BIG FASHION shopping mall worth EUR 80 million opens in Karaburma – Three new brands arrive to Serbia, jobs for 1,500

The company Big Shopping Centers Israel opened a new shopping center in Serbia on Thursday, April 20, in the Belgrade municipality of Palilula, three kilometers away from downtown Belgrade, in the location of the former Sport Star factory. BIG FASHION is located at 84 Visnjicka Street and has a total area of 61,000 m2, with retail outlets taking up 32,300 m2.

Two levels of the new shopping mall currently feature 93 retail outlets, and the total number should amount to 114. The third level is dedicated to gastronomy, relaxation and entertainment. Aside from a coffee shop, a children’s playroom and a restaurant, this floor will also feature a casino. The new Cineplexx movie theater is located on the third floor as well.

– We are opening our second shopping mall in Serbia today. This is a part of our long-term vision, as we want to develop our brand in the Serbian market – said Eitan Bar Zeev, CEO of Big Shopping Centers. He noted that the project was worth EUR 80 million and that the most important aspect of it was that 1,500 people would be employed.

Renowned local and foreign brands have opened their stores in the new shopping mall in Karaburma: H&M, Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Fashion&Friends, Pandora, Dexy Co Kids, Sport Vision, CCC, Shoestar, whereas Serbian customers are to be introduced to Tezenis, Funky Buddha and Oxette for the first time.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali and Ambassador of Israel to Serbia Alona Fisher-Kamm. She said that the investments coming from Israel to Serbia were a good sign of the trust of Israeli investors in Serbia, but also of the people of Serbia’s trust in Israeli investors.

Let us remind that the shopping mall in Palilula was initially supposed to be opened by the Dutch company Plaza Centers, under the name of Belgrade Plaza. However, the Israeli company bought off the center this February.

The BIG FASHION project is a part of Big Shopping Centers Israel, which currently manages 58 shopping centers worldwide. It has been operating in Serbia since 2007 and has invested around EUR 150 million so far. In late March 2017, it started building a shopping mall in Vidikovac. This third project of the Israeli company in Serbia will be the biggest shopping mall in the country, with 70,000 m2 of retail space.

The value of this investment is EUR 150 million, and the future shopping mall will take up 150,000 m2 of land. It will have more than 300 stores of local and foreign brands, a cinema complex, restaurants, a playground and various sports features, as well as over 2,500 parking spaces. It will employ around 3,000 people.

The Israeli company opened its first shopping mall in Serbia, BIG Shopping Center Novi Sad, in 2012.

Another movie theater in Belgrade

A screening of Fast & Furious 8 opened Cineplexx BIG Belgrade within the newly opened shopping mall.

The movie theater has eight halls and 1,300 seats in total, spreading on 3,000 m2. In addition to featuring 4K projectors, the halls are fully digitized and equipped with RealD 3D technology. The new Cineplexx is the first cinema in Belgrade capable of showing films using the latest series of Barco laser projectors, based on the blue laser technology, allowing for a full range of colors and high picture quality.

How to get there?

The BIG FASHION shopping mall can be reached by public transport lines 25p, 32, 32e, 35, 35l, 74 and 202.

K.S.