Craiova, Dolj county, October 5, 2023 – by rbj – One of the most powerful investors and developers of shopping centers in Central and Eastern Europe, NEPI Rockcastle, inaugurated, today, in Craiova, Dolj county, the Promenada shopping center, following a greenfield investments of 136 million euros. It is the most important investment in the commercial retail sector in Romania, from the last five years and the largest, in terms of value and size of the project, in ECE, from 2023.
The Promenada shopping area has a total area of approximately 80,000 sqm and integrates the shopping center of approximately 53,300 sqm and a retail park of approximately 10,400 sqm, owned by NEPI Rockcastle. Also, the commercial area includes 16,000 sqm owned by Dedeman.
Of the more than 130 stores present, more than 20 names are in the city for the first time, the developer announces. Also, the inauguration of Promenada marks the official entry on the Romanian and ECE market of the Lefties brand, part of the Inditex fashion group, alongside Zara. He rented an area of 4,300 square meters in the shopping center.
“The high interest from numerous international retailers and the large number of premier brands highlight the potential of the shopping center market in CEE and the attractiveness of regional cities in full economic ascent, such as Craiova,” said Rüdiger Dany, CEO, NEPI Rockcastle.
The developer also announced that Promenada Craiova will be equipped with the largest photovoltaic installation in the NEPI Rockcastle portfolio, with an investment value of over 7 million euros, which will be operational at the beginning of next year.
The anchor in the hypermarket segment is Carrefour, the first in the city, and among other stores are: Calvin Klein, Enzo Bertini, Modivo, Mohito, Nike, Obsentum, Peek& Cloppenburg, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armor and others. The mall also has a restaurant area, including a drive-through, as well as a Cineplexx cinema.
Other firsts are constituted by technology and software retailers, such as iStyle, but also by the new store concepts of the Inditex chain: Bershka, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius Zara and Zara Home.
“Currently, the shopping center is 99.9% leased, and the retail park is 85% leased. We focus on three main directions: fashion, leisure and technology”, added Marius Barbu, Group Asset Director, NEPI Rockcastle.
According to NEPI Rockcastle representatives, the Promenade generates, directly and indirectly, more than 1,500 new jobs.
NEPI Rockcastle is the leading investor and developer of commercial property in Central and Eastern Europe. The Group owns an outstanding portfolio of properties with key positions in Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania, and continues to develop through an expansion program in the region.
NEPI Rockcastle made a profit after tax of almost €260 million in the first half of 2023, up 50% from €171 million in the same period last year. In Romania, the company owns 25 shopping centers, including those in Bucharest (Mega Mall, Promenada Mall), Sibiu (Shopping City Sibiu, Promenada Sibiu), Timișoara (Shopping City Timișoara), Constanța (City Park Mall Constanța), Târgu Mureș (Târgu Mureș Shopping City) and Ploiești (Ploiești Shopping City).
