Shelves are full, there are no more shelves
The largest shopping centres in Kazan have now completely replaced the global brands that left with the start of the Union of Shopping Centres. This was reported to Realnoe Vremya by the management of KazanMall and MEGA Kazan who assured that they have no free retail space. And in general, the provision of high-quality shopping centers in Kazan is 21% lower than the Russian average. In this regard, it is difficult to imagine where Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Uniqlo, H&M will be located if they suddenly respond to the offer of the Union of Shopping Centres and return to Russia. Read more about it in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
Replacement operation
Almost half of the tenants left MEGA Kazan after the start of the Union of Shopping Centres. The shopping center told Realnoe Vremya that by now they have been “successfully replaced” and now no more than 1% of the space is vacant.
As an example, she cited the opening of the flagship Lime store in 2023 and the only Stockmann store in Tatarstan in October last year. Of the foreign players that arrived, Liana Sirazetdinova singled out the Turkish home goods store English Home, as well as the Carmela Coffee coffee shop.
“Some tenants took advantage of the favourable opportunity to reformat and expand their presence in MEGA Kazan. A good example of such expansion was Sportmaster store, which opened in the PRO format,” notes the head of the MEGA Kazan shopping centre.
It is expected that in 2025, the following stores will open in MEGA Kazan: Vse Smart, Peplos, Putin Team, Top Racing VR space, and the Tyubetey and Not only poke restaurants. Also planned for this year is the opening of a children's entertainment centre, a fitness centre, and a large furniture and home accessories store.
Liana Sirazetdinova claims that despite the change of brands, purchases and traffic in the MEGA Kazan shopping centre have not decreased. According to her, the average check in the last quarter of last year increased by 9% compared to the same period of the previous year. The attendance of the shopping centre in the second half of last year increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2022.
The largest shopping centre in Kazan, KazanMall, immediately after the start of the SVO, in February 2022, lost tenants of 15% of the area. However, by June of the same year, no more than 5% of the space was vacant.
“Within two months, the space occupied by the stores of the departed Polish group LPP was replaced by stores of one of the largest fashion retailers — FES Retail, which owns the brands RE, MO, CR, XC and SIN. In 2023, in place of the departed Adidas, Hally Hansen and Levi’s, stores of Russian companies opened: Demix, Prosport, Move, Emka. McDonald’s and KFC were renamed to Vkusno i tochka and“Rostiks, respectively,” says KazanMall shopping mall manager Alena Volchkova.
According to her, now “all the space in the shopping mall is occupied, the share of vacant space is approaching zero”. In the near future, Kord optics salon will open in the shopping mall in an enlarged area in an updated format and a store of the Russian brand from Kazan Wish by you. “Three small premises are conditionally free. Negotiations with potential tenants are underway for them. This targeted rotation of tenants is carried out to improve the concept and attractiveness of the shopping centre,” notes Alena Volchkova.
According to her, the average bill in KazanMall has increased by the amount of inflation since 2022. At the same time, traffic has increased significantly — traffic by the end of 2024 exceeded traffic in 2022 by 30%.
Who came
According to the consulting company IBC Real Estate, 38 new brands entered the Russian market in 2024: 15 domestic and 23 international. Among Russian brands, in particular, at the end of last year Khokhloma salon, the outerwear brand BJØRN LARSEN, the fashion brand Nice&Easy from Zolla, Panacea jewellery lab, the fashion brand Zimaletto from Küchenland Home, and the home goods retailer Uyutnosti appeared in the shopping centre.
Among the new foreign brands, the majority (52%) are from Asia: eight brands from China and four from South Korea. In addition, the first stores of two Turkish brands opened in Russia. Thus, among the newcomers to the Russian market are Kennel&Schmenger, Lee Cooper, LifeWork, Panier des Sens. Last year, foreign brands opened 73 stores, of which more than 60% (or 45 stores) were in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the rest were in the regions. Sixteen of 23 new brands are fashion retailers. Another five brands specialise in technology and electronics, one in household goods, and another in cosmetics and perfumes.
In total, 59 foreign brands entered the Russian market during the special military operation, according to IBC Real Estate data.
Experts say that in 2025, another 20-23 foreign brands may appear in Russian retail. The development company NF GROUP believes that Turkish and South Korean companies will focus primarily on the premium segment, while Chinese companies will focus on the mid-price segment, relying on affordability and a wide choice.
Nowhere to put goods
Experts note a shortage of quality retail space in Kazan — their provision in the capital of Tatarstan is 21% lower than the national average.
“As of the end of 2024, the total volume of retail space in Kazan is 384,000 square meters. In terms of provision with shopping centres, the city is in 11th place out of 15 — the figure is 384,000 square meters per thousand residents. This is 21% less than the Russian average,” Yevgeniya Khakberdiyeva told Realnoe Vremya.
The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. According to IBC Real Estate, no new shopping centres are expected to open in Kazan this year, and in 2024 only the ART Community Centre with 15,700 square meters was opened. m. In total, 28 high-quality retail facilities with a total leasable area of 306,000 sq. m were launched in the Russian Federation last year. In 2025, only about 280,000 sq. m. are declared for delivery.
“No new shopping centres are expected to be launched in Kazan in 2025, but reconstruction with subsequent reconceptualization of spaces in several local shopping centres is planned. And late 2024 and early 2025, several shopping centres in Kazan have been rebuilt,” says Yevgenia Khakberdieva.
What to do with returnees
According to Yevgenia Khakberdiyeva, about 10% of the space on the high-quality retail real estate market in Kazan is vacant.
Meanwhile, the Union of Shopping Centres reported that it had approached Uniqlo, H&M and Inditex (owns the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull & Bear) with a proposal to consider the issue of returning to Russia. The organization cited “possible changes in the current political landscape and their implications for the return of your brands to the Russian market.”
According to Real Estate portal, the Union surveyed more than 100 of Russia's largest shopping centers, and more than half of them confirmed their readiness to resume cooperation with Uniqlo, Inditex, and H&M and urgently provide them with premises. Many of the shopping centres emphasised their interest, recognizing the value of these brands in generating customer traffic.
The Union promised the returnees “to solve logistical problems and support smooth reintegration into the market," including “individual rental conditions, location preferences.”
“Despite the fact that many places have now been replaced by other brands, including Melon Fashion (Zarina, BeFree), Gloria Jeans, LIME, not all of them are working successfully, for example, the Just Clothes brand, which mimicked Uniqlo, is closing its locations. Apparently, this is why more than half of the representatives of shopping centres surveyed by STC expect to return and are ready to provide sites for the placement of brand stores,” said Vice President of the Union Pavel Lyulin.
In the largest shopping centres of Kazan, despite the declared shortage of free space, they made it clear that they are interested in attractive tenants in order to “improve the concept and attractiveness of the shopping centre.”
“We have set a course for a high-quality renewal of the composition of tenants who are able to attract new traffic and high turnover to MEGA. Our main task is to select the best tenants with the best formats,” stressed Liana Sirazetdinova.
