Ingka Centres business transformation maintains strong momentum
- Expansion on track as Ingka Centres
acquires two new assets in UK and North America
- €5.4 billion tenant sales achieved
despite the pandemic forcing full or partial closure of centres in 13 of 15
markets
- Commitment to communities and tenants
sees Ingka Centres maintain 95% occupancy
Leiden, October 29, 2020 - Ingka Centres performance over the last 12 months[1] shows the transformation of its business is succeeding despite the economic and public health challenges posed by Covid-19. The global shopping centre operator maintained its growth strategy over the last 12 months acquiring new properties in North America and Europe and secured over 500 store openings including global brands such as Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Vans, H&M and Zara, that have expanded their presence within its portfolio. Occupancy was stable at 95% across Europe, Russia and China, despite pandemic restrictions in 13 of its 15 global markets. Many of Ingka Centres 45 Meeting Places had to close their doors due to Covid-19, but total visitation over the last 12 months still stood at 369 million people (480 million same period last year). Tenant sales reached €5.4bn during this period with a YOY decrease of 16.2% at constant exchange rates.
Ingka Centres expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of sites for its first IKEA anchored smaller format urban projects in London and San Francisco, with acquisition and redevelopment values of £160 million and $260 million respectively. These urban projects are complementing IKEA’s strategy of opening city stores in response to global urbanization trends, changing customer behaviour and the digitalization of retail.
As more than 500 new store openings
demonstrate, Ingka Centres continues to be a trusted partner of choice for brands
seeking growth across international markets. Many brands also continued to
invest in upgrading and renovating their stores at Ingka Centres’ Meeting
Places to offer the best possible customer experience. Ingka Centres maintained
its ongoing investment in upgrading its Meeting Places for the future to become
more mixed-use, sustainable and in tune with online shopping trends. Globally its
centres are being equipped with more F&B, entertainment, parks, flexible workspace,
community spaces, playgrounds, concert arenas, extensions, online communities
and more. Ingka Centres also introduced various initiatives to support
communities through the Covid-19 pandemic.
2020 also saw Ingka Centres launch
LIVAT Online. This online community was first introduced across its Chinese
malls, bringing customers and tenants together for shopping, lifestyle and conversations.
It is helping Ingka Centres and its partners get closer to their customers, by leveraging
data to deliver personalised experiences and build stronger connections to drive
traffic to both online and offline stores. Since its launch in June LIVAT
Online has been seeing 75,000 unique visitors every week. Ingka Centres is
seeing significant growth in the number of customers using online communities
to engage with its Meeting Places.
Ingka Centres Managing Director, Gerard
Groener commented: “We have had a robust performance this year under the
circumstances we have witnessed. We are transforming retail experiences,
engaging local communities, and providing access to affordable solutions that are
relevant to our customers lifestyles. All this has ensured our business is more
resilient in an uncertain climate. The pandemic is not over yet, and we are
likely to face more near-term challenges. But we believe we are well placed to
handle these, and our business is well positioned for a successful future.
“Our commitment to sustainability remains
unwavering in the face of Covid-19, and our People Planet Positive strategy
that sets our agenda until 2030 is firmly on track. Overall, we want to help
our customers live more sustainable lives, working with partners and local
community organisations to accelerate new environmentally friendly experience
concepts such as repair cafes and eco-labs, alongside initiatives like
recycling schemes. For
example, at our Wola Park Meeting Place in Warsaw we recently introduced a
number of initiatives that aim to inspire people about sustainable food
production, reducing waste and conserving water,” Mr. Groener continued.
Speaking
about the future of retail-led real estate generally, Groener says Ingka
Centres continued success will be down to providing opportunity for tenants to
adapt and innovate, and for customers to adopt new behaviours. “Our future is based on the ability to
connect our customers, communities and partners with a sense of belonging and
engage them in the community life at our centres. Urban projects that are
naturally closer to more people or digital initiatives such as online
communities will be part of this, which both support this vision and will drive
traffic to both physical and online stores as we emerge from the global
pandemic,” he explained.
The full FY20 year-end financial
results for Ingka Group, consisting of its three business areas: IKEA Retail,
Ingka Centres and Ingka Investments, will be released on 24 November 2020.
[1] September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020
Dear guest
In these challenging times, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our co-workers, partners, and customers. That's why we are closely following the advice of authorities and healthcare organizations in all our markets to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. We believe that by working together and supporting each other we will come through this as a stronger community.
We are all looking forward to a safe future.