Unirea's path from flagship store in communist days to rival of malls

22 nov 2009 Autor: Cristina Stoian

In 1987, Unirea's clients were buying footwear "under the counter". Right after the Revolution, before Christmas, Unirea generated 1bn-euro sales in just one day. Since 1994, young people have given up the University Square Clock for the McDonald's in Unirea as a meeting place and they now are coming here as they were going to a mall.
The changing consumers, consumption preferences and market have turned Unirea Shopping Center into a symbol of capitalism. The stores now filling 60,000 square metres, brands like Zara, McDonald's, Mango or Douglas, the entertainment area and the store's location close to the kilometre zero, make Unirea one of the most visited shopping centres of Romania, a serious rival for the malls that opened after 1999.
Adamescu family, the centre's majority shareholder, knew that the millions of euros invested in the store's modernisation or the contracts signed with renowned names will boost the market value of the company, which has currently reached capitalisation of around 215m RON (50m euros), from 3.5m RON in late 1999, when the store was privatised.
The store's beginning was marked, though, by the department store model. Owned by the state, Unirea was opened in the second half of 1979 to sell Romanian products. The structure was a standard one. Today, stands have turned into stores with bright signs and special furniture for product exhibits, products have labels and the confectionery shop has turned into a food court.
Until the other two sections, Splai and Calarasi, were opened, 20 years ago, people came to Unirea for food and clothes or shoes. Subsequently, the food lost ground to other products.
In 1999, the store was privatised. It was the moment of reorganisation and the first year when major brands started battling for space in Unirea. "We're developing with the market. We have to adapt ourselves. We're in a financial crisis, there are all kinds of situations, talks, but Unirea has also tried to bring major brands that should generate a client flow," says Eugen Ionescu, the current head of the contract department.