Sell retail in Mannheim.

Mannheim's retail market centres on three 1A locations: the Planken, the city's premier shopping boulevard; the Kurpfalzstraße and Breite Straße axis; and the Fressgass gastronomy mile around the Marktplatz. The Planken remains one of the strongest high streets in southwest Germany outside the very largest cities, and in 2025 its prime rent held at around €100/m²/month, stabilising above the national average and on a par with Heidelberg's Hauptstraße. That resilience reflects a deep catchment of more than two million people across the Rhine-Neckar region and a long-established retail tradition. Footfall, however, softened modestly during the year. Peak pedestrian counts on the Planken reached roughly 52,700, behind Heidelberg's 67,000 and slightly below prior-year levels, mirroring a broader national trend of gently declining city-centre frequencies. Demand for space is firmly two-tier: top pitches continue to attract national and international brands, while secondary side streets and tired in-line centres face structural vacancy and online-driven erosion. Older small-unit prime rents recorded by JLL of around €140/m²/month for 100 m² shops and €60/m²/month for 1,000 m² units (H2 2021 vintage) illustrate the steep premium commanded by the very best space. The occupier roster is anchored by local institutions and national names. Engelhorn, the long-standing Mannheim fashion house, remains a flagship draw on the Planken, alongside a Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store and the modern Q 6 Q 7 urban shopping quarter, which has reshaped the southern end of the centre. Food and beverage and experiential concepts are increasingly important in backfilling space vacated by retreating mid-market apparel chains. Looking ahead, the reduction of VAT on restaurant food to 7% from 1 January 2026 should support the food-and-beverage segment that increasingly underpins city-centre vitality, while continued public-realm investment on the Planken aims to defend footfall. Risks include further frequency erosion in secondary streets, tenant insolvencies among mid-market chains, and the difficulty of re-letting large legacy department-store floorplates. The clearest opportunities lie in re-letting prime Planken units to F&B and experiential operators, converting upper floors to residential or office use, and developing neighbourhood retail in the growing FRANKLIN and Glückstein districts.

Pedestrian footfall Mannheim: 52,700 passers-by (peak hourly count 2025); Prime retail rent Planken: 100 EUR/m²/month (prime 1A, Planken); Prime rent small 1A unit: 140 EUR/m²/month (100 m² 1A unit, H2 2021); Prime rent large 1A unit: 60 EUR/m²/month (1,000 m² 1A unit, H2 2021).