Publications

- March 1, 2021: Vol. 15, Number 3

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Time to move: Investors could soon benefit from creative solutions to transform Germany’s retail sector

by Martin Mörl

The events of the past 12 months have made this a unique period in the history of Germany’s retail sector.

On the one hand, in-store retailing has suffered tremendously under the COVID-19 pandemic and the attempts to curb it. On the other hand, retail subsectors like groceries, home improvement, home furnishings and bicycles, as well as online retailing in general, have been booming.

Although retail has gained a reputation among institutional investors of being a complex and demanding asset class, plenty of capital continues to be committed to the sector. According to Germany’s Federal Association for Investment and Asset Management (BVI), retail and gastronomy assets claimed a 32 percent share among open-ended institutional funds at the end of 2019. This figure does not include indirect investments in retail properties, nor direct investments by investors from inside and outside Germany.

Nevertheless, not all of the retail venues existing in Germany today w

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