Retail parks and regional shopping centres are driving the sector’s growth, suggested speakers during the future of retail panel of CEE Property Forum 2021, Property Forum’s first real-life event back in Vienna since 2019 which was attended by over 400 people coming from countries all over the region and beyond.
Jolanta Wawrzyszuk, Group Head of Leasing at Atrium European Real Estate, who chaired the panel, mentioned the different situations generated by COVID-19 for food operators who operate from their own stores, shopping centres that attracted big footfall before the crisis and retail parks that performed better since the onset of the crisis.
Dr. Angelus Bernreuther, Head of Investor Relationship Management at Kaufland, pointed out that one of the conclusions of the pandemic is that people value one-stop shopping more. He added that by being a large food operator, Kaufland was not affected by the lockdowns.
The recovery of retail parks and smaller regional shopping projects is faster compared to shopping centres that are close to office parks, explained Jan Kotrbáček, Head of Retail Agency CEE at Cushman & Wakefield.
Going forward, retailers have to understand the catchment area and the needs that are latent there more than ever, explained Ricardo Rodrigues, Business Development & Client Care Manager at Reify. by Sonae Sierra
Strip malls that had food retailers as anchors managed the financial impact of the crisis better than shopping centres with fashion and footwear tenants, explained Péter Számely MRICS, Head of Real Estate Finance CEE at HYPO NOE.
Karel Zeman MRICS, Head of Portfolio Management ESCF series at CBRE Global Investors, said that in the past 18 months, tenants have started to clean their portfolios so their footprint is shrinking. He added that the collection rate was the core KPI for retail operators since the onset of the crisis.
