Oradea and Arad climbed to second and third place in the ranking of cities with the highest density of modern retail space per thousand inhabitants. The two cities in the western part of the country were only left behind by Suceava (northern Romania).
The three cities have double the stock of retail space per capita compared with Bucharest, according to data centralized by real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield, which put the capital city only on thirteenth place.
Almost one third of the stock of shopping center areas in Romania are located in Bucharest, but calculated against the about two million people who live in the city, the projects with about 740,000 square meter lettable area do not seem that many.
Whereas in Bucharest the density is about 379 sqm/1,000 people, in Suceava it stands at 925 sqm/1,000 people, in Oradea it is 721 sqm/1,000 people and in Arad 694 sqm/1,000 people.
Cushman&Wakefield representatives say that the stock of shopping centers rose by 215,000 square meters of lettable area in 2011, which includes the opening of six new centers and six expansions. The total stock has reached 2,501,000 square meters, i.e. a density of 117 sqm/1,000 people.
They say the new projects include Maritimo Constanta, Electroputere Craiova, Galleria Arad, Oradea Shopping City, Botosani Shopping Center and Cora Severin. Another opening was that of the first phase of the Colosseum retail park in Bucharest.
The projects that were expanded this year include Baneasa Shopping City, Lotus Center Oradea, European Retail Park Braila, Jupiter City Pitesti, Real Policolor and Bucuresti Mall.
Craiova and Botosani got their own retail centers with a lettable area of over 10,000 square meters last week, but are not among the top twenty cities by density of modern retail space.
Most were opened in the September-November period, when six new centers were inaugurated throughout the country, on top of the expansions of the Baneasa Shopping City, Lotus Center Oradea and Jupiter City Ploiesti.
Until then the only notable opening of the year had been Cora’s investment in Drobeta Turnu Severin, where a hypermarket and 4,000 square shopping gallery were inaugurated following a EUR22 million investment, as well as the expansion of the retail park owned by investment fund NEPI in Braila. This project cost EUR7.2 million, spent on a Cinema City multiplex movie theater, a new food court and an indoor skating rink.
In Bucharest, Decathlon opened a store in the retail park on the Theodor Pallady Boulevard, next to Real; Metro and OBI, the owners of Bucuresti Mall built space to accommodate H&M; Gabriel Popoviciu opened a cinema in Baneasa Shopping City in September, following a EUR19 million investment.
The fall season of mall openings started in Arad with the Galleria, an investment by GTC worth some EUR66 million. Although it was the third shopping center in the city, it opened with a high occupancy rate and strong retailers such as Cora, Inditex, Go Sport and Mango, a Cinema City multiplex movie theater and a Pure Fitness center. Its rivals in the city are Atrium and Armonia, which are about three kilometers away from it.
A week later, on October 14, a revamped Oradea Shopping City followed, fresh out of bankruptcy after EUR50 million investments.
The first phase of the Colosseum retail park in Bucharest was inaugurated on October 18.
The fall’s largest retail investment was completed in Constanta on October 28, when Austrian-held Immofinanz opened the EUR100 million Maritimo complex.
Belgian-held BelRom opened the Botosani Shopping Center with a lettable area of 15,000 square meters on November 15, which might be expanded in the coming years.
On November 19, the Electroputere mall in Craiova opened, even though two days later than planned.
The number of shopping centers to be opened in 2012 seems to be lower, but investors will turn towards Bucharest in two or three years again, as preparations for projects such as ParkLake Plaza (Titan), Mega Mall (Pantelimon), Victoria City Center (Bucurestii Noi) and Promenada Mall (Floreasca) are being made.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)