Baneasa Shopping City, the first mall to be built in northern part of Bucharest, attracted over 750,000 visitors in the first month, however some apparel retailers have revealed that many of those who visited left without buying anything, and were simply lured by the novelty of Romania's biggest mall.

At weekends the car parks are full, and in the food court visitors queue for tables, however, during the week the number of visitors is much lower, according to the data provided by part of Baneasa Shopping City's tenants.

"(...)At weekends sales are very good, but during the week it has proven more difficult during these early stages, maybe because of traffic congestion and the mall's distance from the city," states Rares Jianu, one of the founders of clothing retailer TinaR.

In mid-April, when the centre first opened, its representatives forecast 8 million visitors and sales worth 250m euros for the entire year. The number of visitors in the first month indicates this target is attainable and can even be exceeded.

In terms of sales, mall representatives say the large companies that own the sizable areas, such as Inditex, Solmar and Peek & Cloppenburg, as well as new brands in Romania, boasted the highest number of customers who were interested in their products.

According to Jianu, however, any new shopping centre requires a period of adjustment, after which sales pick up.

This opinion is shared by Vicentiu Zorzolan, owner of Esprit franchise, who says sales were in line with expectations, but it will take time to generate profit.

Retailers say a peak in sales was registered in the first tens day after opening, which overlapped the Easter holidays. "There were days when we had sales worth one thousand euros a day, and then we only had sales at weekend. There's a significant flow of customers on Saturdays and Sundays, but the s