Renata Gralec: 2017 was a challenge for us

Furthermore, the mall underwent a number of renovation work which concerned a total area of over 10,000 sqm. “Poznań’s huge saturation with retail space attributable to one resident in 2017 was not only a serious challenge for the commercialization of our centre but also a precious test. The position which we worked for over the years, the particular character and the atmosphere of Stary Browar which was created with true involvement of a lot of people, continues to attract tenants and customers,” says Renata Gralec, director of the Stary Browar centre. “It was one of the most intensive periods in our history. In 2017 we signed a total of 40 contracts which include new tenants as well as prolongations. Their summary reflects the condition of Stary Browar and its prospects,” adds Renata Gralec. In 2017 the group of tenants of Stary Browar gained 18 new brands. In the clothing industry they were: the first Freya boutique offering Scandinavian premium brands for women, Jack & Jones offering Danish men’s fashion, duo-brand Intimissimi & Calzedonia shop, Wojas footwear shop, the Minty Dot jeweller’s and the second shop of Dorothee Schumacher in Poland. The sports industry gained Martes Sport with an area of over 1,000 sqm in its premium concept, a Selectshop.pl multibrand outlet for the fans of street, skate and snowboard as well as the Trespass Scottish brand offering outdoor clothing. Services have also developed including the first Hop-Chop Barber Shop in Poznań while the Caspar and F-Trust financial companies started their operations in the office section on ul. Półwiejska as well as the Berlitz language school. The gastronomy offer of Stary Browar was extended to a fixed outlet of the Cukiernia Karpicko patisserie (which only had its stands until now) and Asian cuisine of the Guty chain. The new-tech brand gained the first in Poznań (and the second in Poland) DJI drone shop and the chemist industry gained Organique – a producer of natural cosmetics. Because of the fact that the Pasaż wing was opened in Stary Browar in 2007, 2017 marked an anniversary of a lot of long-term contracts. “Intensified negotiation process with our key tenants brought fruits in the form of a long-term continuation of cooperation with such brands as: the Inditex group, Multikino, Empik, Van Graaf, COS, Marc o’Polo, S’portofino, Sunloox and Mennica Polska. Some of them opted for changes and in this way we gained the largest Massimo Dutti shop in Poland, starting from May we will also have a much larger Zara which introduced the youth module Trafaluc as well as extended its children’s and men’s departments. The changes emphasize the fact that a lot of companies consider Stary Browar to be a place which has succeeded and presents a high business potential,” says the director of Stary Browar. 2017 was also marked by the introduction of new concepts and modernizations. They not only concerned shops but also communal areas. The renovations and redevelopments took place on a commercial area of over 10,000 sqm and over 1,000 sqm of office space. The renovation of 3,000 sqm of Multikino is in progress. Last year we also renovated and modernized all the toilets. The directorate of the facility also invested in the infrastructure for families with children. Apart from parent and baby rooms they also opened a large playground in the park as well as the Leopark play centre. The all-year-round play room was designed especially for Stary Browar and it alludes to its characteristic infrastructure. Smyk returned to Stary Browear in the middle of hte year. The offer for children also received a strong marketing support in the form of the ‘Podwórko by Stary Browar’ long-term project, which provides the entertainment, educations and retail offer for the young ones. It includes shows and regular creative workshops, including popular new technology classes at the Duckie Deck academy, which will also take place in 2018.