Retail space keeps growing amid building slowdown
While general construction is suffering, down 29 percent in May compared to last year, according to investment bank Dragon Capital, the retail space segment appears strong.
As of end-March 2013, some 1.2 million square meters of retail space were available in Ukraine, with analysts from international consultancy DTZ predicting new retail space in Kyiv will exceed 200,000 square meters in 2013.
In early March the new retail and leisure center Marmalade opened in Kyiv. Three new shopping malls appeared in Kyiv in 2012, including Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center, with some 131,000 square meters of commercial space, as well as the smaller RayON in Desnianskyi district and Poliarnyi shopping mall in the city’s north.
Meanwhile, the Gulliver shopping mall is scheduled to open later in 2013. Situated in the central Pechersk area next to Palats Sportu, with a total area of 62,242 square meters, it will house a cinema, several restaurants, spa-centers and a fitness club.
Another, Art Mall, is about to open its doors. Its developer, Alacor, has said the mall will feature a 1,500-square-meter exhibition gallery. It will also feature a 10,000-square-meter Fozzy Cash & Carry hypermarket, a bowling alley, a fitness center and a theme park for families. Developers estimate pedestrian traffic will be about 70,000 people per day, as the mall will be located near the busy Stolychne highway.
The first Ukrainian fashion outlet center, Manufaktura Outlet Village, is currently under construction and set to open Oct. 1, 2013. Located in the Kyiv suburbs, next to the already open MegaMarket Khodosivka, it will cover 25,000 square meters and feature a 1,340-square-meter entertainment center for children. The center will also house five restaurants, a fitness center, a cinema and parking for 1,000 vehicles.
Top-world brands, such as Baldinini, DKNY, Helen Marlen Group, G-Star Raw, Lagerfeld, Gant, Pepe Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger and U.S. Polo are also set to lease space there.
Those brands and many others will each need to pay premium prices for retail space in Kyiv’s malls, at least compared to prices in Warsaw. Here prices start at about $160 to $200 per square meter, per month, whereas in Warsaw’s best locations the rent only goes up to about $125.