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International retailers polled before and during the Mapic retail trade fair in Cannes last week report that they believe the market has bottomed out and that 2010 will see a significant recovery in certain retail sectors and territories.

Central Europe, Germany and France head the list of target markets for 200 international retailers, according to independent research carried out prior to Mapic by CBRE and presented to Mapic delegates by Chris Igwe, head of Retail, senior director European Retail Leasing, EMEA, CBRE. The CBRE research noted that retailers who have weathered the economic storm the best are in the fast-food, men’s apparel and mid-price restaurant sectors. Growth sectors included baby and children’s concepts, aspirational and international brands.

Discussing the state of the retail business during his Mapic 2009 closing address, Chris Igwe noted, 'There is a future. There is hope. What’s been interesting here in Cannes is the mood, which is clearly positive.'

He advised developers that understanding retailers’ needs is increasingly important. 'In our industry, a lot has been said about ‘build it and they will come.’ You can’t just build anything today, because nobody will necessarily buy it up. We need to dialogue more to understand what has worked and what hasn't.'

Delegate feedback gathered during Mapic by researchers from Wisconsin School of Business and France’s HEC Business School, confirmed a renewed sense of optimism. Joe Walsh, Senior Lecturer at Wisconsin School of Business, presented the findings which showed 53% of those polled felt more optimistic at the end of Mapic than they did at the start. Asked how they felt the market perspectives had changed over the past 12 months, over 65% of retailers expressed optimism, while 35% of developers said they felt an improvement in the retail real estate sector.

Commenting on the 15th edition of the event, which welcomed over 6,700 delegates from 66 countries, including 1,500 retailers, Mapic Director Nathalie Depetro said, 'In the current crisis context, the professionals of the industry are very focused on deal-making and sharing a sense of a new era starting for retail real estate. Even in these challenging times, it was interesting to see new countries attending such as Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Malta and Qatar.'

Despite the challenges facing developers, several unveiled new plans at Mapic. MacArthurGlen, for example, announced plans to develop 135,000 m² in Europe for 2010 and 2011, while Immochan presented 51 projects of shopping centres worldwide.

The diversity of real estate products on the market is more vital than ever, now that retailers are becoming more selective when choosing a location. According to Nils-Christian Hakert, COO of Atrium European Real Estate, 'We have met with many retailers who are once again planning to expand into the Central and Eastern Europe, which is very encouraging. However, this time they are only interested in working with owners who have specific asset management skills, a strong personal track record and can offer access to a portfolio of stable performing assets.'

Another Mapic 2009 trend was the growing role of sustainable development in retail real estate. 'Sustainability has come to a point when it’s saving money and future-proofs business. It must now be part of any business plans going forward, with a particular emphasis on measurement and target setting,' said Duncan Young, Sustainability Manager, Lendlease Retail UK, during the conference on this topic. Experiments in this field are starting to show results. As Paul Edwards, Head of Sustainability at Hammerson noted at the same conference, ' it’s not rocket science, it’s simply good business sense.'