Shopping center projects in Italy are holding back while the comparison between properties and tenants on expensive rents is ignited. As if that weren’t enough, consumers are changing their habits by reducing the time spent shopping in shopping centers. These are the hot topics addressed during the tenth “Retail & real estate summit” observatory promoted by Confimprese. In Italy there are 991 shopping centers as well as factory outlets and retail parks for a total of 1,319 units. A mature market after years of rapid growth. 13 projects are under development between 2022 and 2025, of which 10 are new centers and 3 expansions against the 52 construction sites started in 2019.
“It is a mature market that has tried to rejuvenate with little success and that must find new formulas to become attractive again” explains Gian Enrico Buso, managing director of Reno Your Retail Partners during the presentation of the Observatory. In short, most of the shopping centers feel the weight of the decades and lose their luster, attractiveness towards a hit and run clientele who have little time to devote to purchases. The time spent this year has dropped to around 60 minutes and families are likely to reach the malls within a 22-minute drive due to expensive fuel. The positive note is customer loyalty: about three quarters are regulars, loyal while 23% are new visitors. Indirectly, a confirmation of how many shopping centers are unable to enhance attractiveness. In this context, the theme of expensive rents is grafted with the contrast between Confimprese, which represents 450 retail brands with over 90 thousand points of sale and 800 thousand employees, and the Cncc, the National Council of shopping centers, or the properties in which purchases are recorded. for 71.6 billion euros.
“Due to inflation at 12%, our companies are unable to support the Istat increase on rents envisaged by the contracts and the excessive cost is indicated for the second half of 2022 as the reason for the closure of stores in 53% of cases against the 19% at the beginning of 2021 »warns Mario Resca, president of Confimprese, who asks to freeze rent increases for the two-year period 2022-2023 to avoid the closure of shops and safeguard employment. “It is necessary to recognize retail as an energy-intensive activity so as to be able to have the tax credit of up to 50% and freeze the Istat increase in rents for 2022-2023. Volume retail is suffering, margins are drastically reduced, there is a strong selection of operators and closed windows are increasingly numerous both in city centers and shopping centers ». The response of Roberto Zoia, president of the CNCC, is firm. «Our policy is to analyze center by center and shop by shop. I am against something transversal because we see that there is a difference in performance from commodity to commodity-he says-he. There is good will to find agreements on fees, expenses and timetables, because we are a family ». In short, a no to aid rain but only in proven cases. Today the percentage of vacant premises fluctuates between 4 and 6.9% in the case of the best and largest shopping centers up to 14% for the smallest who often struggle to recover. On the other hand, rents reach up to 1,450 euros per year per square meter in the case of premium shopping centers, to which the condominium expenses increased due to high energy must be added.
The ranking
Reno annually draws up the ranking of the best shopping centers and in 2022 in first place is Il Centro di Arese (Finiper Group by Marco Brunelli) with 17 million passes. OrioCenter (Percassi Group) and Porte di Roma (Klepierre) follow. In fourth place the Fiordaliso, another creation by Finiper while the top five is closed by Citylife. There are two points in common: they are all classified triple A, the best judgment and with the exception of Porte di Roma, are in the North West. Scrolling through the Reno ranking you can see a massive number of centers in Northern Italy, 5 in the Center and only one in the South, the Campania shopping center in Marchianise, the province of Caserta. As for the structures under construction, the majority have a rating between double and triple B while there are only four A’s: the Merlata Bloom in Milan, the Milanord 2 in the Milanese hinterland, the Maximall Pompeii and the Walther Park in Milan. Bolzano. Between now and the end of the year there will be 3 inaugurations while two centers have postponed the opening to 2024, probably hoping for better times. There is no shortage of those who enjoy good health thanks to the tourist flows passing through the railway stations: it is Alberto Baldan, CEO of Grandi Stazioni retail, who reports: “this year 750 million passages have been recorded which in the next few years may grow by 70% “. The exit from the health emergency marks positive trends in the shopping streets of large cities. “The big players are undertaking development programs in their stores. This also pushes us owners to further invest in the real estate sector »underlines Mauro Montagner, CEO of Edizione Property (Benetton) who does not hide positive expectations for the next few years.