The great majority of shopping centres in the Czech Republic should reopen on Thursday 3 December. The footfall and revenue figures show that customers have not given up on visiting shopping centres in the long-term perspective or changed their shopping habits dramatically. Following the reopening after the first wave of the corona crisis, both performance indicators grew again, and revenue even exceeded last year’s figures in a year-on-year comparison. The impact on footfall and turnover was lower in the second wave, with footfall slightly growing in recent weeks. Considering that Christmas is coming, we can expect customers to return to shopping centres quickly as soon as they are allowed to, resulting in an exceptional increase in footfall and revenue.

Retail outlet developer Fashion House Group plans to open its second outlet centre in Romania, Fashion House Pallady, on 25 March 2021.

Shopping centre owner NEPI Rockcastle achieved a collection rate of 97% of reported revenues for the first half of 2020 and 90% for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2020. The total value of COVID-19 related rent reliefs and discounts granted by NEPI Rockcastle up to 30 September amounts to €55.6 million. The company published a business update for Q3 2020.

Expo Market Doraly, one of Romania’s largest shopping parks specialized in home items and food products, has inaugurated a new building with an area of 9,200 sqm, following a €6 million investment.

Fashion outlet developer, Fashion House Group has announced the opening of the third phase of Fashion House Outlet Centre Militari in Bucharest.

In response to the current market challenges faced by landlords and brands, We Are Pop Up, the specialist international booking platform for pop-up retail spaces, has transformed its business model into a free-to-use service, abolishing all transaction fees for listings.

C2H, the company that owns the Kara and Pietro Filipi fashion stores in the Czech Republic, has recently emptied its 58 stores in the country to prevent landlords it owes rent to from seizing its inventory as security for payments.

German group Metro intends to sell and lease back 9 of its stores in Romania to increase its competitiveness and efficiency and to improve liquidity for new investments and developments. The offer also includes 6 stores in Slovakia.

The stock of modern retail spaces in Romania has exceeded the level of 4 million square meters after the latest deliveries of shopping centres, but the market development pace will slow down in the next period, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Mitiska REIM has secured a €33 million senior debt facility with Erste Group Bank AG for four Romanian retail parks, representing a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 30,500 sqm.