There is no truth in the rumour that the food court is dead; rather it’s been given the kiss of life, according to advisor CBRE.

There is no truth in the rumour that the food court is dead; rather it’s been given the kiss of life, according to advisor CBRE.

A growing number of retail landlords are waking up to the fact that a greater allocation to food and beverage space, or F&B, can boost footfall. When UK REIT Land Securities opened Trinity Leeds in March 2013, 20% of the space was dedicated to dining. That is almost three times the average 10 years ago, according to property advisor CBRE.

Elsewhere in the UK, food and beverage space in the form of high-end dining is at the heart of the strategy for Westgate Oxford, the €600 mln shopping centre redevelopment launched by UK REIT Land Securities and The Crown Estate.

Across the rest of Europe a similar repositioning has become evident in recent years. For example, Unibail-Rodamco's new Wroclaw Poland shopping centre opening in 2017 will allocate 18% to food and leisure. The new Mall of Scandinavia which the Paris-listed retail giant is due to open shortly in the Solna district of Greater Stockholm, will also have a strong focus on food and beverage.

While Unibail-Rodamco and Land Securities belong to the vanguard of European landlords adapting to new demands and trends in the retail arena, their allocations to food and beverage are still well under the norm for Asian markets, where shopping centres allocate an average 25% of the GLA to F&B. In its latest report ‘Food & Beverage in a Shopping Centre’, CBRE sees 25% becoming more normal in many centres. In fact, the report goes a step further: any centre that allocates less than 10% of GLA to food and beverage is not sustainable, it concludes.

A shopping centre is more than the sum of its parts
‘We know that a shopping centre is more than the sum of its parts: it’s about the overall proposition,’ said Peter Gold, head of EMEA Cross Border Retail at CBRE. ‘With shopping centres competing for shopper attention, F&B will become increasingly important as a footfall and revenue driver,’ he predicted.

According to CBRE’s latest report, almost a third of all visitors to shopping centres across Europe, South Africa and the Middle East will visit a restaurant or coffee shop. The advisor expects this figure to rise substantially to around 50% over the next five years

‘A strong food and beverage offer fits with the notion that shopping is a leisure activity,’ Gold added. ‘Customers not only have a “desire” to shop, but have a “need” to eat. With that in mind, our research shows that more than 40% of people will visit shops even if their primary reason to visit was to eat or drink.’

The report surveyed 22,000 customers across 22 markets in Europe, South Africa and the Middle East to understand what their perceptions were of F&B within the shopping centre environment. The fact that people see eating and drinking as important is a clear indication that landlords need to review the allocation of space given to catering, Gold said. ‘Eating out is no longer seen as a barometer for the economy, it is an essential luxury; people want to eat out.’

Footfall drivers
The historical view of eating and shopping was to keep the two elements separate, with the traditional food court in one area segregated from traditional retail outlets. In more recent times, the status quo has been challenged, the report said. It is rare now, for example, to see a department store without at least one or two eat-in locations. These offers are not hidden away, they tend to be used as footfall drivers and are strongly promoted at the point of entry.

The report cites two large UK department stores that have seen the added value brought by having a strong food and beverage offer. Harrods and Selfridges in London have respectively 30 and 22 places to sit down and eat or drink, from a champagne and oyster bar to an ice cream parlour, with food offers from around the world in-between. Harrods will see a popup restaurant run by two Michelin star chef Tom Kerridge in November and Selfridges is embracing the Eataly concept from next year.

It has been well documented that the warmer climate in southern European markets allows for al fresco dining, but as the summer heat gets less bearable, shopping centres also offer an air-conditioned environment in which to dine. Conversely, the culture of eating out, and eating out in shopping centres, is still behind in some northern European countries but these markets are developing fast in terms of their offering of food and beverage. As retail becomes more eclectic, food and beverage is following suit and a growing number of shopping centres are offering a mix of fine dining restaurants, champagne bars to fast casual dining.

They need to: it is a fact of life that consumers are becoming more demanding. No less than 45% of the respondents polled by CBRE indicated they wanted to see more healthy and organic eating options. Another 42% indicated they would like to innovative food concepts. And 20% would like to see more lactose friendly options.

All in all, plenty of food for thought.

Judi Seebus
Editor in chief


PS: Watch out for our European Retail Atlas which is due to be published at Mapic in Cannes in November. A joint initiative of ICSC Europe and PropertyEU, the publication provides the latest overview of new pipeline retail projects across Europe as well as recently completed schemes. This year we delve more deeply into case studies illustrating some of the most successful retail strategies in the industry.