Ikea, Bigotti and Italian brand Roberto Italia are but some of the tenants that chose Calea Victoriei to advertise they are there, even though many of the buildings on the this boulevard are old and in dire need of seismic retrofitting.
Swedish furniture retailer Ikea got a space on 46, Calea Victoriei, where it does not sell any products. Instead Ikea uses it as a conceptual space, Popas Urban, where visitors get the opportunity to take part in workshops and various Ikea themed events, the company officials say. Popas Urban will remain open until the end of March.
Closer to Piata Victoriei, near the COS store, Italian fashion retailer Bigotti advertises a ‘coming soon’ store. The company is now putting together the necessary papers to get the required permits so as to be able to start preparing the store. One such permit should come from the Ministry of Culture because the planned store is located in a heritage building. The Bigotti store on Calea Victoriei is due to open at the end of April, ZF has found.
This is not the first time Bigotti has tried to draw shoppers to Calea Victoriei. It has previously operated on this boulevard in the past, when it had a store across the street from the Muzica store (near the Novotel and Continental hotels), which it closed when the crisis started.
Bigotti has 23 stores in Romania, six of which in Bucharest in AFI Palace Cotroceni, Baneasa Shopping City, Plaza Romania, Unirea Shopping Center, Bucuresti Mall and Park Lake Shopping Center. The rest operate in major cities of the country such as Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Constanta, Brasov. The first Bigotti store in Romania opened in 2000.
A new fashion brand entered Calea Victoriei in December, replacing Paul & Shark. Roberto Italia, an Italian family business inaugurated its first and only store in Romania there.
Other tenants on the boulevard between Piata Victoriei and Piata Natiunilor Unite is Braila textile manufacturer Braiconf, footwear brand Minelli, Max Mara, Gucci, Mengotti and The Place of Iulia Dobrin.
Despite the stores inaugurated or due for opening on Calea Victoriei soon, many stores are still empty and their owners are looking for buyers or tenants according to the ads in the windows.
The retailers on Calea Victoriei (including those on the nearby streets) make about EUR10 million to EUR15 million sales a year, without including the results of the hotels in the area in the total, according to ZF’s estimates.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)