Top of most performing malls in Romania
Date: 10-08-2010
The year 2009 was very difficult for commercial centers in Romania, according to a ZF analysis based on results published by the Trade Registrar.The first four positions out of top ten are held by Baneasa Shopping City, Unirea Shopping Center, Plaza Romania and Bucharest Mall, all based in Bucharest.Incomes of over 10 million euro were also registered in Bucharest by commercial parks Iris Shopping Center and Militari Shopping.
Outside Bucharest the 10 million euro threshold was exceeded by Iulius Mall Cluj with 14.1 million euro, Iulius Mall Timisoara with 11.3 million euro, while Neocity had incomes of 10.2 million euro by means of Everest Investment and Consulting for the City Park project in Constanta.
Another project of large dimensions which could have exceeded incomes of 10 million euro is Polus Center in Cluj, but the Trade Registrar has not received financial data yet.
On the other hand, the largest malls in Bucharest – Cotroceni Park and Sun Plaza in Bucharest were inaugurated in February 2009 and their results were not included in the analysis.Many foreign investors and a few Romanian entrepreneurs invested money in the period of real estate boom counting on the Romanians’ consumer appetite but reality contradicted them about purchase power.Construction costs for a mall in Suceava or Arad could be compared with those in Bucharest but because of the low number of inhabitants and the reduced purchase power retailers’ sales are low, a fact seen in the rent paid.
The development of malls outside Bucharest died almost completely, the only projects carried out at present being Gold Plaza in Baia Mare and small commercial galleries in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Botosani, Giurgiu and Ramnicu Valcea.Several projects have been blocked in different stages of execution in Constanta, Craiova, Galati or Miercurea Ciuc, where mall owners could not find enough tenants willing to expand and occupy the areas of the mall.The crisis period and results recorded by other malls will be a starting point for the viability of 100 million euro investments in medium size Romanian towns.
