AFI Europe Romania is building a small shopping centre in Bucharest, on the land where the company completed the first phase of the AFI City housing project.

Etele Plaza has obtained its occupancy permit which means tenants can start building their new stores in the largest shopping centre in the Buda side of Budapest. Developed by Futureal, with an investment value of €300 million and a leasable area of 55,000 square meters, the environmentally friendly building will open its doors in September 2021.

Polish company Scallier has announced that 70% of available space has been leased in its first retail park under the Funshop Park brand in Romania.

There were no new completions on Zagreb’s retail market in H2 2020 but a number of brands have opened new stores, according to a market report by Cushman & Wakefield | CBS International Croatia.

On February 25, 2021 the 7,000th store of Żabka chain was opened. The facility is located in the town of Biecz in Lesser Poland. 

Swedish furniture group Ikea is set to open its first store in Slovenia in Ljubljana today. To ensure a safe shopping experience and avert long queues in front of the store, Ikea has mandated advanced bookings for in-person shopping in the first weeks following the opening. The number of visitors is capped at 700 with Ikea estimating that they will spend roughly two hours on average browsing around the store.

Construction has started on the Pyramid of Tirana, the brutalist monument in the heart of Albania’s capital city. Rotterdam-based architectural studio MVRDV's design will see this crucial heritage building, once the showpiece of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, dramatically renovated. The concrete structure will be reused, the atrium and its surroundings greened and opened, and a small village of cafes, studios, workshops, and classrooms – where Albanian youth will learn various technology subjects for free – will permeate the site, both inside and outside the pyramid itself. The Pyramid is thus expected to become a new hub for Tirana's cultural life and a carrier for the new generation.

Growing international interest in pop-up stores has taken hold due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a reevaluation of both traditional sales models, and customer shopping expectations. The main benefits associated with this particular format are the element of surprise, the opportunity to further enhance a retail offer as well as the chance to attract new groups of customers. Owners and tenants of retail locations are starting to see the benefit of pop-up stores along with many global brands such as Gucci and Prada, which have already responded to current trading conditions. So, is Poland set to see this trend as well?

Online shopping is continuing to grow in the European Union. With high street shopping affected by the COVID-19 restrictions and changes in habits and preferences, e-commerce can be expected to grow further. Data realised by Eurostat reveals that over the last five years, the largest increases in online shopping among internet users were recorded in CEE countries.

2020 was a year characterized by increased activity in regional cities in terms of commercial centre deliveries, but the delivery volume of new spaces will reduce strongly this year, according to the real estate consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.