Retail’s “location, location, location” mantra is being rewritten for a post-e-commerce world. Facing online competition, rising occupancy costs and shifting consumer habits, leading retailers are turning their real estate into multi-purpose neighbourhoods rather than single-purpose stores. The article explores this strategic pivot through four emblematic case studies: Ingka Centres opening Meeting Places that weave shopping, offices, hotels and playgrounds in 37 countries to date, Breuninger, whose Dorotheen Quartier opened in 2017 shows how a regional department store can anchor retail, apartments and offices to rejuvenate a city, Walmart, developer of a mall acquired early 2025, aiming to fuse shopping, last-mile logistics, housing and community space into a modern neighbourhood and, finally, John Lewis Partnership, venturing into build-to-rent programmes across the UK that turns surplus car parks into homes above a Waitrose or department-store anchor.

IADS Exclusive – From merchants to landlords: how mixed-use projects can future-proof retailers 

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