Whether in the office, retail, logistics or residential sector, real estate developers have to build what today’s consumer wants. And in the logistics business, no trend is having more impact than e-commerce, writes editor-in-chief Robin Marriott.
Any firm failing to supply what consumers want is dying a death, especially in retail. And we all know that death can come far quicker nowadays than ever before to those that don’t meet modern shopper demands. How do most consumers want to shop? Clearly, they want things that are Easy to buy, of good Value with a smooth E-commerce platform provided by a Reliable company. ‘EVER’ is my acronym for it, which sums up what I am seeing among the successful and growing retailers. By definition, those that aren’t following EVER are shrinking or going out of business. It is evolution on steroids.
This is reflected in the May issue of PropertyEU as logistics developers get busy catering to the growth of e-commerce. Alibaba, the Chinese conglomerate, is a perfect example of a success story because it is superb at analysing what people want, and then supplying it day in, day out to hundreds of millions of Chinese customers. In its case, it is about combining an engaging online and offline experience. But how long before Alibaba has a direct impact on physical real estate in Europe? Well, we are just beginning to see one via its logistics arm Cainiao, as our feature on p12 explains.
Every retailer needs an efficient supply chain, and of course retailers need partners to supply appropriate buildings. The largest logistics developers know they have to build for EVER and in this issue, we identify the largest in the market via our unique Top Logistics Developers ranking. As we explain from p19, no other trend is having a bigger impact than e-commerce.
And, among those big players is Gazeley, the subject of this month’s Big Interview. The Asian-owned logistics developer talks to our reporter Dominic Gover about many things including Amazon Prime which has fundamentally shifted customer expectations of parcel delivery.
Amazon in Europe is now an established success, and Alibaba is seen as one of the very few that can challenge it. But we wanted to know of any other e-tailers that may be emerging and could have an impact on logistics and the built environment generally. Our feature on p16 reveals 13 firms to watch – hence the headline on our cover, ‘Alibaba and the 13 Princes’.
The truth of the matter is that there are two stories going on – and this goes not just for retailers but for those that supply office and living space as well: there are those that are floundering and those that are innovating to supply what people want. The simple message is the real estate industry cannot build for yesterday but must build for EVER.
