Few theses have been repeated as often over the past decade as the decline of physical retail. E-commerce, livestream shopping and social commerce seemed to be shifting the future of consumption entirely into the digital realm. Yet the most digitalised consumer market in the world is currently telling a different story: in China, the largest consumer brands are opening thousands of new stores per year — not despite their digital strength, but because of it. In parallel, the valuation logic is shifting in Europe as well: the store is no longer viewed as a mere point of sale, but as a strategic asset within the omnichannel system. For owners, investors and landlords of retail real estate, a double look is worthwhile — towards the Far East, and at their own valuation practice.
Key Takeaways
- China’s largest consumer brands are opening thousands of stores per year — the store is understood there as infrastructure: logistics node, marketing platform and customer engagement space in one.
- The halo effect shows that physical presence measurably lifts online revenues in the catchment area. Isolated sales density is obsolete as the sole valuation metric.
- Transaction volume for retail real estate in Germany rose by 18 per cent to EUR 6.5 billion in 2025 — the market is rewarding omnichannel-capable assets.
- Chinese brands such as Miniso and Pop Mart are already expanding actively on German high streets, forming a new, expansion-minded tenant category.
China’s Expansion Wave in Numbers
The magnitudes currently being reported from China are remarkable from a European perspective. Luckin Coffee, one of the fastest-growing coffee chains in the world, opened more than 8,700 new stores in 2025 and plans a further 6,000 or so locations for 2026; its network already exceeds 22,000 outlets. Yum China — operator of KFC and Pizza Hut on the mainland — expanded its network to roughly 18,000 stores in 2025 and has set a target of 30,000 locations by 2030. Bubble-tea giant Mixue Bingcheng counts more than 55,000 stores globally, making it one of the largest food-and-beverage chains in the world by store count. Even Starbucks, under considerable competitive pressure in China, operates more than 8,000 stores there and still plans 450 to 500 new openings per year.
What matters, however, is not the sheer number but the logic behind it. Sportswear group Anta has kept its store network stable at around 12,000 to 13,000 stores since 2020 — and has more than doubled its revenue over the same period. Growth there comes not from more space, but from more productive space: better locations, stronger formats, tighter integration with digital sales. Chains such as Miniso are simultaneously investing in large-scale experience formats — the Shanghai flagship “MINISO LAND” generated more than RMB 200 million in sales within 15 months, according to the company. Restaurant operator Haidilao has converted nearly 300 restaurants into themed formats, from late-night dining to family-focused concepts — with the aim of increasing turnover rates and extending operating hours rather than simply adding locations.
The Store as Infrastructure
What can be observed in China is the systematic redefinition of the store: it is no longer just a sales point, but simultaneously a logistics node, a marketing platform and a space for customer engagement. Every store is a pick-up station, an advertising surface and a data source in one. This is precisely why many brands pursue scale so aggressively: a dense store network shortens delivery times, raises brand visibility in the urban landscape and amortises central supply-chain investments across many locations.
The portfolio strategy is equally noteworthy: large consumer groups use multi-brand models to cover different price points and consumption occasions through the same infrastructure — Yum China, for instance, with KFC, the coffee concept K Coffee (more than 2,200 locations) and the health-food format KPRO; Anta with a brand portfolio ranging from FILA to Jack Wolfskin. And expansion is visibly shifting towards smaller cities: for several leading tea chains, more than half of all stores are now located in third-tier cities or below. International players such as Starbucks and Sam’s Club are following the same movement into so-called lower-tier cities — markets with a large, historically underserved consumer base.
The parallel to the European debate is obvious: here too, the question arises whether expansion beyond the top metropolitan markets — into strong mid-sized and secondary cities — is not more attractive than the displacement contest over a few prime metres in the major cities.
The Halo Effect: Why the Store Drives Online Revenue
The conceptual bracket between China’s expansion logic and European valuation practice is provided by an effect that is increasingly moving to the centre of current market analyses: the halo effect. A brand’s local physical presence increases visibility, trust and willingness to buy — with measurable effects on digital revenues within the catchment area. Customers buy online more often from brands they can experience locally. Services such as click & collect and uncomplicated returns make the location an integral part of the customer journey.
For location and portfolio decisions, this is central: a store can appear unprofitable when its sales density is viewed in isolation, and yet be a highly profitable asset if it generates significant additional digital revenues in its catchment area. The consequence is plain: anyone who evaluates locations solely on isolated floor-space productivity eliminates a strategically valuable brand touchpoint and risks revenue losses in the more profitable digital channel. The analysis of the cross-channel contribution therefore belongs today as an integral part of every real estate assessment in the retail sector — particularly in closure or relocation decisions.
For landlords, this shift is doubly relevant. First, it changes the negotiating position: a tenant who understands the halo effect of its store does not assess the location by till revenue alone — and may have a higher willingness to pay than pure floor-space performance would suggest. Second, it changes the risk profile: locations with a strong omnichannel function are more strategic for tenants and therefore tend to be committed to for longer.
From Store to Omnichannel Hub: New Requirements for the Property
When the store takes on multiple roles — showroom, logistics hub for ship-from-store, service point for returns and repairs, stage for events — the requirements for the property change fundamentally. Fulfilment functions require additional back-office and storage space, suitable delivery zones and robust IT infrastructure. Brand-experience concepts need representative spaces and contractual headroom for temporary formats.
Clear prioritisation is advisable: despite all multifunctionality, every location should have one primary strategic role — transaction, brand experience, logistics or service. This role determines which property criteria are relevant and how the success of the location is measured. A fulfilment hub follows a different valuation logic than a brand-experience store, even if both offer click & collect and events.
That the market is rewarding this logic is evident in investment activity: the transaction volume for retail real estate in Germany rose by 18 per cent to EUR 6.5 billion in 2025. Retail properties are once again being perceived as strategic assets — above all, however, where tenant concepts are demonstrably embedded in an omnichannel ecosystem.
Chinese Brands Are Reaching Europe’s High Streets
China’s expansion wave is not confined to its home market — it is increasingly becoming a direct source of demand for European city-centre space. Mixue Bingcheng already operates more than 4,400 stores outside mainland China. Miniso has been expanding rapidly through German city centres since opening its first German IP collection store in Essen in 2024 — most recently including a large-scale store in Düsseldorf — building on licensing partnerships with Disney, Marvel and Sanrio. Pop Mart, the collectible-toy specialist, has opened its own stores in several German cities. Anta, in turn, is planning international expansion across Southeast Asia and the Middle East and beyond.
For landlords on German and European high streets, this creates a new tenant category: digitally driven, expansion-minded concepts with strong demand for space in high-footfall locations — often willing to take over units vacated by traditional fashion concepts. The experience from China suggests that these brands treat locations consistently as marketing and infrastructure investments — with correspondingly professional requirements for visibility, configuration and lease flexibility.
What Owners and Investors Should Take Away
From this synthesis, four review questions emerge for one’s own asset or portfolio — along four dimensions that have proven decisive in managing retail portfolios:
Strategic role: Which function can the space perform within a tenant’s network — transaction, brand experience, service or fulfilment? Assets that structurally support several roles address a broader tenant universe.
Cross-channel contribution: Is the asset located in a catchment area where physical presence measurably lifts digital revenues? Under this logic, strong footfall locations gain additional argumentative weight in lettings.
Lease flexibility: Do the standard lease templates allow use adjustments, technical extensions and variable space configurations — or does every change force a renegotiation? Flexibility is becoming a letting argument.
Portfolio logic: How does the asset position itself within the store network of potential tenants — complementary or cannibalising? Those who understand the network logic of their target tenants negotiate better.
Conclusion: The Store Is Back — But on New Terms
China’s store offensive and Europe’s revaluation of the physical store tell the same story from two directions: physical retail is not disappearing — it is being re-founded as infrastructure. Today’s store sells, delivers, advertises and builds loyalty all at once. For retail real estate, this amounts to an upgrade that is already visible in rising investment volumes — but it is selective. It benefits the assets that can support the new roles structurally and contractually, and the owners who no longer think of their location’s value solely in till revenue per square metre. The relevant question is no longer whether retailers need space. It is which space.
Frequently asked questions about stores as strategic assets
What is the halo effect in retail?
The halo effect describes the measurable increase in a brand’s online revenues within the catchment area of a physical store: local presence raises visibility, trust and willingness to buy — including in the digital channel.
Why are Chinese brands opening so many stores despite strong e-commerce?
Because the store is understood there as infrastructure: as a logistics node, marketing platform and customer engagement space. Dense networks shorten delivery times, increase brand visibility and spread supply-chain costs across many locations.
What does “omnichannel hub” mean for property valuation?
The requirements shift: fulfilment needs storage space, delivery access and IT; experience concepts need representative space and flexible leases. Every location should have a clearly defined primary role that guides criteria and success measurement.
Are Chinese retail concepts relevant tenants for European city centres?
Yes. Brands such as Miniso and Pop Mart are already actively expanding on German high streets and seeking high-footfall space — often as successors to traditional fashion units.
How can owners use the halo effect in lettings?
By actively documenting and arguing the omnichannel qualities of their location: catchment area, footfall, visibility, suitability for click & collect and deliveries. Owners who can demonstrate that their space lifts a tenant’s digital revenue in the surrounding area no longer negotiate over till revenue per square metre alone — but over the strategic value of the location within the store network.
