hits Shopping Centres

Shopping centers are facing a big challenge as digitalisation is changing the face of retail as we know it . What ’ s the point in going to a shopping centre , if you can find what you ’ re looking for online with a few clicks of a mouse ?
Photo : SRV

S hopping centres are coping with the situation by emphasising the experience and by developing a more personal relationship with the patrons . In this effort , shopping centres are using also digital tools .

Retail is far from dead , if you look at the new retail space that is being built in and around Helsinki , for instance . At the end of September 2016 , approximately 150,000 sqm of new retail space was under construction in Helsinki Metropolitan Area ( HMA ).
Additionally , many new projects – the largest of which is YIT ’ s 85,000 sqm Mall of Tripla – will begin in the near future . Still , the KTI Market Review for Autumn 2016 points out that the amount of vacant retail space should remain rather stable during the next year .
Eye on the Horizon
The local property market professionals expect that retail rents will remain stable in the city centres of Jyväskylä and Turku , for instance , but to decrease in Tampere , where many retail premises are currently vacant . One of the challenges in the Tampere central area is the increasing supply , especially due to the development of over 50,000 sqm Ratina shopping centre , due for completion in 2018 .
In 2018 , the REDI shopping centre will also open its doors in Kalasatama , close to Helsinki inner city . REDI promises to be one-of-a-kind shopping centre and landmark in Finland , with a 60,000 sqm of retail space . Helsinki ’ s largest downtown shopping centre will feature eight tower buildings – one of them Majakka ( Lighthouse ), Finland ’ s tallest residential tower ( 132m ).
According to the Shopping Center Barometer of the Finnish Council of Shopping Centers , the outlook for shopping centres seems more positive than , say , one year ago . Two thirds of the barometer respondents expect that retail sales and the number of visitors will increase in the shopping centres . The majority of shopping centre market professionals believe that due to growing population and consumer demand , the future
18 Nordicum