It could be a retail park being repositioned, a high street attracting a new generation of brands, a mixed-use development combining retail with hospitality and leisure, or an F&B concept becoming the main reason people visit a destination.
Retail real estate is evolving well beyond the traditional store-led model. Consumer behaviour is changing, formats are becoming more flexible and the boundaries between retail, leisure, hospitality and experience are increasingly blurred.
That is why MAPIC still matters. It offers a direct view of how those changes are taking shape in the market, through the projects being presented, the brands looking to expand, the developers adapting their assets and the investors deciding where the next opportunities may emerge.
Attending MAPIC is not just about following the industry calendar. It is about understanding what is changing, who is driving that change and where the next opportunities are starting to take shape.
1. Meet the people behind the next deals
Retail real estate is still a relationship-driven industry.
MAPIC brings together retailers, landlords, developers, investors, cities, leisure operators, F&B brands and service providers with one thing in common: they are looking for opportunities.
For retailers, that can mean finding the right location or entering a new market. For developers and owners, it means meeting brands capable of activating a project. For investors, it is an opportunity to understand which concepts are expanding and which destinations are attracting attention.
The value is not simply in networking. It is in having decision-makers, projects and expansion strategies in the same place, making it easier to turn an initial conversation into a real business opportunity.
2. From retail parks to high streets: see where retail is heading next
MAPIC increasingly reflects how diverse the retail real estate market has become.
Retail parks are evolving beyond purely functional shopping destinations, incorporating stronger F&B, leisure and experience-led concepts.
High streets are also changing as brands become more selective about physical locations and use flagship stores, new formats and experiential concepts to strengthen their presence in key cities.
At the same time, shopping centres are being repositioned, while mixed-use developments are bringing retail together with hospitality, offices, residential, entertainment and public space.
MAPIC offers the opportunity to see these trends through real projects and companies rather than only through market reports. It helps identify which formats are gaining momentum, how tenant mixes are changing and what retailers and operators are currently looking for.
3. Connect with Iberia, and take Iberian projects international
MAPIC is also an important meeting point between the Iberian market and the international retail community.
This year, Spanish and Portuguese exhibitors include NEINVER, Sonae Sierra, Trison Necsum, Galería Canalejas, Laborde Marcet, EntreCampos, The Leisure Way and TrueBroker, representing different areas of retail real estate, development, investment, placemaking and consultancy.
For international retailers and investors, this creates direct access to opportunities in Spain and Portugal. For Iberian companies, it provides a platform to present projects, identify international partners and explore expansion beyond their home markets.
👉 Discover the retailers attending MAPIC 2026: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aMS7436a6jvm5_Ido0NLOvc1TrGhBC1R/view?usp=drive_link
Make MAPIC work before you arrive
The companies that extract the most value from MAPIC usually start well before the event itself.
Identifying the right contacts, arranging meetings, selecting relevant projects and preparing a clear message around what your company is offering or looking for can make a significant difference.
In an event with so many companies and opportunities competing for attention, preparation turns MAPIC from a trade show into a real business development platform.
Planning to attend MAPIC?
As the official representative of MAPIC in Iberia, Meridiana supports companies before and during the event, helping them prepare their participation, improve their visibility and connect with relevant international players.
Get in touch with our team and start preparing your MAPIC participation.
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