In a guest contribution to the magazine “Das Investment” of 3.7.2013, redos Managing Director Oliver Herrmann writes about the importance of small to medium-sized towns for the retail trade real estate market. It appears from a study by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (Consumer Research Society) that the retail trade purchasing power in 20 of the best medium-sized towns is superior to that of the 20 strongest contenders in the big city category (with a key indicator of 120, as against 114 for the big cities). In addition, these medium-sized towns were able to show a retail trade turnover averaging 8550 euros per inhabitant, whereas the big cities can only achieve 6140 euros. Similar conclusions can be drawn from the key statistics relating to retail trade centrality and unemployment levels. As the yields from large-scale retail properties in modest mid-range towns achieve higher percentage points than high street properties in top-ranking metropolises on a regular basis, it is hardly surprising that more and more investors are favouring investment in the retail sector in medium-sized towns. But it remains an important point, he says, that investors should have regard to the quality of facility management.