There is a growing consensus that a significant blurring will occur between retail and other real estate sectors. But how will the mixed-use concept manifest itself in European shopping centres?

For Volker Kraft, managing partner at retail specialist firm ECE Real Estate Partners, city centre shopping centres are set to become the number one choice for last-mile delivery hubs.

Speaking at Institutional Real Estate Inc’s VIP Europe conference in Barcelona, Spain, on 13 February, Kraft said that shopping malls already have the infrastructure in place to easily convert some of their spaces into pure logistics facilities.

“Plus, if I take our portfolio of shopping malls in Germany, we can reach 56 pe