The frequentation of shopping centers "is starting again very well", welcomes the boss of Klépierre

"Last Sunday, we were at + 13% compared to 2019," reported Mr. Jestin, chairman of the group's executive board, owner in France and in Europe, of dozens of shopping centers.

"Despite the very strict sanitary protocol", customers "are happy to come back," he said.

Despite net rental income down by more than 25% in 2020, the group is in "very good financial health", assured Mr. Jestin. According to him, the group has "abandoned 250 million euros in rents of [his] made by negotiating" with its tenants traders in difficulty by the periods of closures due to the health crisis in 2020.

"The year 2021 will also be very important, since we have more closures than in 2020. It will still be quite considerable for us," he said.

For very small businesses in particular, Klépierre has given up "100% of the rents during closed periods," he said. "There is a bit of a Darwinian side to e-commerce: it weakens commerce where it is already weak, and it strengthens it where it is strong," Jestin said.

"Our merchants are getting better and better, not all but most, because they are able to develop both a physical experience and an omnichannel experience. This is the future," he said.