The
opening of the IKEA department store in Belgrade placed
fifth. A higher spot may have been expected considering the hype around the opening of the first department store of the Swedish furniture manufacturer in Serbia.
People of Belgrade attended the August 10 opening of the store offering 9,500 products in droves, and newspapers reported that hot-dogs and bowls were the best sold items at the department store. A special public transport line, number 70, was implemented as well, with buses operating the route from Bezanijska Kosa to Bubanj Potok every 20 minutes. In its two months of operations, IKEA has been visited by around 600,000 people, and the company’s aim is 2.5 million visitors in one year.
Let us remind that IKEA announced 5 department stores in Serbia back in 2008. However, all things considered, it is more likely that another two facilities might be realized in the upcoming period. The company, as Vladislav Lalic, IKEA Regional Property & Expansion Manager for SEE, told eKapija recently, is “active in the acquisition of land for another department store”, and the
next facility in Belgrade will be located “on the other side of the river”, on the stretch to the Dobanovci interchange. IKEA has also had a parcel in Nis for several years now and is “monitoring the situation” for the time being.
Another potential project is the construction of an IKEA retail park in Bubanj Potok, next to the department store. The feasibility study positively assesses the possibilities of the development of one such complex, and the company is supposed to make concrete announcements in a few months.
The new player on our list is RC Reinvest, which opened the first NEST shopping center in Serbia in December. LC Waikiki, Deichmann, Takko, Intersport, Top Shop, Delhaize and Nefa are only some of the brands available in the 5,000-m2 facility in Kraljevo. The citizens of Obrenovac, Ruma, Vrsac and Uzice, where the investor plans to build new NEST facilties, will be provided with a similar offer as soon as next year. These announcements helped the project place
sixth.
The
seventh spot belongs to the first shopping center in Karaburma,
BIG Fashion, which opened on April 20. It takes up 61,000 m2, of which 32,300 m2 belongs to outlets. Once the capacity is filled out, there will be 114 outlets on two levels, whereas the third one is meant for dining relaxation and entertainment. Let us remind that
the Dutch company Plaza Centers was initially supposed to open the shopping center in Palilula under the name of Belgrade Plaza. However, it was bought out by the Israeli company Big Shopping Centers Israel, which has been operating in Serbia since 2007. They opened their first shopping center in Serbia, BIG Shopping Center Novi Sad, in 2012, and more on their big plans in the Serbian market is to follow.