SALZBURG. The Spar European Shopping Centers (SES), a subsidiary of the Spar-Österreich-Gruppe, saw a significant increase in frequency and turnover in 2021, making up for a large part of the decline from the first year of the pandemic.
SES operates 30 shopping centers in six countries. Austria is the largest market. The shop partners had gross sales of 2.64 billion euros in 2021, which corresponds to an increase of 7.6 percent, in Austria sales rose by 6.5 percent to 1.73 billion euros.
The number of visitors increased by five percent to 85 million. Compared to 2019, i.e. the year before the pandemic, the frequency is 12 percent and the turnover is 8.4 percent lower, says the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Christoph Andexlinger, in an interview with the OÖNachrichten. “2021 was an extremely challenging year – both for our shop partners and for us. But the trend is going in the right direction,” says Andexlinger. That continues this year too. “There are weddings, first communion and other celebrations again. Last year at this time we had a lockdown. ”Now more would be bought again.
In Upper Austria, SES operates the Weberzeile in Ried, which achieved the greatest growth in frequency and also performed above average in terms of sales growth. Varena in Vöcklabruck and the Max.Center in Wels also belong to the group. The centers in Croatia were the most stable through the crisis; the situation in Padua, where SES operates two malls, was particularly difficult. Northern Italy has long been strict on measures due to hospital overload, which has limited consumption. Austria was in the middle of the field in terms of development.
Andexlinger sees a change in the development of the shopping centers, especially in the textile trade. Some have withdrawn, other providers have grown. “Especially in the textile trade, there are great opportunities for innovative ideas to establish themselves in this change,” says the SES board member, who has held this position for more than a year. Gastronomy did not have it easy during the pandemic. However, the presence of catering establishments in shopping centers would tend to increase
Source: Nachrichten
