Retail in Eastern Europe
Friday, March 7th, 2008 | University
The transitional countries of Eastern Europe experienced a Big Bang with the transition from plan to the free market economy in the 90ies. The retail was one of the most important industries which responded to those changes very quickly. The two most important impulses out of this restructuring process have been the Modernisation and New Types of Business. The last named relates to large-area retail and a decreasing number of employees per business unit. Large shopping areas in the Greenfield Side on the periphery of metropolitan areas predominated the new retail areas. In parallel the modernisation of business flows and sales area design took place.
Since the 90ies a lot of shopping centers have been build in the Greenfield side. 15 years later, local authorities are confronted with problems like desolation of cities, unoccupied sales areas and therefore sinking tax incomes especially in smaller townships. Now the regulation from the city authorities has become stronger and more target-oriented than it was in the beginning of the 90ies. The integrated areas in the city are gaining in importance. Large scaled areas for retail in the city are accounted from the authorities. Shopping centers as well as high price galleries in best location are built directly in the city.
Exemplary for this development is the new opened shopping mall “Palladium” in Prague. Centrally located the “Palladium” is now part of the inner city commercial district which starts at VaclavskeVaclavskeNamesti Namesti, cPrikopes in Na Prikope and leads directly to the Palladium. The accessibility afoot is about 10min in the Old Town. The very modern inner design contrasts the historic outside facade (19th century).
This new shopping magnet for tourists and people with above-average income working in the City are the main target groups. Besides the most purchased goods like fashion, accessories and gifts a whole Gourmet Paradise is located in the upper floor. The strategy contains no entertainment as cinema or bowling (on the contrary to the Greenfield side) and no bulk buying, but fashion dining and meeting spots for business people working in the offices, which are also integrated in this complex.
This rapid development in the retail industry has already caught up and overtaken the one in the West. The generations of shopping centers in Eastern Europe are changing very fast and soon will reach the US standard certainly.
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