Around the world, our team offers one-of-a-kind value propositions by creating experiences for our visitors and comprehensive packages allowing brands to engage with their customers. We are uniquely positioned not just to understand but to influence the ever-evolving world of retail, with flexible, scalable retail solutions that allow us to showcase brands at their best, create meaningful shopping experience, and maximise sales.

Developing these solutions requires a constantly refreshed drive for innovation across teams. In 2021, the global Innovation Awards and several Innovation Days in the regions showcased the fresh ideas the Group’s team members have up their sleeves, providing inspiration for all.

URW Innovation Awards 2021

Employees with a (friendly) competitive streak particularly enjoyed the beginning of 2021, which was marked by the URW Innovation Awards. The competition (the second edition since its launch) aroused tremendous interest from all regions, with 69 inspiring eligible projects in competition and 1,100 votes tallied. Once again, this reflected the agility and ability of all our teams to challenge each other and adapt effectively to the many changes affecting our industry.

These 4 winning projects were selected after jury deliberation:

1. WORKING TOGETHER REMOTELY: Centrum Černý Most’s Shopping Centre Management Team, in Czech Republic, moved their training course for new tenants online.
2. RESTARTING OUR ACTIVITY: The Airport Contactless Mobile Ordering Platform introduced by LAX, Chicago O’Hare and Miami airport teams.
3. BACKING OUR BUSINESS: The strategic partnership between URW and Zalando developed by our German teams.
4. SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES: The #WestfieldCares Campaign launched in the US during the pandemic.

The "Employee Favourite" award went to the team behind the Westfield London Nature Reserve launched collectively with Urban Planters and Timberland to open the accessible and biodiverse Nature Reserve at the West London shopping destination.

Innovation Day in Germany

In June 2021, with the first hybrid event after many months, the German team concluded their third annual URW Germany Innovation Day. Together with six start-ups in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom (a leading German telecommunications company), our colleagues held a start-up competition and worked in both virtual and on-site formats to create solutions for the future of retail. As a team, concrete and applicable solutions were conceived within the main topic areas around data collection, multichannel retail and their use cases.

The main target was not only to find creative solutions for the future of retail but also to strengthen our position as a first mover and create additional profit lines. The participants (onsite and virtual) left thankful for the dynamic discussions and inspired to think outside the box.