Mapic might not have had the footfall of some previous years, but every boot, shoe, and high heel treading the trade fair floor at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes meant business in 2016, writes Nicky Godding, editor of PropertyEU’s sister publication RetailWatch.
The overall mood of the trade fair was upbeat, despite the seismic shocks of the UK Brexit referendum and Trump election victory. The real estate community is pragmatic. It survived the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 so spats between the EU and UK, and ‘The Donald’ sitting in the Oval office are water off a duck’s back.
‘Foodandbeverage’, muttered as just one word, was on everyone’s lips. Landlords, developers and other experts agreed that it’s not just a matter of upping the percentage of food and beverage in shopping centres, or on high streets, to make retail more experiential. It’s much more complicated. And food delivery companies such as Just Eat and Deliveroo are only adding to the difficulties landlords and food retailers are facing.
One light on the horizon is the number of former internet-only retailers opening up physical stores. Who would have thought that a few years ago? Apple led the charge, followed by Amazon, Zalando, Missguided and Mister Spex. There are many more and RetailWatch will be looking at this trend in our April edition next year.
Retail innovations
There were some lovely retail innovations this year. Most of them not particularly new, but they continue to inspire: from knickers delivered by vacuum tube (Undiz Machine) to interactive restaurant dining tables and a sweet robot called Pepper. Pepper, featured in the latest issue of RetailWatch, is the first humanoid robot capable of recognising principal human emotions and adapting its response to the mood of whoever it is interacting with. Pepper will interpret a person’s emotion and offer appropriate content. We watched it follow its minder around the trade fair floor, and do a Spanish dance.
One thing we are worried about, though. Retail experts from some of our biggest consultancies are obviously working too hard. When we asked them which retailers they would tip for success in 2017, a surprising number were hard pressed to give us an answer.
Our advice to consultants: treat yourself to a break from the spread sheets and take a walk on the wild side this weekend to check out the retailers on your local high street. You might be surprised.
Nicky Godding
Editor RetailWatch
