Former mall manager: Known brands like Zara or H&M will not guarantee success for Romanian shopping centers anymore

Shopping centers in Romania need more leisure and entertainment and should be more interactive in order to increase visits and time spent by consumers, according to Ali Ergun Ergen, managing partner of TBE Business Solutions, who has over 15 years of experience in shopping center management in Romania. “I still believe there is more room for new shopping centers in Romania, but only if developers differentiate themselves. Location is not the only critical thing, developers also need to understand their consumers. Having known brands such as Zara or H&M will not guarantee success anymore. You have to offer something different. Design is also very important. Old shopping malls were like boxes, now people want more outdoor spaces”, Ergen said during the conference “The Future of Shopping Centers in Romania”, which was organized by real estate consultancy firm Immpuls. He also said that new generation shopping centers will put a huge pressure on old ones to change and refurbish. More than 500,000 square meters of shopping centers require works to adapt to market conditions and trends. With investments of up to 500 EUR/sqm, the refurbishment costs for existing malls rise at over EUR 200 million, according to real estate consulting firm Immpuls. Ali Ergun Ergen was the CEO of Anchor Group, which runs the first two malls ever opened in Bucharest, Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania. He held this position for over 7 years. He was also the CEO of Baneasa Investments, which runs Baneasa Shopping City Mall in the northern part of Bucharest. He held the Baneasa helm for six years. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com (photo by Andrei Chirileasa for Romania-Insider.com)