Discounters are entering malls for the first time this year because, as rents are going down, shopping centres have become more accessible to the retailers that have the lowest costs on the market.
"The expansion of food discounters in malls is directly linked both to the changing consumer behaviour and to the lower rents in shopping centres. As they are less affected by the crisis, these networks also have a bigger expansion capacity and are, for developers, a very good solution to replace the retailers that are exiting these projects," says Georgiana Andrei, senior broker with the retail department of Colliers real estate consultancy.
The first malls that signed an agreement with the operator of a food discounter are Euromall in Pitesti and Galleria Shopping Center (Piatra-Neamt and Suceava).
Trigranit, EuroMall’s administrator, has recently rented an 800-sqm space to Penny Market, the discounter network of Germany’s Rewe, which will replace Primavara supermarket.
This year, Penny Market has secured five spaces in malls or shopping centres, with three of them being located in small malls, such as Galleria or Cadran. The expansion plans of the retailer, which is vying with Plus for the leading position on the segment of discounters, envisage investments in 28 new stores in 2009.
In parallel, Penny Market has acquired 10 land plots for expansion this year, according to company data.
So far, discounters have been winners in the crisis, boasting sales increases, whereas supermarkets are coping with 15-22% declines. This may be one of the reasons why malls and shopping centres are interested in partnerships with discounters.
Discounters are also replacing the electronics and electrical home appliances retailers, which are undergoing restructuring as their market fell by 30-40%.
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