Featured asset – Mercator Centre – a Serbian success story

Atterbury Europe is the joint owner of Belgrade’s Mercator Centre with local partner, MPC Properties. This successful neighbourhood shopping centre, encompassing two retail floors and an offering that includes fashion, sport, beauty, services and the hypermarket Mercator as its anchor, is conveniently situated in a highly populated residential area of New Belgrade. Atterbury Europe asset manager Vlad Valcea shares insights about this valuable asset.

How long has Mercator Centre been operational and how has Atterbury Europe brought its expertise to the centre since becoming involved?
The center was opened in December 2002 with parking and vertical communications on the ground level and supermarket with 60 retail stores on the first floor. At that time, it was the largest greenfield investment in Serbia. Atterbury Europe jointly with its local Serbian partner invested in the asset in 2017 and since the early stages we believed there was some good redevelopment and expansion potential of the mall awaiting to be unlocked. The pandemic has postponed our plans, but we are currently in process of realising some of them as early as next year.

How does the Mercator Centre fit into the retail landscape of New Belgrade – and what is its unique selling proposition?  Who is the target market that the mall aims at drawing?
The centre is anchored by Mercator hypermarket, which is considered the best in Belgrade in terms of offering and quality. It attracts customers from all over New Belgrade and it has a loyal customer base from the nearby residential neighbourhoods and office buildings. The majority of new office and residential buildings developed over the last 20 years were done in New Belgrade, which supports the higher level of purchasing power of Mercator Centre’s primary catchment area.

What are the other retail options for consumers in the immediate area – what is the mall’s main competition?
The main competitor is USCE Shopping center, also part of the Atterbury Europe portfolio, which is currently the best trading mall in the city. However, Mercator’s strong hypermarket makes it unique and therefore still very popular and convenient for large numbers of customers.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on Mercator Centre – have you been able to maintain tenancy, and what measures were in place to accommodate trading restrictions relating to the pandemic? What is the current status of restrictions in Belgrade?
Due to the strong hypermarket offer and its loyal customer base, the shopping center remained very attractive and relevant during the past year. We’ve successfully kept all tenants, except a small unit which is on course of being filled as we speak. Just for reference, the total sales in the mall dropped by only 3% during January and February of this year, compared to the similar period of 2019. Unfortunately, Serbia went through a second lockdown for another 30 days during March and April this year, but currently all restrictions have been lifted and so far May and June sales are very encouraging.

In terms of marketing strategies, how is Mercator Centre approaching the summer trading period – are there specific plans to maximise longer daylight hours and a renewed optimism due to the softening of Covid restrictions?
Due to relaxation of trading restrictions, the mall recently hosted a Shopping Weekend and a Photography Exhibition with old photos of the New Belgrade. Digital and social media campaigns supporting tenants are very active, while further support in terms of a window-shop setting at the parking lot entrance showcasing different tenants’ collections has been very well received.

What is the future of Mercator Centre – are there any refurbishment/redevelopment plans on the horizon, or is it generally considered to be optimally functional at present?
We are in the process of analysing a couple of redevelopment plans and hopefully by next year we will be able to finalise at least one, which involves a new food court concept and improving the overall ground-floor offering.