Happy birthday, Karolina

Sales and footfall have risen on average 10-15 pct. year on year between 2012 and 2016. This has been achieved by: introducing new international brands, extending the food and leisure offerings and implementing marketing and efficiency initiatives.

Forum Nová Karolina opened its doors in March 2012 during one of the deepest global recessions on record. Jointly owned by Meyer Bergman and Canadian pension fund - Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), it was one of Europe’s biggest retail openings. Since then, the scheme has seen continuous improvement.

ARAM has carefully selected retailers and adjusted the tenant zoning within the centre to enhance customer experience and manage footfall. The centre now clustered retail areas: the first and ground floors predominately being fashion-led and the second floor dedicated to lifestyle, services, food and entertainment. This has significantly boosted retailer performance and helped customers navigate their way around the centre.

Recent signings include Gate, 4F and Columbia. Alongside these, ARAM also brought entirely new luxury fashion retailers to the region including British brand Barbour with a 66 sqm (710 sqft) space and Park Avenue taking 139 sqm (1,496 sqft) as well as international gifts retailer Tiger, which opened a 317 sqm (3,412 sqft) store.

In response to customer demand, ARAM has upsized several of its best performing stores within the scheme including Lindex, which moved from a 551 sqm (5,930 sqft) unit to a 833 sqm (8,966 sqft) store and Terranova, that upsized to from 385 sqm (4,144 sqft) to 746 sqm, (8,029 sqft).

Further to the enlarged fashion mix, ARAM has also capitalised on the increased leisure, food and beverage (F&B) trend across Europe, by expanding Forum Nová Karolina’s F&B areas to take over 7 pct. of the centre’s total floor space - a total of 3,939 sqm (42,399 sqft). The diversity of the offering was improved and bolstered further by new food brands including UGO Salaterie, a healthy on-trend Czech dining concept which opened a 328 sqm (3,530 sqft) restaurant, and Spice Box - the first Indian restaurant within Czech Republic - which signed up to a 187 sqm (2,012 sqft) unit on the 2nd floor.

Another element that has had a significant impact is ARAM’s strong commitment to cost savings and affordable service charge levels, many of which that are lower than the average within the Czech retail market. This has been achieved through initiatives including reducing the heating and cooling costs by 10 pct. in 2016, replacing the car park lighting to a lower energy consumption system, environmentally friendlier cleaning of the air ducts and increasing recycling at the centre up to an impressive 80 pct. of the 600 tonnes of waste produced every year.

“Forum Nová Karolina is a star performer for us, with 67 lease renewals and 13 new retailers in 2016 alone, creating an ever-evolving tenant mix. This shows not only that the Czech retail market is benefitting from a growing economy but the total renewals over the last 18 months demonstrates retailer confidence in the scheme. We are currently in negotiations for several leasing changes for 2017 and look forward to announcing these soon,” Lenka Matthews, leasing director commented.

“We initially had our Gant brand here, which has routinely achieved high sales and footfall since 2012. The brand performed so well, and built up such a loyal following in Forum Nová Karolina, that we are now introducing Barbour into the scheme. We are very confident about the shopping centre, and look forward to what the next five years will bring,” said Aneta Hoffmannová, PR director at Vermont Group.

“Since opening in August 2016 we have had a phenomenal response from our customers. We have consistently grown in footfall over the past 6 months, and this store is without doubt one of the best performers within our portfolio,” said Alena Hegnerova, head of marketing at UGO Salaterie.

“I appreciate that ARAM does not only focus on commercial aspects for Forum Nová Karolina, but is also significantly active with corporate social responsibility initiatives. Their marketing activities at the centre involve a variety of non-profit, charitable and educational organisations, and ARAM has continuously been cooperating with local organisations in the city. In the past five years, Forum Nová Karolina has made its mark supporting various institutions contribute to the enrichment of cultural and social life in Ostrava. I would like to sincerely congratulate Forum Nová Karolina on its fifth Anniversary,” Michal Mariánek, deputy mayor of Ostrava Council.

Active Retail Asset Management is a leading, hands-on, trusted property asset management firm with an exceptional track record in the Czech Republic. Offering the full range of property management services and more, with a strong focus on retail and leisure, combined with a keen eye on innovation and efficiency. Established in 2013 by a team boasting an average of 10+ years experience in the CEE market, which today manages over EUR 500 mln of retail property in the Czech Republic. Their expert knowledge from across the retail property landscape helps them to create exceptional retail spaces and places where shoppers want to spend time and money.