The Council of Shopping Centers sent a letter to Putin asking for support for the industry

The letter was already delivered to the Presidential Administration (PA) and registered in the appeals department on November 1. A copy of AP’s letter confirming receipt of the appeal is available to RB.RU

What do shopping centers ask for?

In a letter sent on behalf of shopping center owners, Oleg Klimov calls on Vladimir Putin to fundamentally support the inclusion of the shopping center industry in programs to achieve the “National Development Goals” and to give instructions for organizing a round table with the participation of federal ministers, chairmen of State Duma committees and industry experts.

• At the round table, Klimov suggests, questions could be raised about the inclusion of the shopping center industry in the Unified Plan for achieving the National Development Goals of Russia for the period up to 2030 and for the future until 2036 (in the national projects corresponding), as well as on Russia’s space development strategy until 2030.
• Another topic that Klimov proposes to consider at the round table is joint plans with the authorities for permanent and one-time projects on the territory of the shopping center in the field of culture, sports, improving health, strengthening the family and the development of the younger generation. , creative personal development, patriotic education, historical education, creative heritage of nations and regions.
• The next topic will be the consideration of support measures for shopping centers and their tenants who work in the non-commercial field (social, public, services). We are also talking about the creation of a system of preferential lending or interest rate compensation for loans for commercial and public facilities, similar to the system applied in housing construction.
• Another proposal concerns the use of industry experience to introduce a system of standards and certification of shopping centers in new territories and create modern concepts to provide tourist groups with commercial infrastructure and services. We also talked about the participation of shopping centers in the development of territorial master plans.

Attraction places

In the letter, Klimov, on behalf of the shopping center owners, highlights the role of shopping centers in public life, calling them “ideal places for the implementation of public and social functionality.”

“Why are shopping centers the best option to house public spaces? About 2 thousand modern shopping centers are located in all regions of Russia. Each shopping center has its own large service area. The industry receives 4 billion visits a year. Shopping centers are natural attractions, with excellent transport and pedestrian accessibility, high-quality management and modern interiors: they can be used for any purpose and developed in any necessary direction. Visitors trust shopping centers and enthusiastically accept new offers. This direct access to the population is the envy of any media outlet,” the letter says.

The document points out that now shopping centers are places to disseminate information, hold exhibitions, demonstrate the advantages of the traditional way of life, real values, new equipment and technologies. Numerous events are held here with the participation of authorities, important issues are raised, creative schools are formed, the professional choice of young people is promoted and much more. In addition, a significant part of the country’s cinemas are located in shopping centers, where Russian films are shown and family relationships are supported and developed.

“We believe that the shopping center industry is capable of repeating or surpassing the success of the tourism industry in working with the country’s population, acting within the framework of achieving the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation, defined by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2024 No. 309,” the letter says.

On November 1, Kommersant reported that the Union of Shopping Centers (STC) requested the Ministry of Economic Development to provide state support measures to shopping center owners. The STC proposed to subsidize guaranteed loan rates between 7% and 10%, restructure existing loans with a deferral of principal payment of 5 to 10 years and introduce a moratorium on the renegotiation of the terms of existing loans to floating rate.

Due to the increase in the key rate, the most indebted shopping centers may become the property of banks due to the inability to repay loans.

“Some of the indebted shopping centers will be forced to repay the loan at 26-27%, which may lead to new transfers of shopping centers to banks,” Oleg Voitsekhovsky, founder and general director of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers, told RB.RU.