FIBA CP CALLS FOR ‘COOPETITION’ IN RETAIL
The 13th AYD Shopping Economy Summit, organized by the Shopping Centers and Investors Association (AYD), was held with Fiba Commercial Properties (Fiba CP) as main sponsor. Delivering the summit’s opening speech, Fiba CP CEO and Board Member Yurdaer Kahraman underlined that the retail industry will grow through the concept of “coopetition” and that acting together is the key to a sustainable future.
Istanbul, December 14, 2022
Fiba CP, one of Türkiye’s leading commercial real estate investors, was the main sponsor of the 13th AYD Shopping Economy Summit, organized by the Shopping Centers and Investors Association. Speaking at the opening of the summit, Fiba CP CEO and Board Member Yurdaer Kahraman drew attention to the needs of retail as it stands today and stressed the importance of business partnership for sustainable success.
Let’s Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
Describing the pandemic as a highly instructive period for the retail industry and summing up the changes of the past three years, Yurdaer Kahraman said that the industry needs to focus on solutions, not problems. Noting that the way to do so is to act together, Kahraman said: “There have always been problems, and there always will be. It is hard to reach any conclusion by only talking about ‘problems,’ but when we stand together, it is very easy to focus on solutions and get results through a meeting of minds. Fiba CP is a pioneering organization, and it will remain one. With our investments and management experience in Türkiye, Eastern Europe, and China, we are working with all our strength, focusing on solutions, and we will continue to lead the way.”
We Need a Spirit of ‘Coopetition’
Emphasizing that retail is by nature a competitive industry, Kahraman said that, at this point, the entire industry needs to work together. “We need the support and unity of our partners on this journey who are here in this room, and we are aware of that. It is not only us: everyone in this room needs the colleague beside them, in front of them, and behind them. By turning competition into coopetition, we will move confidently into the future,” Kahraman said.
ESG: A Permanent Item on the Industry’s Agenda
Fiba CP also hosted one of the summit’s key sessions. The session “Energy: Renewability, Savings, and Innovation” brought together Fiba CP CEO and Board Member Yurdaer Kahraman, Fiba Group Social Investments Director Yasemin Sırali, and Fiba Renewable Energy Business Development Director Özlem Çolak, moderated by Fiba CP Marketing and Corporate Communications Unit Manager Evrim Şirin. Addressing the retail industry’s carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and the renewable energy vision of the malls managed by Fiba CP, the session focused on sustainability solutions.
Sustainability Efforts Must Accelerate
Speaking at the session, Yurdaer Kahraman highlighted the importance of designing a new customer experience in shopping environments with a zero or even negative carbon footprint. “It is very important to reduce the environmental impact of the entire industry, in a way that also takes account of the preferences of our customers and guests, to bring it down to zero over time, and then to shift it onto a path that creates positive value. We must accelerate our steps on major issues such as packaging, logistics transformation, building transparent supply chains, waste management, lighting, transforming production through sustainability at the source, and the shift to renewable energy. Good things are being done, but they are not enough; we need a more decisive change of course,” Kahraman said.
More information on Fiba Commercial Properties (Fiba CP), which invests in shopping malls, offices, residences, hotels, and cinemas in Türkiye and around the world with the aim of increasing the efficiency and performance of commercial real estate, is available at www.fibacp.com.tr.