Due to the departure of a number of foreign fashion retailers from Russia, vacancies in shopping centers and street retail premises in St. Petersburg increased by several percentage points. However, thanks to the activity of both Russian and foreign retail operators, by the end of the first quarter of 2023, most of the space vacated by foreign brands was occupied by new tenants, Nikoliers analysts say.
In the middle of last year, H&M Group, Inditex and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) companies leased a total of 77 sq. m. m. To date, about 500% of these areas are already occupied by new tenants.
According to Irina Tsarkova, director of the retail real estate department at Nikoliers, Russian fashion retailers have been the most active in the retail real estate market in recent months. They occupied the most interesting locations, which previously housed the stores of departed foreign companies, both in shopping centers and in street retail premises. For example, Gloria Jeans, Befree, sela, Snezhnaya Koroleva, 2MOOD, Ekonika, Kangaroo, Freedom Store opened instead of some Uniqlo and H&M Group stores. Serginnetti, Mascotte and Gate 31 rented three of Oysho's four locations, and the first women's clothing store of the Noun brand opened at Monki's premises in the Europolis shopping center.
However, foreign companies also open stores in St. Petersburg. In April 2023, the stores of the Lebanese Daher Group: Maag, Dub, Vilet and Ecru began to open in the areas that were occupied by Zara, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius and Bershka a year ago. As of mid-May, all 22 stores announced for opening this year are already working. Also, the Turkish clothing brand Loft will soon open its doors in the place of Massimo Dutti in the Leto shopping mall.
About 24 thousand square meters are currently vacant. m, which were previously rented in St. Petersburg by key international retailers H&M Group, Inditex and Fast Retailing. According to Nikoliers experts, all these are high-quality premises in good locations, which in the near future will gradually be filled with Russian brands and companies from "friendly" countries.
According to an analysis of nine large shopping centers in St. Petersburg, conducted by Nikoliers, in mid-2022 the share of foreign brands in shopping centers was 42%, but by the end of the first quarter of 2023 it had decreased to 31%. At the same time, in the first quarter of 2023, the average vacancy rate in the highest quality shopping centers of the Northern capital amounted to 11,2%, which is 0,4 p.p. lower than at the end of 2022. For example, in the Europolis, City Mall and Okhta Mall shopping malls, 100% of the areas where the brands of H&M Group and Inditex previously operated are already occupied by new tenants.
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