Cafes and shops of Moscow began to shut down 1.5 times more often

The sector of public catering of the capital, suffering losses against the backdrop of the pandemic, was not ready to work under the conditions of restrictions.  A significant part of the establishments has been closed down, clearing up the trading floors for new tenants.  The drop in revenue had a particularly noticeable effect on the enterprises operating in the center of Moscow.

According to data provided by the Colliers consulting company, the number of stores and food service establishments that closed in 2021 was 1.5 times higher than the data for the same period in 2020.  Tenants were forced to move out from many companies that lease retail space on the ground floors.

12.2% of premises in the center of the capital turned out to be vacant.

This figure is twice as high as in 2019 and 3.8% more than data for the previous year.

Experts associate an increase in the rate of curtailment of Moscow's trade business with the introduction of the QR codes for visitors and the requirement to transfer almost a third of employees to a remote work.  Public catering failed to adapt to new standards, while revenue fell in some cases by 90%, say the analysts. At the same time, the number of tenants opening new locations in the city exceeds the number of closing by 28%.

In the third quarter of 2021, restaurants and cafes were mainly opened in Moscow (48%).  The ‘Guidon’ restaurant appeared on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, and the ‘L.E.S’ on Tverskoy Boulevard.  Many fashion brands continue to be active offline.  In particular, experts point out the ‘Central House of Designers’, which opened on Petrovka street.

Pharmacies and beauty salons were opened quite often (17%).

Experts found the largest number of abandoned retail space on Myasnitskaya Street - 19% are empty here.  This figure turned out to be 11% more than last year.  A significant number of establishments are empty on Petrovka (11%).  The record for the period of mandatory use of QR codes was set by the Patriarch's Ponds area, where the number of vacated street retail establishments amounted to 15.2% of the usable area.

Despite this, the total turnover in the public catering market of the capital, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, overtook the pre-covid indicators in July.  If in 2019, it was 31 billion rubles, then in 2021, it turned out to be 31.9 billion rubles, having exceeded the data of 2020 by 8.6 million rubles.