Nicosia Mall, the island’s newest and biggest retail operator, has seen some 3.7 mln visitors go through its doors in the first eight months of operation, with 2019 data suggesting an average rate of 407,000 visitors a month.
A market survey conducted in the first two quarters of the year also found that visitors preferred the shopping centre because of the brands, its location, the Athientis supermarket and ease-of-use facilities.
The 48,000 sq.m. mall has 140 stores, food halls and parking for 1,700 cars, and houses the usual clothing and apparel shops.
As well as newcomer ‘monobrand’ stores, the largest Public books-to-electronics retailer, a food court dominated by the PHC restaurants brands, in addition to Starbucks, Ocean Basket, MTN, Cytashop, as well as a number of new franchise retailers.
Rio Premier Cinemas, which recently opened its doors, is a state-of-the art six-screen cinema with Dolby Atmos moving cinema audio, Buttkicker cinema seats and 4K laser projectors. Services such as online-booking, and seat reservations have also been introduced.
Located on the west side of the capital, just off the Nicosia-Troodos highway, the €200 mln project also boasts energy saving technologies for lighting and heating/cooling insulation, smart parking for more efficient location of available space, wide open spaces on the balconies of the cafés and a visual concept that does away with window dressing as shoppers look straight inside the shop.
Some 2,500 trees were also planted to enhance the area.
Bank of Cyprus moved into the venture with a €35 mln loan-for-equity swap, as a result of which the mall’s CEO Marios Kalochoritis told the Financial Mirror that the project was completed and opened in November 2018 having replaced investors who had fallen on hard times after the economic crisis.
“Today we have financially solid investors, with the project’s builders, the Athienitis construction and development company, also maintaining a minority share,” he said.,
The project was initiated seven years ago, and work came to a halt because of the 2013 economic crisis. Construction resumed in 2017 and was completed within 14 months.
The latest survey, conducted in March and June by Prime Market Research & Consulting, with traffic data is provided by ShopperTrak, found that the location was ranked by visitors as the number one reason that drives their decision to visit, while an analysis of the geographical profile of visitors reveals a loyal customer base from the largest urban areas of Nicosia.
Fast becoming a popular one-stop destination, the Nicosia Mall will also acquire a new neighbour by mid-2020, the Neo Plaza fashion outlet in an area of more than 35,000 sq.m., a commercial village with 50 discount shops, ten cafes/restaurants, an indoor playground, 250 parking spaces and a 5,000 sq.m green area.
In a recent article published in the Financial Mirror, “Determining success in the shopping mall industry”, the Nicosia Mall’s General Manager Yoram Kedem argued that “the classic success indicators in the shopping centre industry are related to tenancy. The occupancy rate, minimum guaranteed rent, turnover rent, commercial income and rental arrears, serve as important checks of an asset’s performance.
“One of the most important measures of success for this industry is footfall, as at the very core a shopping centre connects the consumer to retailers in a physical space. Technology has been a critical enabler in establishing traffic as a success indicator.
“Adopting a customer-centric approach has already proven a successful tactic at Nicosia Mall. This is what has allowed us to achieve a high percentage rate of returning visitors in a very short period,” Kedem said.
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