RETAIL SPACES Q2/2016, PRESENTED BY MBL|CBRE

• The total supply by shopping malls in the second quarter of the year remained at 428,400 sq.m. in Sofia, and 760,000 sq.m. in the country;
• During the second quarter of the year there were no new announced projects for shopping centers in the country;
• The big box market kept the trend for displacement on the market which led to the introduction of a project for the first of its kind Bulgarian hypermarket;
• Carrefour continued to experience financial difficulties and the number of hypermarkets in the country contracted to 5 during Q2 2016;
• The vacancy rate for the shopping centers outside Sofia marked a significant increase on a quarterly basis reaching 19% due to the withdrawal of Carrefour from some of its key locations;
• The Retail Sales Index measured by the National Statistical Institute increased by 5.4% y-o-y as of April 2016. The breakdown by economic activities shows that the retail sales of textile, clothing, footwear and leather goods are the best performing categories on a yearly basis (21.1%), followed by the retail sales in specialized stores with food, beverages and tobacco.

       For further market highlights review MBL Retail Space Q2 2016: Retail Space Q2 2016