Retail Asia 2018 RA September.October 2018 (Online) | Page 59

PREVIEW
Retailoring the industry
in the digital age
14-16 November 2018
Palais des Festivals,
Cannes, France
www.mapic.com
MAPIC 2017 saw over 8,600 participants
including 2,100 retailers.
Created in 1996, the MAPIC Awards
recognise excellence, innovation and
creativity in the retail real estate industry.
MAPIC provides a unique exhibition area
and conference programme dedicated to
retail real estate.
AMID talks of overcapacity problems,
ghost malls and household retail brands
filing for bankruptcy, international
retail property trade show MAPIC 2018
will bring together leading retailers to
identify the new retail mix and stimulate
growth and new business models.
Organised by Reed MIDEM, last
year’s MAPIC — an international leasing
platform for key property players — saw
over 8,600 participants, including 2,100
retailers.
The current worldwide sales
forecasts from market research company
eMarketer show that e-commerce sales
account for one-tenth of total retail
worldwide, with notable discrepancies
by territory, from 17% in the UK to
3.2% in Italy. Asia-Pacific will be home
to more than half of the world’s digital
buyers this year. Approximately 61.7%
of Asia-Pacific’s internet users and 28.5%
of its population will make a purchase
digitally this year. By comparison,
roughly one-quarter of digital buyers
worldwide live in North America and
Western Europe this year.
In this rapidly changing context,
the role of the physical store is
evolving. E-commerce is now part of
the retail sales channel in the same
way as the physical store: the two are
complementary and self-feeding if
designed according to the same and
unique logic that puts the customer
experience at the centre of the device.
The theme of MAPIC 2018
is Physical in the Age of Digital. A
conference programme, featuring more
than 100 speakers will treat topics on
the online-to-offline convergence, the
emergence of new physical demands,
innovation as a key driver to embrace
retail transformation, and magnifying
the customer experience.
In the digital world, the consumer
is constantly seeking emotional
engagement through new physical and
social experiences. Retail locations are re-
evaluating their spaces to focus on social
and community uses. While shopping
centres understand the potential of
leisure, they need to know which type
to focus on. The first MAPIC Leisure
Summit on November 13 will take a half
day to look at the different issues relating
to the integration of leisure, including
how to source solutions, how to set up
in a retail location, as well as different
business models and international trends.
The summit will then look at a
different perspective: what if culture
and education were the future of
shopping centres? As authentic, vibrant
places, shopping centres diversify their
offer and especially their activities to
create new experiences and attract new
customers. Culture is one the new pillars.
Exhibitions, concerts, museums, cinemas
— all represent strong, motivating forces
for consumers.
The rise of wellness — the art
of taking care of oneself — and a
more diverse retail mix is behind the
emergence of wellness locations in
shopping centres. For the first time at
MAPIC, a dedicated conference session
will explore the best innovative beauty
and wellness services to create customer
value.
As purchasing patterns evolve
and consumers become increasingly
autonomous, unpredictable and
connected, new economic models are
emerging. “How Property Players &
Retailers Match?” is a panel session that
will focus on the successful models of the
sharing economy and the online second-
hand market. In response to these new
models from the digital world, shopping
centres are looking to make their spaces
available for new players as the last link
in the purchasing chain. Even when
digitally-connected, the consumer will
always need a physical point of contact.
Nathalie Depetro, director of
MAPIC, notes: “Since the beginning of
commerce, merchants and retailers have
had to innovate to survive the obstacles
brought on by industrial, sociological
and technological developments. We
must use this fact as a driving force to
create the new retail mix of tomorrow.
MAPIC is the rendezvous point to gather
information and expert advice as well as
to select those new key partners that can
accelerate innovation for both retailers
and developers alike.” ra
Retail Asia September/October 2018
57