Iulius Group doubles Timisoara mall area, signs with Inditex

. Expansion works on the mall started last year and are expected to end in spring 2009. A new wing on five floors will be built close to the existing Iulius Mall Timisoara building, on 94,000 sqm of built area. The developer has already signed leasing contracts with fashion retailer Inditex for retail space in the new wing, for Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Oysho and Stradivarius stores. The same brands will also be present in Iulius Group's mall in Iasi, in which they will cover some 3,200 sqm starting from the last quarter of 2008.
Two of the floors in the new Iulius Mall wing will be used for 1,000 parking spaces. Auchan has leased a 14,000-sqm floor for a hypermarket. Another 3,000 sqm will be covered by the food court. The developer plans to increase traffic in the mall from the current 9.8 million visitors to 12 million, while the yearly turnover of stores in the mall should go from EUR 160 million, estimated for 2008, to EUR 250 million in 2009.
The residential project in Timisoara, located close to Iulius Mall, will feature 273 apartments with two and three rooms and several penthouses.
Iulius Mall Timisoara was opened in October 2005, after the group had opened its first mall in Iasi. The shopping center in Timisoara required a EUR 45 million initial investment.
Iulius Group will open its fourth Romanian mall this year in Suceava. The developer has recently started works on its mixed project in Iasi, the Palas public private partnership, which will require a EUR 200 million investment. Inditex is present in Romania with three Zara stores, three Pull and Bear stores, two each under the Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho brands, and one under the Zara Home and Massimo Dutti brands.
Iulius Group's decision to expand its existing unit in Timisoara comes after several other developers announced plans to build shopping malls in the city. In Bucharest, developer Anchor Group has similarly expanded its Bucuresti Mall unit and is underway with one for Plaza Romania.

Corina Saceanu