Cinema And Entertainment Area Of Baneasa Shopping City Hosts More Than 150 Events Every Year

06.20.2018 By Cristina Roşca

Grand Entertainment, the cinema and entertainment area of Baneasa Shopping City mall, hosts more than 150 events every year, and one of the latest events is ICCEfest. This is the largest event dedicated to Internet in Central and Eastern Europe, which takes place in Bucharest.

“We have been hosting this event every year since 2013. This year’s edition was sold out, about 3,700 people came in the two days of the festival. More than one third of them were foreigners. This has been the biggest ICCEfest so far,” says John Younis, General Manager of Grand Entertainment.

Some of these people, as well as some of the participants to any event, turn into being the customers of the mall, choosing either to go shopping for clothing, jewelry or stay to eat in the food court.

The Grand Entertainment executive says it is hard to estimate the rate of convergence, i.e. the percentage of participants to events that later become customers of the mall in the north of Bucharest.

“Events create awareness for the cinema, they generate customers – both corporate and individual, and give companies a vision of the possibilities our space offers. These conferences and events act as a catalyst for business. They boost visibility for the mall, the flow of unique visitors per day and the revenue that comes with them.”

Grand Entertainment hosts 150 events year by year, attended by 20 to 3,500 people. The event rooms have various capacities, 43 to 480 seats.

“We provide support and technical assistance, but also provide an event coordinator, a dedicated person whose role is to provide the necessary support to the customer. We also provide catering services. About 80% of the customers that chose us once come back for (at least) a second event.”

Grand Entertainment hosts conferences, (product and service) presentations, meetings, seminars, (corporate and private) film screenings, private events (anniversary parties, surprises, marriage proposals), boxing galas, concerts and shows, gaming events.

Each event room has its own screen; Grand Entertainment has the biggest screen in Romania.

Grand Entertainment is part of the Baneasa Shopping City project in northern Bucharest.

Baneasa Developments, which operates Baneasa Shopping City, Feeria Gallery and Grand Cinema & More in northern Bucharest, ended last year with EUR 51 million revenue, with an increase of 4% compared with 2016.

The company's turnover is actually the rental income from over 300 stores in the mall opened ten years ago and from Feeria commercial gallery that has Carrefour hypermarket as anchor.

Baneasa Developments increased its profit by 12% in 2017, reaching a net result of over 80 million lei. Thus, the profit margin was 35%, following the upward trend started in 2014.

The sales of the retailers in Baneasa Shopping City, which include big international brands like Zara, H&M and Michael Kors, as well as local renowned ones like Musette and Il Passo, raised at more than EUR250 million last year, which means an average of about EUR5,000/square meter/year.

The sales (which do not include the results of Carrefour hypermarket in Feeria shopping gallery) increased by 85% as compared with 2008, the year of opening. The Carrefour hypermarket alone generates more than EUR100 million sales and is one of the best stores in Romania, ZF sources say.

The total leasable area of Baneasa Shopping City is 55,000 square meters, most of which (70%) is for fashion stores and for those who offer beauty products and services, jewelry and accessories.

Out of more than 300 stores in the mall, over 40 are exclusive tenants, including Uterque (fashion brand specialized in accessories and part of the Inditex group, that owns Zara), Chopard (jewelry), Furla (fashion), Chanel (cosmetics), Boggi (men’s fashion) and Victoria 46 (multi-brand store).

Baneasa Shopping City is part of the Baneasa project, which includes the commercial, residential and office space areas. Overall, the company officials say this is the largest mixed-use project in South East Europe, spread over 221 hectares with a development potential of more than 2 million square meters.

Net salaries, taxes and social security contributions generated by the effect of the development of Baneasa commercial, office and residential areas, stand at more than EUR863 million (about $1.1 billion), according to the updated figures in a survey conducted by the audit and tax advisory company KPMG.