Romania has development potential for retail projects in smaller cities, and five counties with a combined population of 1.8 million inhabitants are not covered by any modern retail schemes, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
The largest city without a modern retail project is Reşiţa (Caras Severin county), with 73,000 inhabitants. Ceetrus will develop a large mixed-use project in this city, located in the western Romania. It will include a shopping center spanning 35,000 sqm.
Elsewhere, in Slatina (Dolj county), Mitiska REIM plans both the expansion of the existing project and the development of a new retail park with an area of about 10,000 sqm.
In Vaslui county, Prime Kapital will develop Bârlad Value Center with a leasable surface of 16,500 sqm. Also, Scallier will develop a 10,000 sqm Funshop Retail Park in Vaslui, as part of its investment program in smaller cities.
Giurgiu and Teleorman counties, both in southern Romania, are also missing modern retail projects.
“The fact that retail developers are focusing their attention to a number of tertiary cities, considered less attractive so far, shows that the modern retail market in Romania remains alluring, offering significant development potential,” says Bogdan Marcu, Partner, Retail Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
At the end of 2020, the retail stock outside Bucharest reached 2.81 million sqm, of which 57% are shopping center. In Bucharest, the operational retail projects covered 1.25 million sqm at the end of 2020.
