Consumption Junction: Patio Bullrich is one of the BA malls with 100% occupancy and a waiting list.
The only thing harder to find than a parking space in Buenos Aires may soon be retail space. “It’s almost impossible to rent space in a shopping center,” reads the headline in Andres Sanguinetti’s article in today’s Cronista.
The piece focuses on retail sales, monthly rents and occupancy levels at some of the largest shopping centers in Buenos Aires, and all three trends reflect the consumption boom fueled by local demand and foreign visitors alike.
Retail sales are up 35% over last year with some 76 million shoppers packing BA gallerias like Alto Palermo and Patio Bullrich, both of which have reached 100% occupancy. It’s a similar story at Abasto, Dot Baires and Paseo Alcorta where occupancies all exceed 99%, and the majority of existing leases are set to renew next year. Most Buenos Aries shopping centers now have waiting lists for tenants and established retailers are scrambling to find larger spaces in non-traditional locations.
The pace of rental growth in Buenos Aires mirrors a larger trend in Latin America where consumption is being fueled by better access to credit, job growth and a lack of solid savings options. The retail phenomenon is analyzed further in Cushman & Wakefield’s must-read Main Streets Across the World 2011. The study lists Florida Street as the most expensive retail location in Argentina at US$100 per square foot annually or #47 of the 63 global cities surveyed. (Full Story in Spanish)
