The German Warenhaus - Successful Redevelopment Concepts for Closed Department Store Properties and Experience from Valuation Practice: An Integrated Academic and Practical View

The classic department store properties (German: “Warenhaus”) have worked very well for decades, generated attractive returns and usually had a great magnetic effect in the central inner-city locations. The changing consumer behavior and the later emerging e-commerce trend led to a profound change in stationary retail. The death of numerous department stores was the result and let to the questions about possible re-use concepts. The presentation starts with a definition of the asset class and presents the conceptual, structural and architectural characteristics of department stores. The following points, which are currently being discussed in science and in practice, give the main part of the presentation its central theme: Based on the specific conceptual and structural characteristics of a department store property, which are the potential options for the property when the department store closes - demolition and redevelopment of the site or, perhaps better, conversion of the property? Analysis of successful redevelopment concepts of German department store properties - risks and opportunities for the real estate market. The findings are based on a quantitative analysis of re development concepts in over 50 closed department stores in Germany over the past ten years The real estate valuation of department stores before and after the department store closes Current practical valuator experiences and benchmarks on redeveloped department store properties Summary of the most important findings and an outlook on further research fields Prof. Dr. Florian Hackelberg MRICS, Professor for Real Estate Valuation at the HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Germany, will introduce the outlined topic from an academic perspective, while M.Sc. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Matthias Kirsten MRICS, valuation expert of Value AG - the valuation group will share his view on the latest trends and developments in the market.