Hybrid stores: retail and logistics melt into one

So far, 2021 has been the best year for Belgian retail real estate since 2016, despite Covid and booming e-commerce. But while some prosper, others suffer: home improvement stores take the lead, while inner city stores fall behind.

Soon non-essential stores in the Benelux will be allowed to fully open their doors again, but how big are their chances of survival? Will it be a battlefield or a resilient recovery? Locatus calculated the risks and assessed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

How has the retail landscape changed in the last four years? It deflated, according to an analysis by Locatus. The number of stores has fallen in both Belgium and the Netherlands, while vacancy rates have risen.