Crisis affects releases of malls and new spaces will have smaller format

Sao Paulo-The shopping malls that will be launched in coming years will be more compact in comparison to those that already exist. No huge complexes. The trend of the sector are compact designs to evade the economic crisis, which leads companies to seek to reduce operating costs and investments.
Before it was possible to find up to three storey shops in shopping centres-known as anchor stores, the spaces to be opened should not offer such large sizes for companies wishing to operate in places, because the bigger the site, the higher will be the cost of operation.
"These stores [anchors] continue to be very important for the project itself, because they attract a larger flow of consumers. However, are not as advantageous from the point of view of sales or of collaboration with rents and other costs in this time of economic crisis, "says the Superintendent of the Brazilian Association of Shopping centres (Abrasce), Adriana Colloca.
So, according to her the projects to be opened in the next few years in the Brazilian market should offer spaces for the concept of megastores, more difficult to be marketed in times of instability. According to Adriana, until December of this year will open 30 new shopping malls by Brazil, and last year, there were just 18. "But in the next few years these numbers should fall a lot," he says. The announced for 2016, at least 23 should be launched in cities in the interior of the country. According to her, the malls that will open this year were designed for three or four years, when the economic crisis still not give signs of gravity current, other than the fact that some had their openings postponed. "That''s why we have smaller quantity of new malls in the coming years. Are spaces designed in a moment of desaquecida economy ".
About compacting the shops, Adriana believes that the difficulty in finding great land in the main cities of the country can also be a hindrance. "It''s a appropriateness of format. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, for example, are cities where the square meter is quite expensive. This also results in a reduction of spaces for anchor stores, "he says.
The Abrasce estimates that companies in the sector to invest up to $ 14 billion in new projects and expansions later this year. But in announcing its consolidated balance sheet, the company Iguatemi Shopping Centers reported that should decrease in almost 200 million R$ their investments in the sector. Last year, the company has injected 360 R$ million in expansions and new ventures, this year the company points out that it''s just 170 million R$. According to the information contained in the balance sheet, the Iguatemi should focus on opening of outlets in the coming years as these projects require fewer resources.
International brands
Part of the strategy for smaller stores is also a result of the arrival of international brands to the country that increased competition for the consumer. To the Director of the Vecchi Ancona-strategic intelligence, Anna Vecchi, the landing of these brands in the country with products at the most affordable prices brought a competition which the networks already operating in the country longer were.
"The competition also leads to an adjustment. For example, when Forever 21 came to Brazil, stores like C&A and Riachuelo had to revise their spaces, "he says.
"We also had a growing absurdity of constructions and openings of spaces at a time of heated economy, so retailers bet on megastores and great shops," he adds.
With the crisis, she says, the costs of these operations have become too high and competition, even with smaller retailers, was tight, which resulted in the abandonment of huge stores. The vacancy rate (vacant spaces) in the malls has reached 3.9% in 2015, according to data from Abrasce.