People have started to return to their usual shopping destinations. That is reflected in the positive business development of SES Spar European Shopping Centers during the second year of the pandemic.
Compared to 2020, significant growth was recorded in retail partner sales, visitor footfall, average spend per purchase, and sales of the “ZEHNER” gift certificate. This positive upward trend was recorded by SES in all countries in which it operates centres. In Austria alone the gross sales generated by retail partners increased by 6.5 per cent over the previous year. That is well above the growth of the Austrian retail sector (4.2 per cent according to Statistik Austria, the Austrian Federal Statistics Office). Despite the pandemic, in 2021, a total of 22 million euros was invested in maintenance and sustainable measures relating to the operation of the centers, as well as in project development.
In 2021, a total of 85 million people (5 per cent) visited the 30 shopping destinations run by Austria’s market-leading shopping center developer and operator in six Central European countries. With gross sales of 2.64 billion euros, more than 1,800 retailers, gastronomy providers, and service partners posted a total increase in sales of 7.6 per cent compared to 2020.
SES manages a total of 30 major shopping destinations, including 27 shopping centres, two retail parks, and one managed shopping street, amounting to more than 830,000sq m of leased space in the markets of Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, northern Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The past year was marked by a wide variety of official coronavirus prevention measures that were implemented in the individual countries.
