Dear Shareholders, during the first quarter of 2020 IGD operated in an environment that was still impacted heavily by the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The “non-essential” retailers in our malls that were closed 25% of the possible days of operation in the first three months of 2020, weren’t allowed […]
The first quarter 2021 accounts reflect the penalizing operating conditions stemming from the mandatory closures imposed to contain the pandemic. Despite the €6.9 million drop in FFO, the pre-letting and marketing of the spaces, as well as the positive outcome of the negotiations with tenants, made it possible to maintain a good level of occupancy […]
Rossella Saoncella assumed the role of Chairman on 20 April, after the inauguration of the new Board of Directors appointed during the Shareholders’ Meeting. We asked her a few questions in order to understand how she intends to interpret her role as Chairman at such a complex moment in time, during which IGD is grappling with profound changes in consumption which were accelerated by the pandemic.
In this edition our focus will be on the work IGD is doing to promote and spread sustainability best practices in Italy and abroad. During the first quarter of 2021 the Company was one of the first to sign the “Sustainability Manifesto” defined by the Consiglio Nazionale dei Centri Commerciali (CNCC) and participated in the first workshop sponsored by BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe), in collaboration with ECSP (European Council of Shopping Places), focused on creating a vision shared by the players of the European retail real estate sector for a zero emissions future.
2020 was the most difficult year in IGD’s history. Even though we carefully analyzed all possible scenarios when structuring the Business Plan 2019-2021, we could not have imagined finding ourselves in such a challenging environment, with heavy restrictions on shopping center operations caused by the need to limit the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We would like to present our 11th Sustainability Report referring to 2020, a difficult year for our sector. Starting from the month of February we suddenly found ourselves facing challenges which we could not have predicted when we defined our 2019-2021 Sustainability Plan. Once confronted with these challenges, we had two options: put our sustainability commitment to one side, given the then current circumstances or confirm it and strengthen it. We chose the second one, maintaining steadfast our commitments and confirming the process aimed at sustainability undertaken in 2011.
We discussed this topic with Roberto Zoia, IGD’s Director of Asset Management, Development and Network Management, who explained to us that there will not be a pre-Covid and a post-Covid era because the business will continue with the metamorphosis that was already underway. It will just be much quicker.
The 2020 results were significantly impacted by Covid-19; in 2021, assuming an effective implementation of the vaccination plan and a stabilized economic recovery beginning in the second half of 2021, IGD expects to see an increase in the FFO of around 3-4%.
The new tools bring new opportunities, ways to make the relationship with shopping center visitors closer and more personalized. IGD just launched its first Digital Marketing Campaign. We asked Francesco Soldi, Gruppo IGD’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility to explain to us what it’s all about.
In this edition we will talk about how the content of the Code of Conduct has been revised and updated in order to enhance its role as a living part of our corporate identity and inspire both those who work in IGD, as well as stakeholders who have relationships with the Company, to conduct themselves in accordance with the Code.
We will then try to understand the reasons why IGD’s financial reports received new EPRA Awards.
Lastly, a very important news item, which speaks to IGD’s commitment to sustainability: the decision to adhere to the United Nations’ Global Compact.
