A new development division of the Lekvi Group plans to build fifteen new retail parks in the region within five years. So far, this group of investors from the countries of the former Soviet Union has focused on the sale of apartments but now sees potential in retail parks in the Czech and Slovak Republics. The planned projects should cost CZK 1 billion, E15 reports.

Romanian developer Iulius will invest €40 million to expand the Iulius Mall Suceava project with 14,000 sqm in a bid to add new retailers as well as leisure and food operators. 

Revetas Capital has sold Vitantis Shopping Center in Bucharest, with a leasable area of around 50,000 sqm, to Praktiker Real Estate, owned by businessman Omer Susli, for an undisclosed sum, according to economedia.ro. 

Atrium announced the major refurbishment of its flagship shopping centre – Atrium Promenada, located in Warsaw, Poland. The investment aims to refurbish the second part of the shopping centre. This will continue the transformation of Promenada, the first part of which was completed in autumn 2018.

Polish developer Scallier has secured a building permit for a new retail park with a leasable area of 9,975 sqm in Vaslui, Eastern Romania.

Despite the pandemic triumph of e-commerce, customers are not giving up on shopping in brick-and-mortar shops. Brands wanting to benefit from the synergy of these channels implement innovative formats and compete for customers' attention with technology and environmentally friendly products. However, retail parks and convenience centres continue to enjoy popularity among investors and developers, says JLL.

Portico Investments has purchased a new Profi store in Bucharest, in a bid to expand its Romanian portfolio. 

Czech-Dutch investment company Fidurock has commenced the construction of the second phase of the Staré Město retail park project. The extension will expand the current 4,100 sqm building with 500 sqm.

International retailer Primark has announced the opening of its first store in Romania as part of an expansion bid in Central and Eastern Europe. The new store will start operations towards the end of this year and will be located in Bucharest-based ParkLake Shopping Centre, owned by Sonae Sierra.

Żabka Group is now the largest chain of autonomous stores in Europe after launching 25 AI-powered stores called Żabka Nano. The concept enables quick shopping without checkout clerks, queues, or cash to sell products precisely matched to location and customer demographics. The stores operate in several formats such as standalone container-based vending machines, traditional brick-and-mortar and store-within-a-store points of sale; each leveraging AI-powered computer vision technology created through close cooperation with American technology company AiFi.