Asset Optimisation in a Constrained Market

JLL’s “Opportunity through Obsolescence” report provides a compelling framework for understanding the European retail sector’s transition. It identifies ageing design, evolving consumer behaviour, locational shifts, tightening sustainability regulations, and severely constrained new development pipelines as key drivers of potential obsolescence.

The market is moving into a more disciplined phase, growth is highly selective, new supply remains limited (particularly in the ongoing “late-stage correction” for retail), and long-term value now depends far more on execution and incremental operational excellence than on expansion to favour asset optimisation. Hozah aligns perfectly with this reality by delivering rapid, zero-capex operational improvements that help landlords mitigate obsolescence risks effectively.

Polarisation Raises the Cost of Poor Execution

JLL emphasises the deepening polarisation between prime and secondary/ageing assets. Prime locations continue to capture the majority of demand, rental growth and investment, driving customer expectations for flawless experiences to new heights.

Any friction, especially during arrival and departure, becomes extremely costly, impacting satisfaction, dwell time, repeat visits and tenant performance.

Hozah directly addresses this by removing barriers, tickets and apps entirely. Our no-touch ANPR technology ensures smoother, faster flow and consistent, fair enforcement, helping prime assets maintain their premium status and secondary schemes reposition with greater confidence and customer satisfaction.

Optimisation Over Development Elevates Day-to-Day Operations

With new retail development heavily constrained by planning, capital discipline and retailer shifts, the industry’s attention has turned decisively to maximising existing portfolios.

JLL advocates repositioning, targeted retrofitting and disciplined incremental enhancements as the most viable strategies to combat obsolescence without major redevelopment.

Day-to-day operational execution has become the primary differentiator. Small, consistent improvements in access, flow and experience can generate outsized gains in footfall, dwell time, tenant sales and resilience, often with little or no capital required.

Hozah excels in this environment: our zero-capex, fast-to-deploy solution delivers immediate, measurable uplift footfall (~8%), dwell time (~15%) and tenant outcomes by streamlining parking and access, freeing operators to focus on higher-value activities.

Sustainability, Scale and Operational Resilience

JLL extends sustainability and resilience concepts beyond physical fabric to encompass efficient, low-impact daily operations. Reducing unnecessary vehicle circulation, minimising on-site hardware, optimising staff deployment and maintaining reliable performance at scale are now essential, particularly in high-footfall gateway cities serving diverse visitors.

Hozah contributes meaningfully here: we reduce vehicle movements around the site, cut hardware dependency, reallocate team hours from parking management to customer-facing roles, and deliver scalable, consistent performance even during peak periods, all supporting stronger environmental and operational resilience.

Technology as an Enabler of Better Execution

The article clearly positions technology and data-driven systems as critical tools for mitigating obsolescence, improving efficiency and enhancing the customer journey. Solutions that eliminate friction, ensure fairness and enable scalable operations are foundational in today’s selective, performance-driven market.

Hozah is a leading example: our smart ANPR platform uses automation and real-time data to provide barrier-free entry/exit, accurate enforcement, transparent compliance and enhanced trust, delivering the PCN and friction free, experience-led operations JLL highlights as increasingly vital.

Hozah: Delivering Zero-Capex Asset Optimisation

From our perspective, working closely with retail assets across Europe, refurbishment and tenant strategies remain important, but day-to-day operational levers such as parking play a pivotal role in supporting these efforts and driving customer satisfaction and asset performance.

Well-designed parking can deliver clarity, reduce friction and reinforce fairness. Poorly managed parking, conversely, undermines strong environments, erodes goodwill and strains on-site teams.

This is where Hozah comes in. Our no-touch, ANPR-based Ecosystem^® help landlords and operators:

• Unlock new revenues and/or increase existing revenue (~20%)
• Streamline arrival and departure experiences for drivers
• Reduce operational friction across the site
• Improve flow and free up valuable on-site team hours
• Support fair, accurate and consistent compliance

All of this is achieved without major capital investment, allowing asset owners to prioritise optimisation over expansion in a constrained market.

To explore how parking and access strategies are being used to support retail asset optimisation in practice, take a look at our case studies. We also recommend our article: “From Development to Asset Optimisation: What Savills’ Outlook Reveals about European Retail” based on Savills’ “Where is the retail journey headed next?“