On 3 and 4 November 2026, the international retail property industry meets for MAPIC 2026 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. For the 31st edition, the organiser expects around 4,000 participants from 75 countries, among them 1,800 representatives of retail, food and leisure brands, and around 200 exhibiting companies. Since its repositioning in 2025, the show runs for two days instead of three and explicitly describes itself as a leasing marketplace: the focus is on leasing teams, asset managers and expansion executives rather than on the showcase of new shopping centres. For German landlords and retailers this is more relevant than it may seem. Three focus areas of the programme – cross-border brands from Asia and the Americas, a new high street zone and a summit for retail parks – match exactly the questions occupying the German market in autumn 2026.
Key facts at a glance
- Date and venue: MAPIC 2026 takes place on 3 and 4 November 2026 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes – two show days, 31st edition.
- Expected scale: According to the organiser, around 4,000 participants from 75 countries, 1,800 brand representatives and around 200 exhibiting companies (as of October 2026).
- Three focus areas: cross-border brands from Asia, North and South America, a new high street zone with pitching sessions by European cities, and a closed-door summit for retail parks.
- Link to the German market: In the first quarter of 2026, international brands accounted for a record 56 percent of space requirements in German prime locations.
- UNIQUE RETAIL is on site in Cannes on both show days.
MAPIC 2026 is a leasing marketplace, no longer a project showcase
Anyone who knows MAPIC from the years before 2020 will find a different event in Cannes. Back then, according to the organiser, around 8,000 participants attended, including about 2,000 retailers, and the developers’ stands mainly showed new shopping centres. In 2024 and 2025, attendance stood at around 4,000 each year; the official closing report of the 30th edition counts 1,700 brand representatives and 150 exhibitors over two days. The show is therefore half the size it was before the pandemic – and it has deliberately not replaced the half that disappeared.
With the anniversary edition in 2025, the organiser rebuilt the format: two show days instead of three, an earlier date in early November, and a networking level with bookable sea-view tables instead of ever larger stands. The tagline has since been “The International Retail Leasing Hub”, and the stated target audience is leasing teams, asset managers and heads of development. The reasoning is remarkably candid: hardly any new retail projects are being launched in Europe, the industry is working on existing assets – and for that it needs less display space and more meeting space. Fittingly, the number of brand representatives in 2024 was 32 percent above the 2019 level according to the organiser, even though overall attendance has fallen.
For preparation this means: MAPIC 2026 rewards those who arrive with specific spaces. In the organiser’s survey of October 2025, which questioned more than 1,000 registered retailers, 60 percent said they plan to open more than ten new stores in the next two years; over a fifth plan more than 50. These expansion executives are not looking for a market overview in Cannes but for locations they can open in 2027. What we described ahead of Expo Real 2026 applies even more in Cannes: general questions get general answers. Anyone who brings a space whose re-letting is due within the next 24 months will meet more qualified counterparts in two days than in a quarter at the office.
Cross-border brands from Asia and the Americas are looking for European space
For the second year in a row, MAPIC puts brands from Asia and from North and South America that want to expand into Europe at the centre of its programme. They get closed-door networking rounds, pitching sessions by region and conference formats on Latin America, India, the Middle East and South Africa. For 2026, the organiser lists Pop Mart, Wendy’s, Popeyes, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Seoul Dining Group among the confirmed participants; in 2025, Xiaomi, Paris Baguette, Alo Yoga and Costco were among the first-time attendees. The French market shows how strong this movement already is: in 2024, 22 percent of the 91 brands newly entering France came from Asia (source: organiser, September 2025).
The organiser’s survey does not break Western Europe down by country, but it shows the direction: half of all expansion plans of the retailers surveyed target Western Europe, 21 percent Central and Eastern Europe, 15 percent the Middle East and 11 percent Asia. That Germany is a focal point within Western Europe is confirmed by domestic market data: in the first quarter of 2026, 56 percent of all space requirements in German prime locations came from international brands, the highest share ever recorded. 49 percent of lettings went to the ten largest cities. Demand is there – it is simply more concentrated on a few locations than it used to be.
The requirements of these concepts are specific and often smaller than expected. Beauty and lifestyle brands look for formats between 80 and 250 square metres with a wide frontage in high-footfall locations. Collectibles retailers such as Pop Mart and Miniso take compact units in major cities, as we described in our article on the store offensive of Chinese brands. In our experience, US restaurant concepts need outdoor seating, ventilation and delivery access that are not a given in historic commercial buildings. Locations such as Kaufingerstraße in Munich, Neuer Wall in Hamburg or Kurfürstendamm in Berlin are on these brands’ lists – but only with units that fit the format. Right-sizing, the division of large units into marketable layouts, is therefore something landlords should settle before Cannes, not after.
High street instead of mall: Cannes moves the shopping street centre stage
The second innovation is a high street zone at the heart of the exhibition area. Under the title “Retail in the City”, the organiser, together with an international advisory firm, brings together city representatives, high-street specialist agents, local landlords and brands. The package includes a dedicated stage with twelve pitching sessions – four for rising brands, four for major cities, four for second-tier cities – networking tables for private meetings, and a guide to European high streets handed to every attending retailer. The cities named so far are London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam and Prague.
That no German city appears on this list says little about demand and a lot about the show’s origins: France, Italy and the United Kingdom are the three largest groups among the retailers surveyed. For German landlords this is a gap rather than a disadvantage. Anyone who presents a documented unit in Hamburg, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf in Cannes – with tenant mix, footfall and rent levels – competes with fewer offers than in the pitching sessions of the cities named above. It is also telling that the retailers surveyed still name the shopping centre as their preferred location type more often (37 percent) than the high street (22 percent). The high street zone therefore also serves to introduce international brands to locations they know less well outside their home markets.
In substance, the new focus confirms what the figures have shown for years: the shopping street has proved more resilient than the inner-city mall. Across the 100 German high streets analysed, the number of shops in the actual shopping streets most recently rose by 0.5 percent, while inner-city shopping centres lost 2.6 percent of their stores – around 15 percent since 2020 (Highstreet Report 2025). At the same time, one in eleven retail units in the prime pitches of these 100 cities stands empty on average: 9.1 percent, ranging from zero percent in Lippstadt to 29 percent in Solingen (Highstreet Report 2026 by Columbia Threadneedle Investments, September 2026). What makes the difference is set out in our article on high street vacancy in Germany: competition from malls, unit sizes, rent levels and the quality of location management – local factors a landlord can influence.
Retail parks and food service: where the capital is going
The third new element is a Retail Park Summit, an invitation-only forum for investors, developers and brands from the retail park segment, scheduled for the afternoon of the first show day. That the least spectacular format of all gets its own stage is consistent. Grocery-anchored assets have dominated the German investment market for years: in the first quarter of 2026, depending on the survey, 52 to 58 percent of a transaction volume of 1.1 to 1.37 billion euros went to this segment. Prime yields stood at 4.6 to 5.6 percent for retail parks and supermarkets and at 3.5 to 4.0 percent for high street assets in top locations (German retail investment market Q1 2026). For the full year 2025, the transaction volume for retail property in Germany reached 6.5 billion euros, 18 percent more than the year before.
Food service and leisure are the show’s second constant. A fifth of the MAPIC retailers surveyed come from the food and beverage sector, a further 15 percent from leisure; with “LeisurUp” the organiser runs a dedicated area for them. On German high streets, food service now holds a 15.8 percent share, making it the second-largest category, and has grown by 14.7 percent since 2020, while the clothing trade lost 21.6 percent of its stores over the same period (Highstreet Report 2025). For landlords this means two things: demand for restaurant space is real, but it places different requirements on building services, ventilation, outdoor areas and lease structure than the fashion retail that used to occupy these units. Those who have checked these points before Cannes can make commitments in their meetings. Those who leave them open postpone the deal.
What German landlords and retailers can actually settle in Cannes
Two days of trade show do not replace a marketing process, but they compress it. In practice, a few conversations have proved particularly productive for both sides.
For landlords: three conversations worth having
- Effective rent instead of headline rent. In the second quarter of 2026, prime rents stood at 340 euros per square metre in Munich, 280 euros in Berlin and Frankfurt and 250 euros in Hamburg. Rent-free periods, fit-out contributions and stepped rents push the actual burden 8 to 10 percent below that in our model calculation (effective rent vs. headline rent). Landlords who know their own figure recognise faster in Cannes whether an offer is in line with the market.
- Check divisibility. There are hardly any takers left who re-occupy large units one to one. A tested subdivision concept widens the pool of prospects to exactly those international concepts that are looking for compact units in Cannes.
- Use the lead time. Successful re-letting starts 24 to 36 months before lease expiry. Units that become available in 2027 or 2028 therefore belong in this year’s conversations – not only once the tenant has given notice.
For retailers and expansion executives
For brands assessing the German market, MAPIC is the place to meet landlords and advisers from several cities in a single day. A robust expansion strategy is decisive: target cities, space profile, rent budget and timetable should be settled before travelling. Location data such as tenant mix, footfall trends and announced arrivals and departures should be available from landlords – where it is missing, it pays to ask, because these factors decide the success of a site more than the headline rent.
Four documents that should be ready by 3 November
- A property brochure with floor plan, subdivision options and technical key data (ventilation, floor loads, outdoor area, deliveries).
- An effective-rent calculation with a defined margin for incentives rather than a bare headline rent.
- Location documentation: current tenant mix of the street, footfall trend, known arrivals and departures.
- A meeting plan: appointments arranged in advance through the organiser’s meeting tool, plus free slots for spontaneous contacts in the networking zone.
Conclusion
MAPIC 2026 is smaller than the shows of the 2010s, but denser: two days, around 4,000 participants, more than a third of them brand representatives with concrete expansion plans. The three focus areas – cross-border brands, high street zone, retail parks – fit a German market in which international concepts account for more than half of all space requirements, the shopping street has overtaken the inner-city mall, and capital flows into grocery-anchored assets. Those who arrive with decision-ready documents make use of that density. Those who only want orientation can get it more cheaply.
UNIQUE RETAIL will be on site at MAPIC 2026 in Cannes on 3 and 4 November. For retail space to let, properties for sale or an upcoming expansion into Germany, we arrange meetings in Cannes – a short message with the property or your request is all it takes. Request a meeting.
Frequently asked questions about MAPIC 2026
When and where does MAPIC 2026 take place?
MAPIC 2026 takes place on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November 2026 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes (1 Boulevard de la Croisette). It is the 31st edition of the show; the organiser is RX France (RX, Reed Exhibitions).
What is MAPIC?
MAPIC is the international trade show for retail property and retail leasing. It has been held in Cannes since 1995 and brings together landlords, developers, investors, advisers, cities and retail, food and leisure brands. Since 2025 it has positioned itself as “The International Retail Leasing Hub” with a two-day format.
Who should attend MAPIC 2026?
Landlords and asset managers with specific units to let, retailers with expansion plans in Europe, and advisers who bring both sides together. The organiser expects 1,800 brand representatives; 60 percent of the retailers surveyed plan to open more than ten new stores within two years.
What are the focus topics of MAPIC 2026?
Three focus areas: cross-border brands from Asia, North and South America, a new high street zone with pitching sessions by European cities, and a closed-door summit for retail parks. In addition there are the MAPIC Awards, the Innovation Forum and the leisure area LeisurUp.
How does MAPIC differ from Expo Real?
Expo Real in Munich covers all property segments and counted around 42,000 participants in 2025; it is about investment, financing and development. MAPIC concentrates on retail property and leasing: brands make up more than a third of participants, and the conversations revolve around specific units and expansion plans.
