Romania remains a commercial center El Dorado

Europe witnessed the opening of 120 new commercial centers in the first half of the year, with Romania one of its leaders in terms of surfaces delivered, according to a report by the Cushman & Wakefield real estate advisory firm.

The retail market is far from being blocked, and major retailers in Romania, based on number of stores, are interested in opportunities on the market, and continue to have plans for expansion. Although demand is now no longer the same as it was in previous years, interest in new stores exists, especially for very central locations and in cities with over 200,000 inhabitants.

"The problem is that the financial expectations of these retailers often make the financing and developing of such quality commercial projects impossible, with developers opting recently to wait for rents to return to a level to make the development worthwhile," said Razvan Gheorghe, General Manager of Cushman&Wakefield.

There are several major players who are taking advantage of the current decline, and are continuing to invest in significant local and international expansion.

"The market presently belongs to tenants, and retailers can take advantage of their own brands and the strategic importance as anchor stores to negotiate attractive conditions. At the same time, smaller and less efficient retailers in terms of costs are facing difficulties, which is creating expansion opportunities for newer brands," added Gheorghe.

In Romania, the stock of commercial centers at the end of 2008 was 2,020,000 square meters, or 94 sqm per inhabitant. The stock of completed commercial centers in 2009 to date is 164,000 sqm, while that in construction and due to be finalized by the end of the year, is 89,000 sqm.

money.ro