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NORTH WIND

According to Knight Frank St Petersburg estimates, in those­­ years 2017, the street retail market in Yekaterinburg was replenished with about 200 thousand square meters of built-in commercial premises due to the commissioning of new residential complexes. At the end of the year, after major repairs, the Lesnaya metro station was opened, and in 2018 a similar repair should take place at the Akademicheskaya. In addition, five new metro stations are planned to open in 2018: Prospect of Glory, Danube Avenue, Yuzhnaya, Novokrestovskaya and Begovaya. The completion of the construction of new metro stations, as well as the creation of creative spaces in the city on the territory of former industrial zones stimulate an increase in traffic in locations, which leads to an increase in the interest of tenants and the emergence of new outlets.

In addition, preparations for the World Cup are in full swing in the city, in connection with which an increase in the flow of fans and tourists from various countries is expected. Against this background, catering is the leading profile: at the end of the year, its share is 31%. This is followed by food (13%) and clothing (9%). "Street retail in St. Petersburg continues to develop in accordance with the trends that formed during the crisis of 2014-2015: the main players are catering companies that occupy the most expensive premises in the city, in particular on Nevsky Prospekt," Ivan reflects Pochinshchikov, Managing Partner of IPG.Estate.

In turn, the fashion segment is one of the leaders in the release of new brands. In 2017, Lorena Antoniazzi, Lise Charmel, Herno, Peserico, Brooks Brothers, etc. joined the market. During the year, there was a high activity of tenants in St. Petersburg, and the rotation in the market was 15%. The highest level of rotation was observed on pedestrian streets (26%), the lowest on major peripheral highways of the city (14%). It was the active rotation of fashion retailers during 2017 that destabilized the street retail market, Knight Frank St. Petersburg is convinced. So, in 2017, changes affected 28.7% and 24.3% of street retail facilities on Staro-Nevsky and Vladimirsky Avenues, respectively, and on 6–7 lines, the annual figure was 25.9%, according to JLL. The company also notes a serious strengthening of the position of Staro-Nevsky Prospekt as a location for luxury retailers: following the move of the Louis Vuitton store, Dior, Bulgari, Escada, Wolford, Lise Charmel were opened here. "In addition, we can note the end of the transformation of Vladimirsky Prospekt, which has ceased to be a thoroughfare of shoe stores," says Vladislav Fadeev, head of Research at JLL in St. Petersburg. – ​As a result of greater diversification of retailers, the demand for this shopping mall has increased, and the vacancy rate has decreased to minimum values (to 0% in the 3rd quarter of 2017)».

According to Ivan Pochinshchikov, St. Petersburg landlords have become more flexible: if earlier only a bank could rent a room for more than 11 months, today the owners are ready to provide long lease terms to operators of other segments. "It should also be taken into account that in St. Petersburg, the fashion audience in street retail and the fashion audience in shopping malls do not overlap, since shopping centers are usually visited by buyers who are interested in the concentration of different brands in one place," believes Ivan Pochinshchikov. Taking into account the holding of the World Cup in 2018, the season in both capitals will be especially promising for catering enterprises. I assume that the portrait of street retail tenants in the area of bus stations and airports will change somewhat, where temporary points with fan attributes and souvenirs will be opened. A large flow of tourists from Asia has already served as a trend for the opening of stores aimed at this category of tourists, for example with amber souvenirs, but such projects are rare.

Text: Ekaterina Reutskaya

Photo: shutterstock