Four more malls in Bulgaria by 2014

Economy

By the end of 2014 is expected opening of four new shopping centers in Bulgaria. So the commercial areas in the country will increase by 19% to 119 sq.m per thousand inhabitants. This is a survey of the consulting company Forton, partner for Bulgaria and Macedonia in the global consultant Cushman & Wakefield.
In the third quarter of 2013 came into operation mall "Strand " in Burgas , which maritime city was ranked first in sales area per thousand inhabitants ( 466 sq.m. ) in the country. Of the cities where there are malls in Sofia is still in the bottom half of the rankings. Lastly, Pleven, where the trade area of 97 thousand sq. m, less than the national average. "For these reasons, we see interest in new malls in Sofia and Pleven also one of the few major markets with low presence of large chains", said Rosen Genev manager commercial properties in Forton.
The study international retailers continue its expansion in the Bulgarian market, taking advantage of favorable conditions in the third wave of shopping malls. "International companies pursue new projects and expand its presence: Inditex with its main brands, H & M, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, LC Waikiki, Sport Vision, Deichmann, LPP, NewYorker and Kenvelo. The advent of Decathlon, and a new concept, which went Puma, clearly indicates that the market is developing dynamically", added Ganev.
"Our expectations are confirmed large shopping centers with many restaurants and entertainment to attract international chains", he said.
The presence of major retailers on the main shopping street in Sofia - "Vitosha" , is limited, which creates a vacuum and prerequisites for the emergence of exciting new stores. "After H & M is expected and other proven players to invest in the region. A transition period for the main shopping street and you'll probably need some time to establish acceptable housing conditions on the one hand and workers on the other solutions ", says Genev .
In terms of wage levels to Forton show that, while rents in shopping centers reduce it on the main streets remain stable. In the third quarter of the base rent the best shopping area of 100-150 square meters in shopping centers decreased by 11% to 24 euros per square meter per month compared with the previous in Sofia. This is months before the expected opening of at least two new shopping centers in the next six to nine months. Decline was partly caused by the fact that the next project will be located in more remote regions of the city. Another reason is the expected completion of several moles almost simultaneously.
With approximately 10% decrease and rents space in the range of 100-150 sq m shopping centers in other major cities as they move across the corridor from 16 to 18 euros per square meter per month, depending on the city.

Source and photo: http://bg-daily-news.eu

 

(03.10.2013)