Sales up for more than 50% of stores in large malls

Bucharest shopping centres boasting the biggest sales in 2010 were Cotroceni Park, Băneasa Shopping City and Bucureşti Mall, of Vitan, according to a survey conducted by Colliers International real estate consultancy among over 100 retailers that operate at least three stores in Bucharest malls.

Cotroceni Park, whose managers reported 164m-euro sales for last year, was designated by retailers as the projects with the best sales, with the following positions being held by Băneasa Shopping City and Bucureşti Mall, seen by retailers as "very close" in terms of sales.

Unirea Shopping Center and Plaza Romania, of Militari, are closing the ranking of the top five projects of Bucharest.

The situation changed from 2009, when older projects dominated the market.

Retailer performance varied in the second recession year, so that over 50% of companies participating in the survey say they registered rising sales, by as much as 30%, while the rest of companies either stagnated or posted declines.