SES shopping malls proved extremely popular in 2022 and brick-and-mortar retailers regained a foothold. The gross sales turnover of a total of 1,800 shops located on the 30 SES Spar European Shopping Center sites in Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and the Czech Republic continued to grow in the past year. With sales up 18.5 percent and a €3.1 billion turnover compared to 2021, SES enjoyed a record year in terms of development since its inception in 2007.
SES Centers in the key Austrian market also topped their 2019 turnover, displaying better development than the sector with its 8.1 percent nominal increase in sales. The 17.6 percent increase in footfall, amounting to over 100 million visitors, almost reached pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, SES invested in numerous sustainable measures such as the large-scale installation of photovoltaic systems and the ongoing interim expansion of e-charging stations, currently amounting to 175 charging points coupled with extensive LED retrofitting.
As Austria’s leading shopping centre operator, SES manages a total of 30 major shopping destinations in six countries including 27 shopping malls, two retail parks and one managed shopping street covering 830,000 sqm of leased space in the Austrian, Slovenian, Croatian, Northern Italian, Hungarian and Czech markets.
With footfall up to the summer still averaging 20 percent below the previous year’s figures, SES documented particularly positive trends in terms of footfall and turnover in all malls in six countries from September onwards.
“We attribute the above-average development of our malls to two factors. Alongside our retail partners, we focused once again on our customers in 2022. In addition to the shopper experience, we wanted to highlight what our shopping venues could offer in terms of services. We are also investing in on-site construction, focusing primarily on measures that significantly promote sustainability, especially energy efficiency, both of which are particularly relevant to our visitors”, said Christoph Andexlinger, CEO of SES Spar European Shopping Centers.
