"Globes" fourth annual mall rating was carried out following the emergence of a duopoly in the Israeli mall market and the social protest that broke out in Israel this past summer.
Melisron Ltd. (TASE: MLSR) completed the acquisition of British-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE: BRTS) and very soon will complete the merger of the two companies, which will make it the strongest mall group in Israel. Azrieli Group Ltd. (TASE: AZRG) has not been resting on its laurels and has also taken steps to strengthen its position. Melisron opened the Acre and Kiryat Ata malls last year, purchased a lot in Ramle on which it plans to build a mall, is pushing forward with the Rishon LeZion mall, and has even signed a purchase contract for the Ir-Yamim mall in Netanya, which is awaiting Antitrust Authority approval.
Azrieli's Malha Mall has once again captured the top spot in "Globes'" annual mall rating, however the group succeeded in placing only three of its malls in the ranking; two of its malls (Azrieli Mall and Ayalon Mall) have dropped to lower spots.
The Melisron/British-Israel group has succeeded in placing five of its malls in top spots, and its flagship mall - the Ramat Aviv Mall - has even strengthened and taken second place. The upcoming year will be marked by the entrance of international brands American Eagle and Forever 21, which are likely to affect the chains and malls in Israel.
The social protest has not affected malls, which recently even saw a rise in revenue from rent and management fees, and expect to finish the year with a profit.
The rankings are based on a detailed survey of the country's leading retailers.
1. Malha, Jerusalem (Azrieli) (2); 2. Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv (Melisron) (3); 3. Azrieli Center, Tel Aviv (Azrieli) (1); 4 Mul Hayam, Eilat (Ofek Rechesim) (5); 5. Hakirion, Kiryat Bialik (Melisron) (4); 6. Avnet, Petah Tikva (British-Israel) (8); 7. Seven Stars Herzliya, ILA (6); 8 Ayalon, Ramat Gan (Azrieli) (7); 9 Dizengoff Center, Tel Aviv, (Alon and Dan Pilz, Flatto Sharon, Adriel) (10); 10 Canion Hazahav, Rishon Lezion, Migdal, Moshe and Yigal Gindi (11); 11 Rehovot (British-Israel) (9); 12 Grand Canyon, Haifa (British-Israel) (12).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 9, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011