“Fifty buildings are now empty in this city,” says Broekman. “But there is certainly interest in filling up buildings. Adjusting rents, more city marketing to draw attention to Utrecht, these are all things where there is still a lot of work to be done. There are cities where it is hard to beat a dead horse in terms of vacancy. , but that does not apply to Utrecht.”
Maria Gandjapour also thinks Utrecht is “a great city”, but she recently closed her bag shop in the center. “We saw the number of visitors and turnover decrease, while rents continued to rise. Yes, then the balance is lost.”
According to her, many properties in large cities are owned by pension funds and other large lenders. “They often refuse to adjust the rents, which makes it increasingly difficult for retailers to set up a profitable store. They will have to change that.”
Gandjapour says that real retailers are disappearing and that the high street is dominated by brands that sell directly to consumers, such as Zara, H&M and Rituals: “The brands have cut out one link, the retailer, giving them the margins to pay higher rents. Pay.”
Vacancy Weert is declining
In Weert they see the vacancy rate decrease slightly: from 21 to 19 percent. “Not that I am delighted with these figures, but I am proud that we are able to bring it down,” says center manager Paul Kooij.
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