BIG CEE: “Marketing is just the most visible piece of our investment puzzle”

As a shopping center developer, recognized as one of the biggest advertisers and most active with marketing in every country BIG is present in, BIG is often asked how their marketing activities impact the performance of their projects. The correct answer to this question is that the wide span of BIG marketing activities is just one piece of BIG’s total investment puzzle, however marketing is by its nature the most visible.

BIG Fashion Belgrade is an excellent example, opened in April 2017, in the eastern part of Belgrade, municipality of Palilula, historically one of the most neglected parts of Belgrade. Although opened in an area rated as a B location, BIG Fashion Belgrade mall has always been recognized with the best tenant mix starting from Zara and other Inditex brands followed by amazing food and entertainment area led by McDonalds and a big Cinema, on total GLA 32.000 sq m.

However, for the highly experienced management of BIG, it was clear that a good tenant mix and the usual high level of marketing activities are not enough to turn such a location into long term success.

In December 2019, BIG has expanded the locations’ retail offer of the mall by adding GLA 15.000 sq m open air retail park next door, led by Decathlon’s first store in Serbia, accompanied with other 500 sq m + retail formats as Gigatron, Jysk, Pet Center, Emmezeta, Non-Stop Fitness, Restaurants and Babylon playground on 2.500 sq m and many others.

Parallel to expansion of the retail offer, by this move BIG provided additional and even more comfortable parking area, as one of the strategic advantages of every BIG project and offered to Belgrade customers unique and only destination in the city where they can find brands like Zara, Decathlon and Pet Centar on the same square footage, and in other words – the only location in the city, where one can find Fashion, Gastronomy, Entertainment and Necessities in one place.

In September 2023 three new buildings with a total of 186 apartments of BIG Residences hosted their first residents on the gross area of 18.600 sq m as a first phase of the project. High level of design and construction fulfilled total look and offer of this beautiful mixed-use project.

In the near future, BIG plans on building additional 350 apartments as a second phase, and further down the line an office building. Meanwhile, the entire neighborhood has developed and expanded with other residential projects and retail offer, which initiated reconstruction of the main boulevard from 2 to 3 lanes in one direction, as rare comfort in the old city of Belgrade. Main metro station is coming in the years to come, as well as reconstruction of the entire zone around nearby Danube River.