Istanbul have become one of Europe’s success stories, as no other city has attracted as many new International entrants to the retail market over the past two years. Istanbul’s retail market is revolutionising at a great speed. In just a few years Istanbul has become Europe’s seventh most attractive location for International retailers. Many are choosing Istanbul as their launch pad market for entering
European markets because of Istanbul’s attractive modern shopping centre stock, landmark schemes and favourable demographics.
Istanbul has a very strong transitional market growth rate, due to its large market size, diversified demographics and strong long term growth outlook. It is worth noting that Istanbul has the highest GDP rate among all EU Countries and had the highest amount of exports in 2014 for the whole of Europe. Turkey also has in place European Custom Agreements with the EU and trades exactly like any other EU member.
Turkey’s first shopping mall was built in 1988. The concept took off – and now the shopping mall sector is one of the largest in the country. Turkey has the second highest number of shopping malls in Europe, and enjoyed a turnover of $19.3 billion dollars in 2013.
Foreign investment interest from funds, banks and individuals is huge, and ongoing, with plenty of room for growth. Turkey’s youth market is strong and relatively untapped, and there are 17 Turkish cities with populations of more than one million. While the largest cities Istanbul and Ankara have almost reached saturation in terms of shopping centre growth, there is still plenty of scope for movement.
Top investor: Private equity company Blackstone Group became Turkey’s largest owner of shopping centres in October with the acquisition of Multi Corp, a Netherlands-based developer, for $687 million.
