Things You Have to Love about an Economic Crisis

Although people are already starting to fret and move about in the Romanian market, a sign that it’s almost over, most business people will keep telling you it’s still going on. However, there are some ‘ups’ of it. Which would those be?, I hear you ask in condescending tones.



Well, for starters, if you are a shopping aficionado, you will find a lot of stuff on sale. Moreover, you might have already attended some of those shopping marathons events, or whatever they were called. You know, the ones that are started each time people open a new shop or, as it is the case in Bucharest lately, a mall... Yah, we don’t mess around. Why build a factory and actually produce something, when imported shoes and jewelry seem to be selling quite well, despite the all-so-feared-of-crisis? In the expanse of a year Bucharest saw two new shopping malls open their doors, while the Radio House (Casa Radio) and several other projects are still in ruins. Moreover, shopping sprees are being organized almost every month. And when one shopping mall announces a weekend of prolonged hours and reduced prices, the others have to follow.


Far be it from me to try a boycott, even through this insignificant - in the great scheme of things - post. I like going to the mall. I am not one for window shopping, however. Fate has it that one of the capital’s mall was built very close to my place, and actually improved the area a bit - I had been living in Bucharest for a few years when the developers started clearing out the homeless people and stray-dogs infested block that was once known as one of the ‘Hunger Circus’ (Circul Foamei). It was a relief in terms of safety concerns in the neighborhood, and, with it’s good cinema and well-supplied grocery store, a handy go-to place for whenever the need arises.


Having said that, I must return to my previous paragraph and wonder whether there really is a need on the market for so many shopping malls. It looks like they are trying to spread a bit too thin. Sure, there is a request for their merchandise, they have good turnover, but what I see now, in the ‘old’ (technically speaking, they are not that old) shopping areas as well as in the new ones, are a lot of empty slots. What benefit can that bring to anyone?


However, it is a competitive market, no matter what you say. And that can be seen in all the events sponsored by the developers, in all the promotional prices and all the strategies employed by them. In the short-run, I see the frequent customer of a certain shop or brand having the most to gain. That is, if you are not like me: not quite being able to tolerate shopping in a crowded area. You get all sort of offers that you can actually properly judge, since you know the prices and inventory the shop has on their day-to-day offer. You can make a well-informed decision and even go home with some of those clothes that were on sale now, refreshing your wardrobe with half the usually needed budget.


What will happen in the long-run, though? What will happen when the novelty runs out? When the people who came, saw, conquered (shopped, really) and left return to their regular, comfortable shopping habits? It already happened, somewhat, in the case of Liberty Mall, which, in my humble opinion, is quite a nice shopping area: the stores are nice, the cinema is good, there is a varied choice in terms of restaurants and fast-foods. However, it didn’t do as well as expected, and bankruptcy is associated with the name nowadays.


So you can’t tell me that building two - or more - shopping malls in spitting distance of each other is a good idea in the long run. Bucharest is not that big of a city, after all. One of them will go to ground. And I will feel sorry for all of them.


Maybe that is supposed to happen in a healthy, competitive market. Some ships float, others sink. That, I believe, is one of the things one has to love about an global economic crisis: in this Spartan conditions only the strong ones survive.