Shopping Centers Russia Май-Июнь 2023 | Page 55

Shopping centers are waiting for tenants
“ If we talk about the all-Russian trend , it should be noted that the openings of shopping centers are postponed to a later time period . At the same time , their areas are shrinking , and new facilities are located outside the central parts of cities ”, – says Boris Bogoutdinov , managing partner of “ 2B Dialog ” Consulting Company .
Among the malls , the opening of which was postponed , is the shopping center ” Hollywood ” ( GLA — 60 thousand sq . m ) in St . Petersburg . Which was 24 % of the total plan in Russian regions .
In Moscow in 2023-2024 around 300 thousand sq . m of commercial real estate is planned to be opened , said Bogoutdinov . However , due to the fact that the deadlines for new facilities are often postponed , more likely in 2023 only 80 thousand sq . m of retail space is going to be introduced in the Russian capital . At the same time , if the Seligerskaya transport hub is commissioned this year , the size of new construction may exceed 200 thousand sq . m .
“ Now 15 sites are declared to be completed , however , at the end of the year , these numbers may be significantly lower due to the opening dates ’ adjustment of many of the new shopping centers . There is a high probability that only two-thirds of the presented malls will start working this year ,” said Bogoutdinov . He explained that this happens due to the difficulties that arise when attracting tenants . Today , even the largest and most well-known market players , when opening new stores , choose areas , locations and facilities carefully .
According to the IBC Real Estate outlook , this year shopping centers are expected to open mainly in a district format , which continues the trend of the last three years , when more than 60 % of new high-quality properties had an area of less than 15 thousand sq . m . In the near future ,
SHOPPING CENTERS RUSSIA | МАЙ-ИЮНЬ 2023 | 51