The new stage in Bucharest malls' life: one in five stores, vacant

In Bucharest malls, where Romanian or foreign shareholders have invested over 1.1bn euros, something is happening every week: a store opens, another is moved, others close, but most of the times business goes on.
To observe how much life there is in these projects, how tenants adapt to more easily go through this period and consumption tendencies, Business Construct magazine will periodically analyse the situation of available spaces in malls.
The first step was taken in April, when around 171 spaces were vacant in the 8 malls of Bucharest. Four months on, in mid-August, their number rose by 18% to 202, six of the 8 analysed projects having rising available space.
Overall, the 8 malls have approximately 1,000 spaces for stores, according to the figures announced by mall managers, meaning that one in five would be available.
Just two malls of Bucharest boast a better situation against April: Bucureşti Mall of Vitan, the first mall of Romania, has only 6 vacant spaces, compared with 7 in April, while in Sun Plaza the number of available spaces dropped from 24 to 17 in the wake of several openings operated by retailers with older contracts.