What are the expectations in retail sector for 2019?

For the first time after five years, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong has returned to the top of world list as the most expensive street, while 5th Avenue in New York fell to the second place. The main reason is significant decline in rents in New York for the last twelve months, while in Hong Kong, despite a slight decline, rents remain stable. The most expensive European street is still New Bond Street in London which takes the third place globally, as the merchants of luxury properties continue to see the UK's capital as the key destination in Europe.

All these are the new messages of the largest international real estate fair in the field of retail sectors MAPIC 2018, which was held in Cannes on November 14-16th. The leading real estate consultancy CBS International, part of Cushman & Wakefield Group, is present at the only fair of this type in the world, and CBS International's Regional director of retail sector, Jelena Radulovic says that the new global trends in the retail space industry are presented this year as well.

– The accent is going to be on multifunctional spaces which are going to serve for fun and socializing in shopping malls, and digitalization of purchases as well which is already happening rapidly in the world. Nowadays, both in Serbia and in the region where online shopping is on increase, it is very important that we follow the world trends so that we can give real advice and support to the developers investing in shopping centers. On the other side, the biggest opportunity for us is to try to present our market to new brands, animate them to open stores in Serbia, present quality information about projected revenues and explain what level of success their concept can reach on our market. During the previous years, through contacts we have made on this fair we brought a couple of new brands in Serbia – Jelena says and explains what kind of activities in retail sector we are to expect for the next year.

– The situation in the retail sector is very dynamic and with the new projects already in progress, this market segment is expected to enter the phase of transformation and then stabilization. The first NEPI Group shopping center has been recently opened in Novi Sad, and Belgrade has shown the need for new shopping centers as well. In the forthcoming years we are expecting the opening of Ada Mall, MPC is developing a new
project in Zvezdara, while BW Gallery and Delta project in Autokomanda are interesting for everyone in the retail sector – concludes Jelena Radulovic.