Baneasa Shopping City, the first mall to be built in northern part of Bucharest, attracted over 750,000 visitors in the first month, however some apparel retailers have revealed that many of those who visited left without buying anything, and were simply lured by the novelty of Romania's biggest mall.
At weekends the car parks are full, and in the food court visitors queue for tables, however, during the week the number of visitors is much lower, according to the data provided by part of Baneasa Shopping City's tenants.
"(...)At weekends sales are very good, but during the week it has proven more difficult during these early stages, maybe because of traffic congestion and the mall's distance from the city," states Rares Jianu, one of the founders of clothing retailer TinaR.
In mid-April, when the centre first opened, its representatives forecast 8 million visitors and sales worth 250m euros for the entire year. The number of visitors in the first month indicates this target is attainable and can even be exceeded.
In terms of sales, mall representatives say the large companies that own the sizable areas, such as Inditex, Solmar and Peek & Cloppenburg, as well as new brands in Romania, boasted the highest number of customers who were interested in their products.
According to Jianu, however, any new shopping centre requires a period of adjustment, after which sales pick up.
This opinion is shared by Vicentiu Zorzolan, owner of Esprit franchise, who says sales were in line with expectations, but it will take time to generate profit.
Retailers say a peak in sales was registered in the first tens day after opening, which overlapped the Easter holidays. "There were days when we had sales worth one thousand euros a day, and then we only had sales at weekend. There's a significant flow of customers on Saturdays and Sundays, but the stores are empty during the week (...)," says Cristina Lupu, general manager of Azteca CLC Group, franchise owner for IKKS apparel stores. She says the lower number of customers is due to the lack of an entertainment area inside the shopping centre.
In the first days after opening, most stores part of Baneasa Shopping City tried to lure customers through promotional discounts or special offers, which helped sales.
The food court was the most crowded during this period, and fast-food restaurants registered significant sales.
Baneasa Shopping City opened in the wake of investments worth some 150m euros and is Bucharest's fifth mall. The project was developed by Baneasa Developments, which is controlled by businessman Puiu Popoviciu.
The mall is part of the retail area of Baneasa project, and also includes furniture retailers Ikea, and Mobexpert, a Carrefour hypermarket, and a Bricostore DIY store.
Baneasa Shopping City
Opened in the wake of investments worth some 150m euros, and one of the projects developed by Baneasa Developments, controlled by businessman Puiu Popoviciu, the mall is the 5th opened in Bucharest.
In Mid-April, when the centre first opened, its representatives forecast 8 million visitors and sales worth 250m euros for the entire year.
The number of visitors posted in the first month indicates full-year target is attainable and can even be exceeded.
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