Just as in 2007, when the number of malls doubled to 20, developers have scheduled the majority of new launches for the last quarter of the year.
New openings on the market this year include the first Galleria malls, developed by Globe Trade Center (GTC), Atex's owner Dan Ostahie's first mall, and the first shopping centres developed by RED Management Capital, in Arad and Braila.
The number of commercial projects scheduled to finish this year, 24 (of which 3 have already been opened) will be developed mainly in form of retail parks and small and medium-sized malls.
Out of the 21 shopping centres due to open, 15 will be launched in the last four months of the year, when developers expect a higher flow of customers and better sales during the winter holidays.
These shopping centres, which will entail more than 1.5bn euros in total investments, will include around 3,000 stores with around 25,000 employees, which will labour market. On the other hand, the medium and long-term strategy of some developers, which have announced plans to set up major shopping centre networks in various cities, also depends on the performance of the malls scheduled for this year.
At the same time for experienced developers on the domestic market this year's deliveries will not be a first.
In the western part of Romania, where only two malls are present, three new shopping centres will open in the next three months, one in Arad and two in Oradea.
In the eastern part of the country, although less economically developed, five malls are already operational and another nine are scheduled to open by yearend.
At the same time, a series of cities such as Braila, Focsani, Galati and Piatra Neamt, will see their first shopping centres opened this year. However, the majority of projects will be delivered in Bucharest, after Baneasa Shopping City, the city's biggest project of this type, opened earlier this year.
Central Romania will not see many malls open this year, after Cluj-Napoca and Targu-Mures both saw two malls open last year, whilst one mall was also launched in Alba-Iulia.
In terms of owners, Iulian Dascalu is likely to remain the biggest mall operator in Romania, while Austria's Immoeast is expected to control three such properties.
Another two shopping centres that were due to be finalised this year have already been postponed for next year and other developers may also announce delays by yearend.
Despite the fact that consultancies believe only around 50-60% of mall projects will be finished, the shopping centres planned for this year are already in an advanced stage of construction and it is unlikely that they will be abandoned.
Malls in 2008
The number of shopping projects scheduled to finish this year, 24, will be developed mainly in the form of retail parks and small and medium-sized malls
15 malls will open in the last four months of the year when developers expect a higher flow of customers and better sales during the winter holidays
Overall, the market, which will include around 3,000 stores with around 25,000 employees, will entail total investments worth above 1.5bn
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