Immofinanz has successfully completed the repositioning and modernisation of its VIVO! Bratislava shopping centre. After a renovation period of nearly 12 months during full operations, the opening of the new shops was celebrated today. VIVO! Bratislava now has 170 speciality shops on 36,000 sqm of rentable space, with many new tenants. The food retailer Lidl and the fashion retailer LPP Group have joined as anchor tenants, and the overall offering has been increased by 20 new brands including, for example, Reserved, Mohito, House, Cropp and Sinsay. Immofinanz has invested roughly €25 million in the modernisation and renovation of the facility, which previously operated as the Polus City Center in Bratislava.
This project covered the modernisation of 15,000 sqm of rentable space previously occupied by a supermarket and the relocation of an attractive mix of various retailers into the resulting shops. The repositioning involved the redesign of the exterior and interior areas, including the facade and lighting concept, improved parking, quiet zones, the installation of numerous escalators and the introduction of a new culinary concept – the so-called “VIVO! Market“, which expands the shopping centre’s gastronomic services.
“Our shopping centre was the first modern shopping and entertainment Center in Bratislava. With the modernisation and integration in our successful VIVO! brand, we have created a lasting and attractive profile for the location and a more welcoming atmosphere for the entire family. VIVO! stands for shopping with a special experience as well as strong anchor tenants and an attractive branch mix of international and local retailers“, explained Dietmar Reindl, COO of Immofinanz, at the opening festivities. He also anticipates a substantial increase in the number of visitors: “Based on the more flexible opening hours in Slovakia, we expect numerous visitors from neighbouring Austria on Sundays and holidays“. The repositioning and attractive tenant mix have already been reflected in an increase of 35% in the number of visitors since the beginning of September.
VIVO! is Immofinanz’s shopping centre brand. It was designed for cities with a catchment area of at least 200,000 residents. The VIVO! portfolio currently includes ten shopping centres with approximately 306,000 sqm of rentable space: four in Poland, four in Romania and one each in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. At the end of June 2019, the portfolio had a book value of €674.1 million and a gross return of 8.2%.
