The Yumbo shopping center is the most profitable in the south of Gran Canaria and is the only one that has so far avoided bankruptcy due to the non-presence of medium-sized investors and the quality control of the service. It is the jewel in the crown of commerce in Playa del Inglés and the only one where the price per square meter has not fallen in 30 years. The Yumbo thing has not been the subject of a doctoral thesis by any tourism academic in Las Palmas, a city where it has bankrupt and open centers who knows how. The truth is that it is the only one in the Canary Islands in a tourist area that never stops from a logistical or service point of view. The only one on the islands that has not asked the authorities for money for its reform and hopes, however, that the direct and indirect employment it generates is not overlooked so that it has priority in the arrival of rehabilitation funds. "It is not fair that they are going to reward those who have not known how to defend destiny," says Arthur Michel, a German businessman who has lived in Playa del Inglés since 1992.
The community of owners of Yumbo, a property created by Estanislao Mañaricua, faces 2024 with the idea of continuing to be one of the protagonists of the real estate sector on the island of Gran Canaria. The investment in security control that he promoted in 2022 and continues to increase today with the idea of creating a friendly space with the use of sustainable energy. "Really, what we lack is self-esteem, not a disorganized and informal structure as they want to paint us. We are an example of resilience and adaptation to the new reality drawn after the pandemic and marked by the dizzying technological revolution that we are witnessing," he indicates. Antonio Mendoza, owner of various stores purchased in the XNUMXs.
In the sector, the key is to create profitable environments while providing service logic. For Félix Chamizo, head of the retail division at BNP Paribas, "the real estate sector has a significant influence on the development and operation of shopping centers. These spaces are the result of a complex interaction between real estate developers, architects, store tenants and consumers". In his opinion, "in addition to the always omnipresent location of the shopping center as a crucial factor for its success, real estate developers are responsible for the planning and design of the shopping center. The commercial mix, common spaces, architecture and aesthetics of space, are elements that directly influence the consumer's experience and, therefore, their purchasing decision.
To talk about the present of the shopping centers in the south of Gran Canaria is to talk about a spiral of losses except in Yumbo. Safety and sustainability are the two levers that restaurant owners look closely at because "only those who integrate them into their business models achieve competitive advantages," says Margaret Cullen, an Irish businesswoman who has a restaurant business with a high density of public. the day. "Both issues are essential to generate profitability because consumers demand new experiences and forms of leisure and, at the same time, they demand healthy lifestyles and committed brands."
But they are also key to guaranteeing the investment. Today it is unthinkable to find financing for projects that do not meet the most demanding standards in terms of sustainability and that do not provide something different to the client. Yumbo's next challenges involve personalization and creation of unique experiences. A challenge in which technology is essential, not only to develop new ways to surprise visitors, but also to know their preferences. Photovoltaic panels that promote self-consumption, the integration of quick delivery services, outdoor gastronomic spaces are some of the recipes that the community of Yumbo owners has in mind with the horizon 2027.
The industry does not stop. The CEO of Iberia Retail at Eurofund Group, Andreas Gillén, highlights that "to achieve the viability of a commercial project, it must be accessible, welcoming and attractive" and that "in addition, it must be perfectly integrated into its area of influence and offer exceptional services for customers to enjoy their free time, and all this must be done in a profitable and sustainable way.
Víctor Fernández, head of Asset Management Shopping Centers at Merlin Properties, expresses the same sentiment. "Shopping centers are living spaces that adapt to the tastes and needs of both users and operators and are therefore obliged to be constantly renewed" since "the urban environments where they are located are also transform and evolve, and the centers with them, modifying access, improving accessibility, both by public and private transport, changing uses, for which it is essential to have the support of the competent authorities, etc.
