Over the last 20 years, the Polish cinema market has maintained strong growth momentum with an average 8.7% y/y increase in ticket sales in 2017 and cinema attendance hitting 56.6 million. Today, there are more than 1,300 screens in nearly 500 cinemas across the country. Multiplexes with two or more screens make up only approximately 25% of all cinemas in Poland but account for 75% of all screens. Most of them (80%) are located in shopping centres. Despite its rapid expansion, this market still has a big growth potential considering saturation levels in Poland and Western Europe.

Immofinanz has opened two further retail parks in its Stop Shop brand. The Stop Shop portfolio has now grown to 72 locations with roughly 500,000 sqm of rentable space in eight countries. The new properties are located in the Serbian cities of Požarevac (7,200 sqm) and Vršac (8,250 sqm). Both locations are 100% rented. The tenants include, among others, LC Waikiki, Reserved, Sinsay, CCC, Deichmann and DM.

During the first quarter of 2018, the Polish retail market witnessed investment transactions totalling over €1.7 billion. This is the largest volume ever recorded in Q1 on the market. JLL summarised Q1 2018 on the retail market in Poland.

So far in 2018 CBRE won the management of further 10 properties (industrial and shopping centres and an office building) in Budapest. The Budapest office now manages a 600,000 sqm portfolio in Hungary.

Decathlon, the world's largest sports retailer, is now entering Serbia. Partnering with BIG CEE group, the retailer plans to open its first store in Q2 2019 at Big Fashion Park Belgrade.

Carrefour Poland presented an overview of the chain’s activities in 2017, the strategical objectives for 2018 as well as the actions that will be undertaken as part of the transformation plan of the Group, called “Carrefour 2022”.

Galeria Mazovia, a retail asset located in Płock, Poland and owned by the CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund (ESCF), has obtained a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Assessment Method) rating of ‘Excellent’ in tests conducted in February 2018.

Bistrita Retail Park will be inaugurated in May 2018, Element Development, the park’s announced. The list of tenants for the nearly 8,000 sqm retail park include, among others, Carrefour Market, JYSK, Decathlon and Top Shop.

Ikea plans to build its third store in Romania next to the city of Timisoara. The Swedish retailer has reportedly applied for a permit to build a roundabout that would allow access to the future store. Ikea also plans to open stores in Brasov and Cluj-Napoca.

NEPI Rockcastle has started construction works on a new shopping mall in Satu Mare. NEPI’s eighteenth shopping centre in Romania is expected to be inaugurated at the end of 2018.