City Mall shopping centre in Southern Bucharest, which has had 4 owners in 3 years, will undergo a process to change the mix of tenants, under the leadership of the new general manager, Mihai Agaficioaia.
The last two managers of City Mall, Lucian Cretu and Valentin Preda, also both announced changes in the tenant mix after they were appointed and introduced a tenants that now include a Primavara supermarket, Benvenuti, Sprider Stores, Timberland & Nautica and Ultra Pro. "Currently, I'm assessing and studying the market segment we want to address, probably middle-income customers taking into account the size and position of the mall. We'll modify the brand mix to address a certain client category, given that we do not have a mix that targets a specific kind of consumer at present," stated Agaficioaia.
City Mall opened three years ago and was the first mall in Southern Bucharest, and in July 2007-June 2008 registered a net income worth 4.1m euros. Its current owners Australia's APN/UKA value it at 88.2m euros, 15m euros less than the acquisition price, according to the investor's latest financial report.
Agaficioaia is 35 and took over the position of City Mall manager in late July, after having worked for eight years with Maceplast and before that in South Africa, in an apparel and retail firm.
City Mall now registers, on average, around 15,000-17,000 visitors per day and the new manager considers that at its current size, the mall can welcome over 22,000 people per day, without becoming overcrowded.
"We want to bring a new brand on the market, that targets middle income customers and talks have started to this end. Taking into account spaces that are being fitted out, 96-97% of the mall is rented," stated Agaficioaia.
The Southern part of Bucharest will become the capital city's most crowded area in terms of the number of shopping centres, with projects Liberty Center, Grand Arena and Sun Plaza also being scheduled to open. Thus, competition will become fiercer, putting pressure on rents and the destination of built spaces.
City Mall will start turning some empty and leisure spaces on the top floor of the shopping centre into offices spaces, in an unusual move on the domestic market, given that mall rents are around 50% higher than those charged for office spaces.
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