The three qualities driving change

This is effectively the analysis that Altarea Commerce has made. During launch phases, this property developer aims for up to 5% of short-term leases of less than three years, for small retailers and kiosks. Their target is tenants that bring notable variety or provide an attractive service, in the healthcare sector for example. Support measures will also be available, specifically a significant portion of variable rent and funding for part of the work on fitting out the premises.

This shift is far from being a negligible factor and shows three qualities necessary to adapt to a changing market.

• The first is the ability to analyse. It leads to the observation that not all brands change at the same pace, depending on their background, and that other players can find meaning in being present in a shopping centre, bringing customers in larger numbers.
• The second quality is creative adaptation. These atypical takers must be "found" on the edges of the usual marketing channels and supported in their project.
• The third is risk acceptance, since these are often young, if not fledgling, companies, whose success is not guaranteed.

Is it likely to work? The first results are highly encouraging. But more than anything, this example shows that a strategy which lacks one of these three pillars - analysis, creative adaptation, risk taking - cannot work.

The factors which apply to a property company in its market also apply to each of its assets.

When change is occurring, analysing an asset's value based on the parameters in place during the preceding period loses its relevance. For example, for many years, long-term leases guaranteed both cash flow security for investors and business value for retailers. The system was logical and worked. But when the longer-term context is one of agile adaptation of operating assets, long-term commitments can be seen by retailers as depriving them of opportunities. Everyone must therefore reconsider the risk taken in their commitments in relation to the value of their assets.

Altarea's case is an example of this. Although their strategy would appear to be degrading the value of their assets, what they are aiming for is quite the opposite: namely the deliberate adaptation of the asset to new market conditions. The risk of deteriorating profitability also deserves mention, although it is low since it is cushioned by the large number of lessees (with successes balancing out failures), and is much lower than the risk of inaction, which would inevitably lead to a drop in commercial performance.

Finally, for this type of change to take place, men and women must first of all accept the mission at hand. This is why the "analysis, creative adaptation, risk taking" triptych must also become a mantra for building and inspiring teams, as well as for leading projects. At a time when so many points of reference are disappearing, when so many things need to change while established structures push in the opposite direction, when we need to do more with less, when we need to get away from the comfort of a silo mentality, this is a task that should not be ignored.