Shopping malls managed by Colliers International open after lockdown without losing a single major tenant
Murmansk Mall, the last shopping center from Colliers International’s portfolio that stayed closed because of the pandemic, reopened on 19 August 2020. In a number of regions the quarantine measures were lifted back in June (Ulan-Ude), whereas the main pool of facilities in St. Petersburg reopened in late July.
The shopping malls found themselves in an equally challenging situation, but in different operational conditions that depended both on the resolutions of regional administrative structures and on the economic situation. Thus only 8% of tenants functioned in FORUM Mall during the lockdown, whereas more than 50% operated in RIO and Murmansk malls.
The key challenge of the Colliers International’s team during the lockdown was ensuring the safety of visitors and building such relationships with tenants that would have enabled all shopping malls to go through this difficult period without losses.
The retail properties have retained both their tenant mix and their audience. For instance, RIO Mall has not lost a single operator, even small ones, whereas the footfall at FORUM Mall (Ulan-Ude) in July swelled by 4% year-on-year.
Says Anna Nikandrova, Partner Colliers International: “A friend in need is a friend indeed while the friendliness of a management company is revealed during the period of restrictive measures. This is my version of this saying for the commercial real estate market. That we have retained all tenants in the shopping malls managed by Colliers International is the result of consistent effort by the entire team to build relationships with tenants on all levels, from shop owners to their directors. We help our tenant partners develop their business, addressing local challenges, and we promote them in local markets. Partnership with our company is a sure bet for any developer as we help them retain their projects and get a stable rental income even in times of trouble.”
