Meeting point for traders from China, Serbia and the region - New business concept in Zmaj trade center

(China Trade Center Zmaj)

Over 20,000 companies from the country and the region will be soon supplying themselves with goods in China Trade Center. For now, at the intersection of Belgrade-Novi Sad and Belgrade-Nis highways in Zemun, about 4,000 retail stores are buying clothing, footwear, furniture, things for the house and toys.

- We have buyers coming from all parts of Serbia. Most of them are interested in clothing and footwear. Apart from Chinese companies, here you can also find the products of manufacturers from Novi Pazar, Nis, Subotica, Sombor, Pozarevac, as well as from neighboring countries – Dejan Bulatovic, the Executive Director of China Trade Center Zmaj, says in an interview for eKapija.

In the unique wholesale center in the region, which occupies the area of 5.5 ha, between 250 and 300 companies will open their stores. There are, currently, about 100 shops in CTC Zmaj. The stores at a total of 15,000 square meters were opened two years ago, while the construction of another 25,000 square meters of space was finished in October 2010.

Each store consists of two parts - the front part is where the goods are exhibited and sold, while the rear part is where the goods are stored. If the store stretches across two floors, the storage space is on the upper one. Size of the outlets offered for rent ranges between 50 and 500 square meters. Monthly rent amounts to 10 euros per square meter of exhibition-retail space and 5 euros per square meter of storage space. The complex also comprises several parking lots with a total of 800 parking places available to tenants and visitors.

(Dejan Bulatovic)

One part of the complex is spatially organized as a square where the Chinese culture will be promoted and entertaining contents will be organized for tenants and visitors of the center. That area will also be the place where coffee shops and restaurants will be situated.

Tenants also have at their disposal a post office, a bank office, an exchange office, a bookkeeping agency, transport companies, a travel agency, a conference hall, etc.

(the space intended for the square)

The plan is that 500 people get jobs in China Trade Center, in which Diplon has invested 25 million euros.

In addition to wholesale stores, Zmaj also includes stores that offer individual articles and retail stores. Safran has a wholesale store in this center and it also opened a retail store within the complex on November 10.

As salesmen explained for eKapija, stores in CTC Zmaj are especially "crowded" in the afternoon hours, but costumers are also present during the whole day.

Bianco Molina from Novi Pazar, which exists for 18 years, has a footwear wholesale store in CTC Zmaj. Beside offering the goods to our market, the company also exports footwear for women to the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. As people from the company told us, several Croatian companies interested in cooperation are expected to offer their products in the company's wholesale store in Zmaj soon.

Novi Pazar-based company 4br tref has a store in CTC Zmaj for two years now.

- We are satisfied with the operations in this center. We cooperate with 350 companies from all around Serbia and many companies from the neighboring countries are buying leather footwear from us – we were told by the people at 4br tref.

Works on the area between the facilities are still underway in order for the complex to get the look of a contemporary trade center with numerous contents once all of its stores are occupied.

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