From second to first

Carrefour Polska, part of the French Carrefour group, is convinced that its centres already meet the criteria for this and that things can only get better. The company is the owner of twenty centres across Poland. The vast majority are second generation, i.e. based on a hypermarket with some additional retail space. “Carrefour Polska’s strategy for the development of its shopping centres is a result of the general business strategy that has been adopted for the entire group. This involves investment in properties it already owns through their modernisation, extension and partial remodelling,” explains Ronan Martin, the vice-president of Carrefour Polska.

Re-make, re-model
Second generation shopping centre owners have by no means given up on the fight over customers. One way of maintaining their results and strengthening their positions involves adjusting the centres to the current requirements of shoppers. “The changes that are going to be introduced by Carrefour are therefore a response to current market requirements or result from the retail history of a given facility. For example, the Morena shopping centre in Gdańsk is to be thoroughly modernised. Its architecture will change and its retail offer will be considerably extended. However, it will still be targeting local residents. So the profile of the centre will be maintained, whereas its market position will be strengthened,” says Ewa Karska, the director of the shopping centre department of Carrefour Polska. The company has decided to modernise four facilities. The Morena shopping centre in Gdańsk will be rebranded, its logo redesigned, its interior refreshed, while being recommercialised and, possibly, partially extended. Morena currently has a leasable area of 17,500 sqm and 65 stores. The Carrefour shopping centre in Sochaczew will also undergo changes. It will be connected to a retail park with a leasable area of 6,000 sqm that is now under construction. “The new section is currently 70 pct leased. The entire complex will be opened in the autumn of 2014,” Ewa Karska informs us. In Olsztyn, the changes to the city’s Carrefour shopping centre will involve refurbishing the centre and adding to its leasable area through a recommercialisation process. The centre currently has a leasable area of 8,400 sqm, which is to increase to 15,000 sqm. Meanwhile, the Carrefour shopping centre in Krosno, which has a leasable area of 5,400 sqm, will be extended by an additional 2,600 sqm. Both enlarged centres should be completed next year.

Opting for the tried and tested
“Despite the economic slowdown of 2012, we have been seeing some positive signals. We are currently observing a clear revival, with both the expansion of new brands and the construction or modernisation of shopping centres. Tenants are preparing new concepts adjusted to customers’ latest requirements, while the demand for new brands from shoppers has been growing. We are also happy with a trend we have been noting for quite some time – the clear interest from tenants in proven, well-functioning facilities. These do not necessarily have to be modern shopping centres. Tenants have been reviewing their development plans and want to open new outlets in centres that are already operating,” claims Ewa Karska. Indeed, taking a look at the Polish retail market you might conclude that tenants are opting for stability at the moment, as some are opening outlets in centres that are already established on the market. In October H&M opened an outlet in Sadyba Best Mall in Warsaw, a centre that has been operating for 13 years; it is now preparing to open a store in the recently refurbished 14-year-old Dom Mody Klif, also in the capital. LPP is another retail group that has chosen to move into established centres. Its Reserved fashion brand is now to open in Sosnowiec Plaza, which has been operating for six years, as well as the four-year-old Bonarka City Center in Kraków. The trend has been growing, which is a bonus for the owners of older shopping centres – provided that they are actively managing their malls. “This represents a very positive trend and a reasoned approach from tenants. A manager knows the facility they supervise inside-out and their tenants know what to expect. So no-one will be left disappointed. This reinforces our opinion that as a developer we can continue to grow,” concludes Ewa Karska.