There are many companies that focus their activity only on the center of Bucharest, or the malls. This is not wrong. Most of them do the right thing, as these areas suit to their brand’s profile better. But there are several other “interesting” areas in Bucharest, except these “obvious” options for a Retailer. This especially true for the ones that have a project which can match each area’s profile, characteristics and demographics. Let us not forget that the… Retail tradition in Romania says that people are used to do their shopping only from shops located [...]

  The period 2004 – 2008 brought a great deal of “collateral damages”. It was not just that the price increase beyond any logic, or the deterioration of mentality, with millions of people having the impression that they are the “kings of the world” or “clever businessmen” (without having earned one euro through normal work). In my opinion the biggest problem is that a big part of Romania (like in other countries as well) got the impression that business is something “easy”, that transactions occur every “few minutes or hours”, [...]

  Last week I attended an important conference for European Grants in Romania. I heard Mr. Orban, the minister responsible for European matters, explaining his strategy and challenges, then several other officials, economic counselors, the president of the Cypriot Romania chamber of commerce, plus several top bankers and consultants. The experience was very interesting, as it was a short of guide for the previous 5 years (2007 – 2011) and the following 2 (2012 – 2013) of the 2007 – 2013 time frame. The actual situation in Romania, according to officials and consultants According [...]

  Part 1. First approach through a phone call   Next Wednesday we will have a new session of questions and answers, as we have been doing on the last Wednesday of every month, together with www.imobiliare.ro. One of the most popular questions there (but also in tens of other emails I receive) is a very simple one: “What am I supposed to expect from my Real Estate broker?” This is a question that usually hides another one: “What am I supposed to expect from my Real Estate broker, in order for him to justify his right to receive a commission?” This is a very [...]

  I personally admire the way that China imposes its dominance in the world. Whether we like it or not, they have succeeded in becoming the third pole in world, after Europe and the United States. Many people believe that they can also become the no.1 economic power in the world. What is sure is that China’s economic situation influences the entire world. It’s not a local issue anymore. This is why I would like to share with you some information that we read in the news, trying to figure out if there is a risk of seeing the Chinese economy slowing down. Stock market ·         [...]

  In several interviews of mine, I’ve stated that I expect a second generation of residential developments to appear in Romania in the following years. You can check one of these interviews here. As I told you, these new apartments in Romania will have smaller surfaces and common spaces and they will be closer to the real needs of today’s middle class in Romania. It looks like this scenario is not only valid for Romania. USA seems to follow the same direction. As you will be able to read in the link below, they also expect to have smaller surfaces and budgets closer to what [...]

  We all talk about the crisis and propose solutions we can implement in order to fight it and enter a new cycle of (sustainable) development. Leaving aside the… 22.000.000 different opinions that everyone in Romania has, there are just 2 clear and understandable solutions that the country has: Green Energy and European Grants (for infrastructure and not only). On Wednesday evening the Romanian Parliament approved the proposed ordinance regarding the subvention for producers of green energy. This is something that the whole market has been waiting for the last three years. So after [...]