January 10 (SeeNews) - Tirana East Gate, Albania’s largest shopping mall also known as TEG, welcomed a record-breaking 9.6 million visitors last year, the mall’s operator, local Balfin Group, said.
Balfin's retail management firm, Acrem, has been undertaking several strategic initiatives involving continuous introduction of new brands to its tenant mix, addition of entertainment venues and implementation of innovative technologies in the mall’s infrastructure, the group said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Opened in 2011, TEG provides a business area spanning approximately 54,000 square meters, hosting around 150 operational shops, according to its website. Its tenants mix involves fashion and beauty brands, home décor, children playgrounds, supermarkets, fast food chains, and a cinema theatre complex.
More recent additions to the mall’s tenants involve Sweden-based retailer’s H&M first store in Albania, Canadian retailer Aldo, and American fast food chains Burger King and Pizza Hut.
In 2022, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, said it had agreed to provide a 40 million-euro ($44 million) loan to Balfin to fund the expansion of its retail business and add rooftop solar panels at TEG.
($=0.913 euro)