According to data from Cushman & Wakefield, Lublin is the leading Polish city in terms of retail space saturation for schemes exceeding 5,000 sqm. Its space saturation rate is 1,094 sqm per 1,000 inhabitants compared to 831 sqm for Warsaw – the most mature retail market in Poland. Paradoxically, this does not preclude further growth for developers active in this market. There is still room in the city for traditional retail parks that are developed in alternative locations - frequently on the outskirts – and are anchored by tenants offering convenience shopping geared to the day-to-day needs of inhabitants.
Total prime retail stock in Lublin stands at approximately 515,000 sqm of GLA. The largest retail schemes include shopping and leisure centres Lublin Plaza, Galeria Olimp, VIVO! Lublin, SKENDE Shopping with IKEA, and the Felicity shopping centre.
“Compared with Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław, Lublin has a higher percentage of shopping centre floorspace hovering around 72%. For example, that of Warsaw is 62%. It is notable, however, that the Polish retail market has experienced a process of diversification in recent years. Many developers began to target smaller retail formats in non-central locations, thereby catering to the daily shopping needs of consumers. This is also a likely growth scenario for the Lublin retail market”, comments Ewelina Staruch, Analyst, Consulting and Research, Cushman & Wakefield.
In 2014 and 2015, Lublin saw the largest volumes of retail completions (in excess of 5,000 sqm), reveals data from Cushman & Wakefield. By contrast, only approximately 20,000 sqm of new retail space was delivered to the Lublin market in the last five years.
“According to publicly available information, there are no new retail projects sized over 5,000 sqm planned for delivery in Lublin in the coming years. The most recent completion is Węglin Retail Park, with most of its stores now operating and retailers including Aldi, Pepco, Dealz and Rossmann. Other stores to open soon include Komfort and King Zoo. Its GLA is 10,600 sqm. Węglin Park has joined the ranks of Lublin’s three other existing retail parks”, adds Ewelina Staruch.
In addition, there are also large-scale retail schemes in Świdnik near Lublin - these include Galeria Venus and “M Park” Retail Park, which opened in March this year.
“As Eastern Poland continues to grow, developers should focus more strongly on expanding their portfolios there, primarily on building alternative retail formats – not necessarily only in such cities as Lublin, Białystok or Rzeszów, but also in smaller towns. This will also be aligned with the increasingly growing concept of 15-minute cities and the trend towards convenience shopping close to where consumers live”, concludes Michał Masztakowski, Leasing Team Manager, Cushman & Wakefield, Cushman & Wakefield.
