2019 MAPIC AWARDS to reflect the changing face of retail

The MAPIC Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on Thursday 14 November in Cannes, but there is a long way to go before the winners are announced. Entries are still arriving for consideration, before the judges get hard to work with the process of evaluating the entries in Paris. From there, the shortlist will be announced ahead of the main event in Cannes. On 13 and 14 November, MAPIC registered delegates will get the opportunity to vote for their favourite projects. 30% of the final decision will be based on their votes.

A hugely experienced awards jury – headed for the first time by Mayte Legeay, Senior Asset Management Europe, Head of the Outlet Platform, Resolution Property – and drawn from all areas of the retail world and all corners of the globe, will make the final decision for 2019.

President of the Jury – Mayte LEGEAY

And importantly, this year’s Awards classifications reflect the changing face of retail – with categories for pop-ups, F&B, leisure, city regeneration and future developments among the Awards up for grabs.

New to the position of jury president – although not new to the Awards panel – Legeay says that MAPIC Awards judges have an important role in showcasing and promoting those companies in the real estate industry that are embracing the retail changes with innovative and performance-focused solutions.

“The retail sector is in constant evolution and the industry is facing challenges in order to embrace customers’ new behaviours,” says Legeay. “The MAPIC Awards aims to pay tribute to influential and inspiring companies emerging as leading retail trend-makers. It is indeed international recognition of innovative thinking and outstanding achievements within the retail industry and a prestigious distinction for those who are building the future of retail and lifestyle destinations.”

The Awards also reflect the need to create outstanding/differentiated destinations and retail offers in challenging times.

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“Retail is definitely alive and kicking but it is experiencing great challenges nowadays. Retail is evolving fast and the industry needs to adapt,” says Legeay. “The rise of online shopping is undoubtedly a decisive factor in the structural changes taking place as this is providing retailers with strong flexibility and the opportunity to adjust their bricks-and-mortar store development, allowing them to focus on the most strategic and profitable sites.”

She believes that although many retailers are slowing down their store development programmes, there has been an increase in multiple concepts like pop-up stores, temporary shop-in-shops, e-shops, outlets, etc as retailers adopt omni-channel as a full distribution strategy.

“In despite of a decline in retail projects over the past year in Europe, there is now a strong focus on regeneration and optimisation of existing retail assets and destinations. There is a need to create something different, lifestyle hub destinations versus the classic shopping centre proposition of exclusively retail in order to attract customers again,” says Legeay. “Indeed, we have recently seen a strong increase in interest for hubs including a larger mix of retail, food & beverage, entertainment and well-being.”

The full list of categories for this year are: Best retail global expansion, Best retail concept, Best F&B concept, Best store design, Best leisure concept, Best pop-up shop, Best shopping centre, Best outlet centre, Best retail city centre regeneration, Best retail innovation and Best futura shopping centre.

The ceremony will be attended by over 300 of the most influential retail real estate professionals.

Submit your projects by 31 July! More information

For ticket information please contact MAPIC Awards Coordinator Laurene Dureault at mapic.awards@reedmidem.com