From retail design and layout to consultancy and leasing, NAI MIPA — or MIPA, for short — is one of the largest independent real estate shops in the country, boasts the firm's managing director and owner, Nigel Young.

"MIPA responds to the call wherever and whenever it's needed," says Young, an affable British expat who spent 17 years in France prior to his arrival in the Czech Republic. "Since 1996, we've signed more than 1,000 separate retail leases for boutiques and large stores, and we aim to continue doing what we've already done, only now even better."

Taking a break from his hectic business dealings, Young reflects on how the Czech and Slovak real estate scenes have changed over the past decade and what the market can expect to see in the coming years.

The Prague Post: Your Web site outlines MIPA's genesis from its humble 1993 beginnings into the Prague retail real estate powerhouse of 2006. How exactly did MIPA get to where it is today?

Nigel Young: Well, in 1996 I personally acquired the shares and capital of a company which had until then been known as Müller International Property Agents, ergot M-I-P-A, for short. At the time, we felt that naming the revamped operation "MIPA" mightn't be such a bad idea, in the unfortunate event that we'd ever have to revert back to Müller. Thankfully, we never needed to do that. In 2003, we were asked by NAI Global, the largest global marketing network of independent real estate agents with more than 300 offices in 40 countries, to join their team, which basically means that we became part of the NAI family. ... By dealing with MIPA, our clients — be they landlords or tenants — can rest assured that they'll be getting the same service they might receive from any other NAI affiliate.

TPP: How has the retail real estate market in Prague, for example, changed between, say, 1996 and today? Does MIPA foresee that demand will continue to remain so blisteringly hot in the foreseeable future?

NY: There's always been this whispered rumor around Prague that eventually the retail real estate sector will become massively oversupplied and that demand will decrease precipitously as a result. But I have to [say], given my more than 33 years of experience in this business, it won't be nearly as chronic as some people in the industry are making it sound. The challenge facing shopping center owners today has more to do with repositioning certain properties and how these properties are presently being marketed.

TPP: Any specifics about repositioning?

NY: For instance, MIPA is presently re-leasing Pavilon, Stodůlky Park and Centrum Nové Háje. We've been closely examining the retail mixes of those properties, and, as part of my consultancy work, have been conceiving of ways to shake things up inside the malls so that it's not just one ... chain after the other charging expensive prices for very upscale goods.

NY: It's true what you're saying. There are more than 20 shopping malls in the greater Prague area, and many of them are experiencing serious issues at present because they were poorly conceived at the outset. Location isn't the only important factor when planning a shopping center. Tenant mix is ... often the most highly overlooked and underestimated element in the planning stages. Considering that MIPA now receives instructions for 15 shopping malls — 10 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, one each in Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia, and two in Turkey — landlords come to us first as a way to help them with their makeovers, so to speak. Our reputation precedes us.

TPP: So how would you go about making changes?

NY: Take the food court of any given shopping center, for instance. What do you see? One 50-square-meter [540-square-foot] Chinese take-away after the other. MIPA tries to suggest the introduction of other sorts of food choices, according to various new retail layouts. Considering that a food court is where shoppers typically spend a significant amount of time when visiting a mall, it's often something sadly overlooked, and landlords only lose out in this way.

TPP: What can you say about the nature of the competition in the retail real estate sector in Prague? Besides having grown quantitatively since MIPA's earliest days, what can you say about its quality or overall professionalism?

NY: Like in any other market, you're always going to have a choice between ethical and less-savory types. The general problem with agency representation, on the tenant side of things, is that it's very hard to judge who called whom when, or better put ... who is responsible for bringing this client to the attention of the landlord, and earning the commission? It makes locking tenants down and the whole business of securing a prospective tenant's commitment — in writing and in payment — such a tremendous challenge. This has been one of the major complications with the arrival of more players on the Prague retail real estate scene. In terms of how this affects MIPA ... we're now focusing more extensively on the regions outside of Prague because of this. I have a dedicated staff of eight leasing agents here in the office, which means I can boost our revenues doing other activities like consulting on two massive shopping centers in Romania — one called Colosseum at 160,000 square meters and another 40,000-square-meter one in Arad, Romania — or advising prospective property investors on where to most profitably inject their funds.

TPP: What are some of the advantages for MIPA in being based in Prague? Considering how rapidly lucrative markets are opening up further to the east in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Latvia and Russia, is MIPA likely to eventually shift its focus away from a more saturated Central European retail real estate sector onto these greener pastures?

NY: No, I'd say that's not in the cards for MIPA. To be honest, there are more advantages to being based in Prague than I can count, really. ... One of the things which most people overlook when discussing the local real estate scene here, which is heavily foreign dominated obviously, is the expertise of the local labor pool. Czechs and Slovaks are unbelievably reliable, hardworking and are very keen to make progress, both from an upward career potential perspective and linguistically. For these reasons, most of the agencies which operate in the city are staffed entirely by Czechs, except for the token one or two German, Austrian, American, British or Italian senior managers. That's not something you see in some of the emerging markets.

TPP: Where is the biggest growth potential in the Czech Republic real estate market today, in your opinion?

NY: I'd certainly have to say in the industrial and heavy manufacturing sectors. We've been observing a resurgence in former industrial might [from] outside cities like Ostrava, Brno and, to a lesser extent, Plzeň. I mean, let's take Plzeň for example. It's only 45 minutes from Ruzyně [Airport], and can offer cheaper land and cheaper overall facilities than in Prague, which is a big plus for a lot of companies wishing to expand. I'm talking about huge multinationals like DHL or Accenture who are massively expanding in the Czech Republic. I recently heard a stat that anywhere between 180,000 to 200,000 square meters of office space will come online in the regions over the next little while. Now, if MIPA can only secure just 5 percent of that.

TPP: What else will MIPA be getting up to in 2007 and beyond?

NY: MIPA will just continue doing what it does best, which is anything and everything to do with shopping centers: tenant mix, location scouting, rental schedules, leasing, layout, retail design, mall investment consulting. Our reputation and solid contacts have thankfully bought us some much-needed breathing room, so these days I'm personally able to hire out my consulting services to other burgeoning regional projects. For example, I've just been instructed to conduct a study for a Siberia-based concern on a shopping mall to be built in a specific Siberian city. When I took the call, the location was so remote that I had to jump onto the Web to see where it was since it wasn't even on our map. So, as you can see, we do juggle quite a few responsibilities around here. At the end of the day, let's just say that a typical workday is hardly ever boring.