According to Knight Frank, since the first quarter of 2021, the capital city has been witnessing an improvement in the performance of retailers and developers, including an increase in the conversion rate and turnover by 10-20%. The general trend for the large metropolitan shopping and entertainment centers is the active reorganization of retail spaces by the present retailers, who consider new consumer demands.
The most visited shopping and entertainment center, Evropeyskiy, has been following these principles for many years. Having opened in 2006, it not only united the leading European brands, many of which were presented in Russia for the first time, but also presented a new format that combined retail and entertainment.
An innovation was to provide visitors with a huge choice of leisure activities, like a food court with dozens of gastronomic concepts, a modern multiplex cinema, beauty salons for the whole family, an ice rink, a children’s entertainment center, the opportunity to get new unforgettable impressions at the meetings with world-famous stars: performers, musicians, athletes (in different years, members of the popular BrainStorm group and the legendary Rammstein, Natalia Oreiro, Zinedine Zidane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Antonio Banderas and many others visited Evropeisky).
This trend gradually spread to the entire segment of the metropolitan malls. But to this date, Evropeyskiy remains the flagship of development, which understandsallvisitor needs. Thus, considering the demands and wishes of consumers, the first in Russia amusement park of the largest Japanese chain Round One was opened at Evropeisky, where families and friends come to play bowling, billiards, darts, badminton and table tennis, hold Spo-Cha sports, competing in baseball and basketball, archery. Many people master the laser shooting range and tracks for segway-drift and roller skates for the first time.
“The secret of Evropeyskiy’s popularity, of course, is in its convenient location in the downtown, and in the authority of international and chain brands, which promptly provide a wide consumer with new collections immediately after their presentation on prestigious world catwalks. And this is precisely that stability, confidence, including in purchasing behavior, which is worth a lot. Another important thing is the desire for constant movement, improvement, the ability to get surprised and astonish others. The formula for success in shopping center is to constantly change, consideringnew consumer demands”, according toVladislav Yusupov, the representative of Evropeyskiy and one of its founders.
At the end of 2021, Evropeyskiy will surprise you again. While the world’s leading brands have been present at its premises for more than 10 years, the large-scale projects for their expansion will be a surprise. After 11 years of presence on the Russian market, UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing brand, will open the largest UNIQLO store in Russia and Europe.
“Undoubtedly, opening a store of such a level is a big step for UNIQLO in Russia. There are already 20 brand stores in Moscow, including street retail stores, but the new UNIQLO MOSCOW store will provide our customers with a completely new shopping experience. We hope that it will become a significant point on the city map for brand lovers and for those who are just planning to get acquainted with UNIQLO and the LifeWear concept”, according to FuminoriAdachi, UNIQLO Russia Executive Officer.
The first UNIQLO store at the Evropeyskiy mall was opened in 2015. The new UNIQLO MOSCOW will occupy the most convenient location for buyers in the Berlin atrium on the -1 and 0 floors of the mall and will have four entrances. A renovated space with an area of more than 4200 sq. m. will open on two floors of the Evropeyskiy shopping and entertainment center. From will have The central entrance and a show-window about 100 m long will be in Dorogomilovskaya street; an additional entrance will also be at the intersection with the Kievsky railway station.
Moreover, the entrances from the inner galleries of the shopping center will be accessible on both floors, in the immediate vicinity of which there are escalators from the side of the metro exit. Ironically, paying attention to consumer needs has also become the brand’sbusiness strategy. So, focusing on visitor surveys, UNIQLO developed a new line of insulated down jackets for the Russian winter, which later gained popularity all over the world.
“One of the priority tasks of Evropeyskiy is to create comfortable conditions for our partners and to be a key platform in Moscow for the world’s leading brands and their flagship offices. Over the past six years, we have managed to establish fruitful partnership with UNIQLO, and it is especially valuable for us that the opening of the largest brand store in Europe is taking place in our shopping and entertainment center. I am sure that visitors will appreciate the unique opportunities and scale of the renovated space”, Vladislav Yusupovsays.
According to consulting agencies, developers announced that the total volume of new commissioning of retail space in Moscow by the end of 2021 will amount to 541 thousand square meters, which is twice as much as last year. This is quite an encouraging result, for both the business and the consumer, who is ready for new discoveries and experiences.