ECE Russland, IMMOFINANZ Russia and Ideas4retail held a joint press conference at the Golden Babylon Rostokino shopping center to mark the opening of one of Moscow's biggest kids' clusters.
The kids' cluster at the Golden Babylon Rostokino shopping center occupies an area of 20,000 sq m, 12 percent of the lettable area, and will be the biggest in northeast Moscow. Due to be completed in summer 2017, and will feature children's clothing and footwear retailers, toy shops, and entertainment and education areas.
"The Golden Babylon Rostokino shopping center opened in 2009, and today we are continuing to improve and expand the pool of tenants. Creating a dedicated kids' cluster is one of our key objectives, as people today want not only quality children's goods but also services such as entertainment areas with educational components. We will continue not only to expand our range of retailers, but also to offer new formats and concepts," emphasised IMMOFINANZ Russia General Manager Maxim Bubon.
"Of the shopping center's visitors, 42 percent are families with children of different ages, so we are seeing high demand for children's products, services, and entertainment. Furthermore, they spend over three hours at the center on average, so families are coming not just to shop, but also for entertainment, and this calls for a completely new approach to what we offer. In creating the kids' cluster, we are aiming to make time here not only as beneficial as possible for families, but also practical," said ECE Russland Managing Director Stefan Zeiselmaier.
The first shop in the cluster to open was a 5,000 sq m "World of Hamleys" toy store on the upper level of the shopping center. This is Russia's second "World of Hamleys" store, and the second-biggest Hamleys in the country.
"The new Hamleys at the Golden Babylon Rostokino shopping center has turned out as we imagined it: a store that is interesting for both children and their parents, you want to go back there again and again and to find something new every time," said Yevgeny Butman, Chairman of the Board at Ideas4retail. "This is a truly unique project in both idea and scale, and I am confident that it will become a center of attraction for a new family audience at the shopping center.
Besides Hamleys, the cluster's anchor tenants will include Zamania, a family activity park, which opens in April. In summer, a major "children's city" operator is expected to join the center. Talks are also in progress with Interesnaya Akademia, a stylish concept that includes a children's restaurant, master class area and children's club. The cluster will also feature children's shops that can already be found at the shopping center: Detsky Mir, Detmart, Korablik, Lego, and so on.
About ECE Russland
ECE Russland is part of Germany's ECE, one of Europe's leading retail property management companies. ECE Russland has been operating in Russia since 2004, and today its portfolio includes the Four Seasons, Dream House, Golden Babylon Rostokino and MARi shopping centers in the Moscow region, as well as the Aura shopping centers in Yaroslavl and Surgut. Since 2015, RD Group and the foundations headed by Ruben Vardanyan have owned 50 percent of ECE Russland, which provides professional shopping center management services in Russia.