Five of the 40 most important shopping centers in Romania generate 40 percent of their total turnover, even though they cover only 21 percent of the total shopping center area nationwide, according to a study by Sonae Sierra and PwC. The following 15 shopping centers make 35 percent of the revenues.

The study highlights that some shopping centers have a low turnover, even thought their revenues per sqm are high. “This can be explained in various way, from the mix of tenants to revenues from other sources. On the other hand, several well placed shopping centers have low revenues per sqm but the total turnover is high,” according to the report.

There were over 3 million sqm of shopping centers in Romania at the end of 2011. Most of the 40 shopping centers included in the study are small and medium size project.

The majority are located in Bucharest and in other large cities in Romania, where modern retail has a high penetration rate and people have revenues above average.

There is still room on the market for new shopping centers, one or two in Bucharest, while some secondary cities could also absorb new projects, said Ingo Nissen, director for Romania with Sonae Sierra shopping center developer.

editor@romania-insider.com