On January 15, 2020, the Trade Dialog Bavaria event brought together experts from a range of sectors in Munich (the capital city of the German federal state of Bavaria) to discuss the challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailing. The focus was on concepts that combine traditional and innovative approaches.
With around 108,000 companies, sales of EUR 295 billion and around 750,000 employees, retail is one of the biggest and most dynamic sectors in Bavaria. Besides large companies, especially in the food retail trade, it is mainly medium sized enterprises that occupy niches and hold their own against the industry giants.
As a result, the first part of the Trade Dialog Bavaria focused on innovative concepts from medium sized firms. Increasing competition from e-commerce companies is challenging retailers to create new shopping experiences for clients. Presentations in the second part dealt with mixed-use approaches in urban planning and building use. In the panel Real estate lives from 'inside' – which mix and which location make sense, Andreas Feil, Project Partner at Drees & Sommer, and other experts spoke about the benefits and challenges of mixed-use concepts for cities, towns and municipalities.
‘Sustainable development requires thinking outside the box. You have to re-think the project from scratch, involving all the participants. This is the only way to create an optimal mixed-use building,’ commented Andreas Feil on the mixed-use approach to building use.
The event was held at the Haus der Bayrischen Wirtschaft and was hosted by Heuer Dialog.