Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield welcomes 500 guests at B2B networking day Retail Open House in Hamburg

On May 12, 2022, the Retail Open House opened its doors at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg’s HafenCity. The invitation of the organizer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) was accepted by experts from the retail, gastronomy, leisure and real estate sectors. The focus of the day was on the presentation of URW’s corporate strategy, the portfolio in Austria and Germany as well as the future flagship destination Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier. In addition, the company presented the versatile service portfolio of the Media & Brand Experience department, hosted a special forum on Hamburg’s downtown development for stakeholders from business, politics and society, and organized meeting sessions with retail real estate investors. With a total of around 500 guests, the networking day set a new record for attendance.

Just in time for the Retail Open House, URW also announced that one of the largest Zara flagship stores will open at Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier, along with other Inditex brands.

Constantin Wiesmann, Director of Leasing Austria & Germany at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, says: “The Retail Open House is indispensable for us to enter into dialogue with partners, stakeholders and investors as well as to further strengthen our cooperations and networks. Especially after a three-year break due to corona, we are pleased to host the Retail Open House as a physical event again and to present our portfolio in Austria and Germany, our flagship destination Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier as well as further options for cooperation with URW. Fittingly for the Retail Open House, we were able to underline once again the attractiveness and charisma of this project with the announcement that Inditex will be coming to Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier with one of the largest Zara flagship stores and other brands.”

Presentation of URW’s strategy and portfolio
In order to present the core elements of the company’s strategy and the detailed leasing strategy, various themed worlds were set up on the event floor – including the Westfield brand, the focus on flagship stores, the group-wide sustainability program “Better Places 2030” and leasing focal points such as leisure and entertainment, experience-oriented gastronomy as well as fitness, health, beauty and medical services. URW’s locations in Austria and Germany were presented via virtual 360° tours of the shopping centers and Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier via virtual reality tours as well as launch and construction site tours.

Special appearance for media & brand experience
In a separate area, URW’s Media, Brand Experience & Partnerships Department also presented the comprehensive platform that brands can use to realize experiences in and around the locations – through events, installations and collaborations, as well as media campaigns on digital and static advertising spaces. In this context, URW also presented which concepts the company is currently working on in the area of innovation and digital transformation.

Forum on Hamburg’s inner city development for stakeholders from business, politics, administration and society
In a separate forum for the local Hamburg network of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, a separate program including panel discussion was prepared for around 50 selected guests. The panel discussion revolved around the further development of Hamburg’s city center and, more generally, the future of centers and neighborhoods as well as their transformation into places for community and shaping society. Participants in the discussion were Prof. Norbert Aust, President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, Sabine Barthauer, Member of the Board of DZ HYP and Spokesperson of ZIA Nord, Andreas Bartmann, Managing Director of Globetrotter and President of Handelsverband Nord, Henning Riecken, Managing Director of Breuninger Flagship-Store Hamburg, Egbert Rühl, Managing Director of Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft and Dirk Hünerbein, Director Development Austria & Germany of host Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

Meeting sessions with investor partners
As another focus of URW’s corporate strategy in Germany is to manage assets also for external retail real estate investors, there were various sessions with current and potential future business partners throughout the day. URW provided a comprehensive insight into the company’s strategic direction and an update on its current service profile, as well as discussing the latest developments in the industry with its partners.

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