There are 4.5 million square meters of modern shopping space in Romania and there is still room for development as investors are still interested in the Romanian market. In terms of total retail space per capita, Romania is still behind other European countries, explained the speakers of the retail panel of SEE Property Forum 2024.
Carmen Ravon, Head of Retail Occupiers at CBRE, mentioned that there are still new projects for retail spaces underway, as well as the expansion of the existing ones. Two important projects are under construction in Bucharest, one on Calea Victoriei - H Stirbei Palace by Hagag Development Europe and the first food hall in Romania, developed by One United Properties, called One Gallery. “Both will be delivered in 2025,” said Carmen Ravon.
The market has passed the pandemic crisis, so it is no more comparing with the numbers from pre-pandemic years, but with the previous year, explained Geanina Ungureanu, Head of Retail at CPI Romania. She showed that CPI is currently consolidating the portfolio in Romania, including refurbishments of existing buildings. “Our traditional malls need upgrading, so we started the refurbishment and updating all equipment. Now we are BREEAM certified, and we use green energy,” said Geanina Ungureanu.
After years of inflation, the cost of everything is a lot higher than it was five years ago, explained Philippe Besadoux, CEO at Tom Tailor RO & HU. “Maybe this is a reason why the big brands are not yet coming to Romania,” said Philippe Besadoux, explaining that pretty much all the medium brands in Europe are present in Romania and it should be the time for the premium ones to enter. He also mentioned the trend of bigger spaces for shops and a good view from the window, a thing that you need to win the competition for customers.
The market is maturing as exhibited by brands like Lefties by Inditex opening a store in Promenada Mall in Craiova. “They opened one in Portugal and after that in Romania, which shows there is interest for our country,” said Robert Ionita, Group Legal Counsel at Nepi Rockcastle.
The Romanian market is not saturated in terms of retail and there is room to grow. In Germany, there is 1.5 sqm per capita of retail, while in Romania this figure is only 0.5. “For us, at Kaufland, Romania is a very interesting market, and we have a lot of investments coming, including the revitalization of old spaces,” said Dominik Uhe, Head of Investor Relationship Management, Kaufland International.
“There are several retailers on the market that are growing, like retail chain La Cocoș, a local company,” said Dragos Apostol, Partner at Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, explaining also that retailers have a big appetite for development these days.
