The European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP), the new dedicated European trade association for retail property and mixed-use destinations, has issued a statement in partnership with the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) calling on governments to give retail businesses a chance to keep working during the pandemic.
'Our members have invested significantly in new procedures and products to protect the millions of people who visit our shopping destinations every day. While the new rules being introduced by governments across Europe this week are an important way of trying to manage this crisis, extended restrictions will however have a disproportionate impact on the retail property sector,' said Peter R. Wilhelm, chairman of the ECSP board, and Dominique Moerenhout, CEO EPRA, in the joint release.
The leaders said they recognised the gravity of the situation in the light of increasing coronavirus numbers.
‘For our members, the run up to Christmas is the most important time of the year. We have therefore noted with grave concern the rise of new Covid-19 infections. Public health and safety must always be everyone’s primary priority,' Wilhelm and Moerenhout added.
But they called on governments to give the same support to physical retail as that which is afforded to online trade.
'To help safeguard up to 6.3 million European jobs we urgently call on the relevant authorities to ensure a level playing field across the retail sector, both online and offline, and to apply a tiered approach wherever possible, as soon as possible. Communities must have continued access to the things they need and want as we head towards the traditionally busy Christmas season,' the leaders said.
The ECSP launched in Brussels last month, to support retail real estate professionals in the wake of the New York-headquartered International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) closing its EMEA operations in January 2019.
Initially numbering 15 members, the ECSP includes some of Europe’s largest retail property development companies and investors such as ECE, SES Spar European Shopping Centers, Sonae Sierra, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Wilhelm & Co. Several National Councils of Shopping Centres/Places have also joined, including trade bodies in Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
