Retail readying itself for the ban

This will be a very specific year for the retail market in Poland – not only for the owners of retail properties, but also for their tenants and the companies that provide services for shopping centres. Everyone knows that they will have to make changes in response to the new trading law, so they have all been working on their strategic action plans. At Blue City we have also come up with an approach for functioning in this new environment. I believe that large shopping centres situated close to city centres, which have a wide entertainment and food & drink offer, will stay open on Sundays because of their unique character. At Blue City there is a great deal apart from retail to draw in customers. However, despite this we are also thinking of organising additional cultural or entertainment based events, or fairs, on Sundays. This is in fact already a central part of our strategy, to provide an experience for customers who are looking for more than just shopping. Certainly in the first few months following the implementation of the new law banning Sunday trading we will be testing out a variety of strategies designed to help our tenants. We are considering changing our opening hours to better suit the new conditions. And we will be making even more intensive efforts to attract customers who like to spend their time in Blue City. The changes to the Sunday trading law will be a new experience for all of us, but we are not going to be wringing our hands about them. In fact, we want to continue to grow in the new reality. One thing is for sure – the easy part is now over. Now we have a lot of work and difficult challenges ahead of us.

We would also like to avoid putting additional burdens related to changes in the tax regulations onto our tenants. Similarly, we don’t want to suffer the consequence – in the form of lower rents – of the decision to restrict Sunday trading. We are sure we will be working together on these issues with our tenants, as we all have a shared goal. So we plan to conduct wide-ranging consultations with them connected with these issues. We are also aware that our competitors are having to face similar challenges and so the marketplace for new ideas will only become more heated. We will definitely have to implement any new ideas quickly to avoid being left behind. The customers of shopping centres are becoming increasingly demanding: they want to be pleasantly surprised by new concepts and offers – and not only retail ones. These additional offers and experiences, associated with being in a particular place, cannot be replicated on the internet, so I don’t believe that this channel is destined to take over a significant portion of the current spending in shopping centres. In summary, it will be difficult to work in the new environment, but the market will be able to deal with the challenges.