High levels of retailer interest in the first Serbian outlet center (RS)

The Belgrade Outlet Shopping Centre has attracted high levels of interest from retailers keen to be in the first Outlet Centre in Serbia due to open in early 2011. GVA Outlets were appointed in November to provide Leasing, Project Consultancy and Retail Operational Management to the project. GVA Outlets leasing team and recently appointed local agents Colliers International have been kept busy with over 40% of the outlets in negotiation after only 6 weeks of marketing.

David Carver, Head of Leasing, GVA Outlets comments: "We are attracting a mix of local, European and International designer, high street and sports brands and are working to ensure the ideal mix. We have seen a high level of interest from local Serbian retailers and distributors of key international brands. The distributors have good support from the International brands and we expect to see many of these negotiations leading to leases being signed in the near future. With more calls coming in from interested parties we are certainly being kept busy. This is not a surprise as this is a first in a new territory with a lot to offer."

He explains: "The center is located between Serbia's capital Belgrade and its second city, Novi Sad on a highly visible plot in the city of Indija. It is on the E75 highway, which is one of the principal trans-European corridors with an average of 40,000 vehicles passing within 400 meters of the site every day and over 3.5 million resident Serbs within the 30 minute drive time. It is estimated that half of the county's population will have easy access to this Outlet Center, thereby making it a viable option for many Tenant brands new to the Outlet sector in CEE Region."

The center is due to open in two phases, the first offering 15,000 m² and 55 units and the second completing the 30,000 m² site with a further 55 units. It will also have 2000 parking spaces, a wide range of coffee bars and restaurants and a children's play area all set in a stunning village design.

Brendon O'Reilly, Director of GVA Outlets, comments: "We've opened up new markets for high quality Outlet Centres throughout CEE over the past nine years and this opportunity in Republic of Serbia is as exciting as they come. It's a beautiful development in a massive, highly-accessible plot in the middle of all the people in a country that doesn't have enough retail real estate, especially in Belgrade. Economic growth continues in these CEE territories and with disposable incomes rising dramatically in peacetime, Serbia's consumers will embrace this new Outlet category very rapidly, for sure!"

Source: GVA

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