The major malls in Bucharest have tried to attract new brands in the final months of 2015 as the market is becoming increasingly competitive and a new mall, ParkLake Plaza is due for inauguration in the Titan district of Bucharest this spring.
Baneasa Shopping City, Promenada, Mega Mall, AFI Palace Cotroceni are but some of the malls that gained new tenants in the fourth quarter of 2015, as are the two malls held by Anchor Grup, Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania, which have undergone a revamping process over the past two years. ZF asked the biggest mall owners in Bucharest for information on the new contracts signed with tenants.
More than 40 stores opened in the six major shopping centers in the past few months, while the number of stores that closed was much lower, with fewer than ten brands choosing to take such a step.
On a market where consumer spending is rising, presence in the malls with the highest traffic in Bucharest is very important for any retailer looking to direct some of the shopping budgets of the people in this city its way.
Baneasa Shopping City in northern Bucharest, a contender for the top position by sales, welcomed several brands that had just entered the Romanian market in the second half of 2015, said Daniela Matei, PR manager with Baneasa Developments, the operator of the project.
The new tenants include Armani Jeans, Tous, Tezyo by Otter, Bobbi Brown and Caran D’Ache, as well as the first Chanel store opened in Romania by Cosrom Cosmetics, the local importer of the cosmetics and fragrances of the French luxury brand.
Baneasa Shopping City also ended contractual relations with four of the retailers operating stores there.
“Some of the stores that closed (in the last three months of 2015 i.e.) were those of retailers that either decided to exit Romania or with which we agreed not to renew the contract: Cielo Venezia, Corso Como, New Look, Hush Puppies,” Daniela Matei said.
The mall is in talks to bring new brands into the available space and one of them is Lancel. It also launched an application that notifies customers about the discounts and special offers available.
South-Africa’s NEPI, which owns about EUR1.7 billion worth of property in Romania, attracted 15 new stores to its two malls in Bucharest, Promenada and Mega Mall in the last quarter of 2015. German-held retailer Peek&Cloppenburg, one of the fashion brands with the highest sales per store in Romania, opened a 5,000 square meter two-level store in Mega Mall.
At the same time O’Quirey, Cielo Venezia and Oliviers stores were closed, replaced by three other brands.
Early in October, Promenada Mall inaugurated the first Maybelline kiosk along the Fol Popcorn kiosk. Maybelline is a brand of the retail division of L’Oreal Romania, along with Garnier and L’Oreal Paris.
Investments in Promenada in the final months of 2015 were directed towards telecommunications infrastructure and support for Wi-Fi services, its officials say, and the mall is now focusing on attracting new brands.
“The plans for the next three months (for Promenada Mall i.e.) include inauguration of five stores that will accommodate brands just entering Romania,” NEPI officials say.
As for Mega Mall, the other project operated by NEPI, it focused on diversifying its supply of sports and fashion stores, adding names such as Hervis, Sport Vision, Adidas, Nike, Various Brands and a new gym concept, WorldClass with a semi-Olympic pool and city view.
In AFI Palace Cotroceni, five new stores started selling products in the fourth quarter of 2015, four of them footwear and fashion retailers, in addition to Altex, which replaced Domo.
“At the end of last year we started work on some dedicated areas for taxis, to make traffic in the area fluid and allow them to wait in front of the shopping center,” the officials of the mall said.
Investments are going towards building an additional 7,000 square meter of space that will take the total lettable area of the mall to 90,000 square meters. The new brands due to arrive in 2016 are Tezenis (lingerie) and Cozette Boutique.
The Anchor Grup, the developer of the Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania announced it would open at least 20 stores by spring, when the revamping process ends. The Spring Time fast-food restaurant in Plaza and the Meli Melo store in Bucuresti Mall closed in the final quarter of 2015. Other brands reconfigured their space or even expanded.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)