Cushman & Wakefield: Romania is among top European destination for commercial centers development

Newsroom 04/04/2011 | 18:56

Romania is in top 10 in Europe regarding the new developments with delivery terms in the upcoming 2011 – 2012 period, according to a recent survey by Cusman & Wakefield. “This indicates that in Romania, as in other countries in Europe, there is an appetite for retail developments. New developments outside of Bucharest will continue to put pressure on profitability, due to the fact that retailers are not yet developing at an accelerated pace, if we are talking strictly about the next two years. Retailers for medium- and large- size formats are putting pressure on rents and occupation facilities,” explains Razvan Gheorghe, managing partner with Cushman & Wakefield Romania.

Names such as H& M, Zara, New Yorker, C&A, Takko or Deichmann are the main anchors for retail developments, and the local market continues to be attractive even if economically conditions are worse than in other CEE countries, the same report goes on.

Romania has over 25 cities with over 100,000 inhabitants which allows for an organic growth for most networks of international fashion retailers, food or DIY retailers.

The development of new commercial centers in Europe registered a significant drop in 2010, the biggest decline since 1983 to know, according to the study by Cushman & Wakefield. Approximately 5.2 million sqm were finalized last year, down 30 percent since 2009. It is the second year in a row when the level of new deliveries is down, which makes it the lowest since 2004.