SERDIKA CENTER: MOTHER OF ALL THE MALLS

Less than a month ago has opened in Sofia, the "Mall" Serdika Center. To mention some relevant data base, we're talking about 51,000 m2 of retail space on three levels, an area of 35,000 m2 reserved for offices and 1,600 parking spaces. In colloquial language we are talking about a shopping center that would be described as huge. The urban prophets or rather the previous advertising mechanisms predicted that it would be the largest of the Balkans. I do not think so, but what is certain is that in a country like Bulgaria, whose economy is still limited,it made a significant percentage among the leading indicators of construction. By completing a little "input data", the promoter companies have been ECE Project Management Immobilier Bulgaria and Sparkassen AG. The execution of the project has cost about 220 million euros and the construction company that has performed the works in two years is the Turkish Kayi. Each time I passed Sitnyakovo Boulevard and saw working at full blast, morning, noon and night, with lots of materials and machinery traffic on the perimeter,I mentally associated Serdika name to a battle of old where Thracians and Persians ( for example) fought. Now these great works are the battles of everyday life. A curious (and very revealing) indicator of a country's economic growth is the number of "Malls" planned or under construction. For example: "In Romania are to be made 22 shopping centers" (OK, then comes the crisis and are made only three.) I believe the investment approach of this magnitude gives a very clear idea of what large companies expect from a country economically and the contribution of a mass (quantity and quality) of consumers. It may sound wrong, but I am convinced that the multinationals study populations as well as a number of "ants" to which abduct to consume their products faithfully. But let’s go back to Serdika Center. Its 210 stores have created about 2,000 jobs (I hope those who read it think about it) and the occupation of the mall has been 100%. I have seen virtually at the same time how another mall was getting empty, the TSUM, in the very center of Sofia. A poor selection of tenants has been deadly for this CC with unbeatable location, near the Sheraton and Sveta Nedelya. Again confirming the axiomatic law that in the absence of one or more "Inditex" there is nothing to do. From my point of view another alternative as "base store" is "Reserved", a chain that is doing very well en these countries. In Serdika they even have double storey shop (Zara has one plant, no more). However I realised a step backward in design and quality that I hope will be temporary, because otherwise it would collapse all the work well done. To put it another way: Is interesting for all the consumers to have qualified competitor for Inditex. The shirt instead of going out 30 Euros, goes out to 20, and in sales instead of 15 is 10 (without prejudice quality, of course). Walking in Serdika for the first time, with such many stores, produces a bit of dizziness. You can ask yourself : "I have not gone through this store before?" Or "this store is not repeated?". Let me explain with an example: You can pass in front of the store "Esprit" and then after a while you find it again. As the center is so large and you have not entered in the previous, you don”t realize that it is a two-story store. This leads me to think another way, whether it is appropriate to put in the same center, the season’s shop and outlet of the same brand (although this last one situated in less strategic location, of course). Psychologically may not be desirable, but to decide these things I sure that the big companies have wise people. At the end of the day, we're talking about saving the opportunity cost of having the customer transaction in the center and not in another 6 km further down Tsarigradsko shose (and also the cost of transportation of goods, which in these days we also have to take in consideration). Another store is so dizzying to decide which to enter and which not. Since there are so many brands trying to differentiate from each other: The jeans for teenagers, grunge jeans,design jeans, jeans from a classic brand of jeans, the expensive brand of jeans (which is not the same as the jeans from a expensive brand) average jeans from a super-seller brand of clothes, the jeans from the supermarket shelf, the posh jeans, the chic, for gentlemans, the drag ... From the famous theatre play "The Caveman": "Women are gatherers ..." Following this, they don’t go to CC to buy, they go to gather information. If they have (like the jeans) much information to collect, better.Probably they will not buy. If It’s necessary, they will take the bag from the store brand from home. It is a social act of gathering information for which here (and without trying to generalize) are dressed impeccably. Then at the same time It’s an exhibition because it is cheaper (if you avoid the final consumer tramp) stroll through the mall rather than to go out by night. From "The Caveman": "... and men are hunters" Guys, this CC is full of stunning girls. I should not loose time in explaining this reasoning. Buy something in a hurry and escape, forget it. This is designed to get you and spend your time here. Which is the degree of the CC? is a sergeant, commander or general? A small commercial center has one or two multi-sport shops. The big one have specific: Nike and Adidas always. Later Puma, Asics ... ... in Serdika even Converse. Food court: When you have a Japanese fast food or a Nordsee (which equates to Bucharest’s Baneasa) there is little to say. Cinema: None. Are we witnessing the end of cinema as a global business?. We will see if the 3D stands still. Offices: All workers from the offices above the shopping mall are captive customer of it. In that sense it is a good idea (I would say It’s a great one). But we also have to see how demand responds to the offer. As head of a company, if I can get an office above a shopping center, I would say categorically no. Depending on the company and the type of the work will be suitable or not this location. Finally, first to congratulate the friends who have flat near the Serdika Center, because it will enhance its value, and today that is better than any gift. Secondly, since it is considered that blogs are public forums, I appeal to conscious consumption. If, for example, Massimo Dutti takes a step back in design and several in quality. I no longer buy. Mr. Amancio Ortega (who I suppose will never read this blog, but I wish him to continue in the glory of "Forbes" because of what he has created) will know what he is doing. So do I. If you live in a foreign country where (again, without ever wanting to generalize) a girl earns three hundred euros, spents 120 in hair and nails, 100 on clothes and 80 to eat, something is wrong. I remind you to consume responsibly. Remember that: "cheap is expensive, if It’s not necessary."