Cushman & Wakefield has summarised the situation on the Polish retail market. The opening of 2024 is encouraging and new retail space supply in the coming months is likely to match or even surpass last year’s total. The Polish market continues to attract interest from new brands, borne out by several debuts. More arrivals are expected to follow amid improving retail sales, rising shopping centre footfall and turnover levels as inflation is weakening.

Romania’s retail market could top 4.5 million sqm this year considering that around 185,000 sqm of new retail projects are under various construction and planning stages, according to CBRE data.

Fashion House Group will deliver in late June the second phase of its outlet centre in the Pallady area, eastern Bucharest, following an investment of €45 million.

More than 60% of Polish consumers do their larger grocery shopping in excess of PLN 100 in discount stores. A similar proportion of people in Poland opt for shopping centres on account of their entertainment offer, while nearly 40% go to retail parks which they value for familiarity with space layouts - a guarantee of a quick and easy shopping trip. According to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, Polish people have clearly defined expectations about each retail format, with each likely to respond to different shopping and other needs.

Sierra Balmain is expanding its portfolio with another shopping mall. Starting in April, the company will take over property management of Galeria Pomorska in Bydgoszcz. The group will handle all the ongoing operations of the facility.

Real estate investment group M Core has launched a strategic venture with Square 7 Properties for the management of 25 retail parks in Romania that it purchased at the end of last year.

By 2024, the REALIA fund has stepped in with a new acquisition, this time the Hustopeče retail park in South Moravia. The retail park is fully leased with an average length of leases exceeding 6 years.

The Máj department store, whose reconstruction has been running since July 2022, is planning its reopening to the public in June 2024, reports E15.cz.

LCP Properties has officially opened its 48th retail park under the M Park brand in Poland, which is also the fifth in the Pomeranian region. M Park Reda has a total of 4,433 sqm of GLA space with 13 tenants. Development works began in mid-May 2023, and the general contractor of the project was STB Budownictwo.

NEPI Rockcastle has a development and refurbishment pipeline of more than €650 million in 2024 across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which is the biggest retail investment program in the region.