Russia: Country Of Honour At MAPIC 2012

PARIS, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 2012 edition of MAPIC, the international event for retail real estate professionals and retailers, Russia has been chosen as 'the country of honour.' Organised by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Reed Exhibitions, MAPIC will be held in Cannes from 14 to 16 November.

In Q1 of 2012, economic growth of 1.2% in Russia exceeded expectations (source Cushman & Wakefield "Russia: a Cushman & Wakefield Research Publication") and the full year growth should increase by 4% (source CBRE release), despite the challenges currently facing the Eurozone. As the leading investment domain, commercial real estate is expected to reach a total of $4.5B in business transactions by the end of 2012. Russia's current economic situation is encouraging investors to fine-tune their long-term investment strategies.

The high level of participation of major players in the Russian commercial real estate including Expert LLC, Regions Group, Tashir Group and Hals Development, at MAPIC 2012 will enable attendees to discover a broad range of shopping centre and leisure facility projects, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg. For example, Fortgroup and SRV are planning to open six shopping centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the next two years.

The Russian retail real estate market is also attractive to foreign developers. Among the exhibitors at MAPIC, the Polish group Liebrecht & Wood will showcase two new 'Fashion House Outlet' projects in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a concept that has been successful in Poland, Rumania and Russia, and should bring together more than 150 international retail brands.

"The Russian market is very dynamic when it comes to building shopping centres in both major and other cities," said Nathalie Depetro, Director of MAPIC. "Its key asset is the net boom in consumption, unequalled in Europe, and largely driven by major international brands that view Russia as a promising target for their development strategies."

The programme devoted to 'Russia: country of honour' will include an overview by an expert on the Russian market, Maxim Karbasnikoff, Head of Retail, Cushman & Wakefield Russia. He will provide insight into changes in the consumption patterns, upcoming trends, and development factors in the Russian market. "Sustainable growth of the 15 million Muscovites' disposable income has steadily boosted retailers' sales for the past three years and is the gate to a 140 million consumers market," states Maxim Karbasnikoff. "Gloomy economic perspective in Europe drives global retailers to seek new growth territories, and Moscow will keep being high on their priority list. Without a doubt, Russia continues to be one of the most dynamic markets in the world, clearly evidenced by its growing middle class – accounting for nearly 50% of the 140 million population in the country. Russia offers highly desirable opportunities for international retailers compared to other BRIC nations."

The programme will also include two conferences dedicated to the outlook for retail real estate in Russia and to children, a major demographic for retail brands. This Russian experience will begin on Tuesday evening with a Russia-inspired MAPIC opening reception.

Samvel Karapetyan Sarkisovitch, founder and chairman of Tashir Group and a key player in Russian retail real estate, will also receive the 'Personality of the Year' prize at the MAPIC Awards ceremony to be held at the Hotel Martinez in Cannes on Thursday, 15 November at 8pm. In 2012, Tashir Group carried out 13 real estate projects and by the end of the year will have delivered nearly two million m² of projects inside Russia.

For editors:

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia  and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed MIDEM is a division of Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer, with over 500 events in 39 countries. In 2011 Reed brought together six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organized by 33 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 44 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of the Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider and a FTSE 100 company.

SOURCE Reed MIDEM