Israel’s shopping mall boom
Latest figures show Israelis chose to assuage frustration over mounting prices by…shopping
Despite last summer's social protests and public indignation over mounting prices, hundreds of thousands of shoppers continued to swarm to Israel’s shopping centers and malls, according to financial reports from shopping mall operators for 2011.
A survey of Israel's leading shopping malls shows an improvement on nearly all financial measures.
While social protest may have hampered sales of consumer goods such as cottage cheese and slashed apartment sales, creating an impression that the public is about to put its wallets away, shopping mall financial results paint a different picture. According to the latest figures, monthly revenues per meter leapt in Israel’s largest malls in 2011.
One major shopping mall owner, British Israel, said in its annual report that "The ongoing downturn in the second half of 2011 coupled with diminishing deposable income might lead to revenue losses in shopping malls and as a result to a loss in the Group's revenues from rent. "However, the report added that "So far, the said protest had no fundamental impact on the company and its operations."
In general, is appears that to date the management and controlling shareholders of shopping mall companies accurately assessed Israeli realities; subsequently, during the past year, not one company shelved plans to construct more malls. If anything, the year was filled with new mall openings, expansions and initiatives for future construction of malls.
Original story was published by Calcalist in Hebrew
