This shopping malls Spaniards are leaving COVID-19 backbut only in volume Sales over 1.8% One of 2019’s. On the contrary, entrances to these properties remain below 14.9% those registered in the last year before the outbreak of the health crisis; According to the annual report of the Spanish Association of Shopping Centers and Parks (AECC).
“The industry has Totally recovered in sales to pre-pandemic figures, we have consumer confidence with increasing visitor spending. We continue to maintain our strength and have regained investor appetite. we have recovered a lot of investment and many recreational activities and restaurants. “We are a very active industry with constant innovations and increasingly strong sustainability policies,” summarizes Eduardo Ceballos, president of the Spanish Association of Shopping Centers and Parks, at the time of the report’s presentation.
There are currently 577 shopping centers and parks in Spain with a gross leasable area of 16.6 million square meters. In the last 12 months, Caleido or Mirasierra Galley in Madrid; Open Mall in Lanzarote; Nasas Nigran in Pontevedra state; or the Family Park in Castellón.
30 new projects will be completed between this year and 2025. “Half are shopping malls and the other half are retail parks, measured by gross leasable area. By number of assets, the seven malls and 23 parks are smaller,” explained Eduardo Ceballos, president of the Spanish Association of Shopping Centers. parks.
paralyzed investments
in 2022 investment by funds, socimis or private investors in this segment of business assets reached 1,808 million eurosAlmost double what was recorded in 2021. Institutional investments were stopped due to the health crisis in 2020 and 2021, and with the rise of electronic commerce, the future of this asset class began to be questioned.
Last year the first operations began to close: South African fund Lighthouse bought Torrecárdenas Shopping Center from Bogaris for 172 million, or French fund Frey bought Finestrelles Shopping Center for 127 million. But, increase in rates and investor demands for profitability paralyzed many sales processesLike Splau (Barcelona), where German ECE is in acquisition talks with URW.
“After three years of falling investments, we recorded 38 operations in 2022. Eight asset conversion interventions performed with 70 million investment Euro” comments the president of the association.
Ceballos underlines the investment appetite that AECC has identified in traditional centers as well as retail parks: “The most growing modality in recent years is the retail parks category. There are 84 in Spain and there were 68 in 2018.. In addition to recovering his figures faster with the pandemic, he is the one who has grown the most in new projects.
E-commerce is stagnant
E-commerce accounts for 10.6% of all retail purchases in SpainCompared to 14.5% of the European average; Based on CBRE and Euromonitor data compiled by AECC. “weight e-commerce continues with an increasing trend. Spain’s data is below the European average: higher than Italy, but lower than France or Germany and much lower than the UK”, adds Eduardo Ceballos.
Association president admits there is some uncertainty after the summer, but “The effect on consumption in shopping centers is very moderate”; although he remembers that “it should be watched because it may have a greater impact in the future”. While the average sales per visitor remained on the uptrend, it has slackened its growth compared to the pandemic months when people went out to shop on time.
During the months of imprisonment, families created a savings bank that was reduced after restrictions ended. Also those months consumption habits have changed, as supported by data: spending on restaurants increased 37.1% compared to 2021, but only 7.8% compared to 2019; While everything about the home has increased its turnover by 4.5% compared to 2021, it is already accumulating a 25.1% growth compared to 2019.
AECC advocates the economic and labor importance of the sector in Spain, creating approximately 860,000 jobs, contributing 0.9% of Spain’s total GDP and 10.0% of the GDP of the service sector. “Sectorshopping centers contributed more than 12,363 million euros to Spain’s GDP” ends the run.