Turkey’s shopping centers to reach 330

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The entrance of the a shopping center in the northwestern province of İzmit is seen during its opening in this photo. DHA photo

There will be 35 new shopping centers in Turkey by the end of this year, bringing the total number in Turkey to 330, the president of the Shopping Center Investors Association (AYD) has said.

In an interview with Anatolia news agency, Hakan Kodal said he anticipated that 39 percent
of these shopping centers would be opened in Istanbul and 61 percent in Anatolia.

“Four years ago there was half this amount, so you can see the weight of shopping centers in Anatolia is on the rise. When you look at the turnover in the first six months of the year, you see a 15 percent increase from the same period last year,” he said. He noted that the sector’s total turnover was also up from 35 billion Turkish Liras in 2011 to 48.5 billion liras this year, a 30 percent increase.

Turn over to double in five years

“In five years we expect this turnover to be twice what it is today.”

Kodal believes that Turkey will have 450 shopping centers in five years, and only then can the sector think about being oversaturated. Currently the shopping center sector is “a sector whose potential has not been realized,” he said. Furthermore, for every two to three shopping centers that close, another 10 to 20 are in the pipeline, waiting to open their doors. Turkish shopping centers employ some 350,000 people, and this number is expected to rise to 500,000 in five years.

According to Kodal, shoes, handbags and clothes are the most popular items at shopping centers followed by food and beverages. The least sought items are supermarket and technology products.