Hornbach invests 40m euros in former Prisma complex

German construction supplies and DIY network Hornbach is investing approximately 40 million euros in the location of the former Prisma shopping centre on DN1 (National Road 1), which closed in 2004 for lack of customers.

Prisma was one of the best-known fashion shopping centres in Bucharest in 1996-2000, when foreign retailers and real estate developers avoided Romania, but later became a victim of the expansion of the major store chains and malls.

"Prisma was a business that benefited from the lack of modern trade formats during its first years in business. It was estimated to have 15,000 clients per day during weekends and 2,000 on the average in the rest of the week," says Razvan Gheorghe, general manager of Cushman & Wakefield Romania.

Hornbach bought the former Prisma site in 2007, when it paid 20 million euros, and could complete work on the store by the end of this year, its officials say. They also want to persuade another retailer to come to that particular location.

Will the German retailer reach Prisma's traffic peak?

"A daily average of 13,000-14,000 visitors in a location 20 kilometres away from Bucharest is very high, considering a major mall in the city sees traffic of 25,000-30,000," says Georgiana Andrei, head of Colliers Romania's retail division.