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The VI Retail Forum was held in St. Petersburg

On April, 10 the VI annual international Retail Forum organized by Russian-British Chamber of Commerce was held in Saint Petersburg. ASTERA an alliance member of BNP Paribas Real Estate acted traditionally as an official partner of this event.

Russian and foreign experts shared their opinion on retail chain development in Saint Petersburg. Among the participants of panel discussion were:

• Lyudmila Reva, head of ASTERA an alliance member of BNP PARIBAS REAL ESTATE
• Alan Tompson, head of RBCC, Russia
• Sergey Rusov, development director of AZBUKA VKUSA
• Julio D’érmé, general manager of TRIUMPH INTERNATIONAL , Russia
• Mikhail Onatskiy, managing partner of PRESIDENT CONSULT
• Irina Aleksandrova, HR-manager of METRO CASH&CARRY
• Kirill Myurzepp, quality director of LENTA

According to Lyudmila Reva, despite analysts’ and market participants’ assumptions the anxieties about crisis on real estate market are not reasonable. “The retail market is characterized by stability and step by step development. In the 1st quarter the increase made up 2,7 % due to appearance of new commercial areas of 76,7 sq.m. Retail rates remained stable and grew only within the escalation provided by contracts”, the expert said.

Nevertheless all the discussers agreed that the shortfall of quality areas on Saint Petersburg real estate market is rising. According to Moscow retailers rental rates in most popular city locations are nowadays quite higher than in central commercial corridors of Moscow. Meanwhile, the supply of commercial areas in Saint Petersburg keep on growing and makes up 574 sq. m. for 1 000 people at present. All these factors complicate the market entry of Saint Petersburg retail chains. According to Lyudmila Reva, the entry of foreign brand into Saint Petersburg market takes 1-3 years on the average.