A total of 23 retail park projects with a total area of almost 55,000 sqm were completed in the Czech Republic last year, with the volume of development exceeding a ten-year average. In effect, the aggregate area of all retail parks in the Czech Republic has exceeded 1 million sqm. Retail park development currently focuses on smaller towns with up to 40,000 inhabitants. The greatest volume of new development was in the Central Bohemian Region last year, according to an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield.

Three years ago, Aldi installed its first solar power plant in its store in Sopron, followed by the unit in Budaörs. Experiences have shown that the company was able to generate two months' worth of electricity consumption this way, which motivated it to expand the initiative. Aldi will install solar panels on the rooftops of 16 stores nationwide. It expects each plant to cover at least two months' electricity supply in the given store.

Investors’ interest in retail parks in Poland has been growing year-on-year. In 2020 this was the most sought-after retail class, taking up the majority of retail transactions. Their popularity has increased especially in the last year, due to the fact that they remained resilient to the pandemic restrictions,  says Avison Young.

Eurovea 2 obtained one of the largest real estate loans in Slovakia in recent years. Funding in the amount of €116 million will be used for the construction of the extension of the Eurovea shopping centre and the adjacent Pribinova X office building. Construction work by JTRE on both buildings is in full swing. The loan is provided by a syndicate of banks led by Tatra banka, together with Slovenská sporiteľňa and UniCredit Bank. The contract documentation was prepared by Dentons.

Between January and March 2021, nearly 93,000 sqm of retail stock was delivered in Poland, a result comparable to the same period last year. The structure of new supply included only two large-scale formats: stand-alone retail warehouses (55% of new space) and retail parks (31%). Convenience centres claimed the remaining 14%. The largest scheme delivered was an Agata Meble store (11,000 sqm) in Jelenia Góra. JLL summarised the conditions on Poland’s retail market at the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Nhood Services Hungary, the operator of Auchan hypermarkets in the country, will embark on the renovation of Auchan Korzó retail asset in Soroksár, Budapest.

FMCG discounters have been going from strength to strength throughout Poland in recent years and have attracted growing levels of consumer interest amid the pandemic. What are the growth opportunities for this sector? Jakub Sadowski from Cushman & Wakefield talks about the direction discount retailers are now heading in.

The retail park format was gaining ground before the pandemic and continues to grow despite it. Over the past 20 years, the share of retail parks in the entire pool of shopping facilities in the country has increased from 6% to 15% and now they occupy approximately 1.97 million sqm, according to CBRE data. Retail parks remain popular among investors, confirming their strong position, even in times of a pandemic. Their popularity is underpinned by their locality, concentration of stores providing basic needs in one place and a smaller number of customer contact points than in large centres. According to CBRE experts, the current trends indicate that by 2030 retail parks may constitute 28% of all shopping space in Poland.

Hypermarket chain Kaufland, part of German Schwarz Group, has increased its investment target in Romania in 2021. In 2020, the company opened 20 new stores, purchased land, and carried out upgrade works as part of a €300 million investment effort. 

Dino Polska opened 59 new stores in the first quarter of this year, compared to 16 y/y. At the end of March 2021, the chain consists of 1,532 stores, compared to 1,234 a year earlier.