The first half of 2018 on the Polish shopping centres market belonged to the biggest agglomerations. Over 172,000 sqm of new space was delivered, which constitutes about 75% of domestic supply. At the same time, the demand for retail space was still very high and the level of vacant buildings remained very low.

Ikea will open a new pop-up store on Wenceslas Square in Prague’s heart on 20 September. The 800 sqm shop will focus on showing customers a range of options they have for their living rooms.

The record-breaking era of the Polish retail sector is over now. The market is shaped by limited supply, increased competition, the growth of e-commerce and the aftereffects of the ban on Sunday trading. As pointed out by experts at BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, in H1 2018 developers operating on the Polish market completed and delivered approx. 191 000 sqm of modern retail space, out of which 110 000 sqm appeared on the market between April and June. As expected, further 300 000 sqm of new supply will be delivered by the end of the year.

The rate of shopping centre development in Europe is slowing, with completions down 23% year-on-year at 3.8 million sqm 2017, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European Shopping Centres report.

More than 180,000 sqm of retail space was added to the Polish retail market in H1 2018 and another 330,000 sqm is expected to be completed by year-end 2018. This will represent an increase of over 25% year-on-year, bringing Poland’s total retail stock to more than 14,800,000 sqm. The new supply will be concentrated in cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, accounting for 40% of this year’s openings. Cushman & Wakefield has published another edition of its MarketBeat report.

Retail deliveries in Romania will return to a positive trend in the second half of 2018, when at least 90,000 square meters will be delivered in four cities, with no openings scheduled for Bucharest, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Savills became the property manager of the Zgorzelec Plaza shopping and entertainment centre owned by the M7 Real Estate fund.

Ploiesti Shopping City, developed by Carrefour Property Romania and NEPI Rockcastle, has announced an investment of €1 million in remodelling its food court area.

Total retail stock in Poland now stands at nearly 14.0 million sqm with shopping centres accounting for 71% (9.9 million sqm), followed by retail parks and warehouses with 27% (3.8 million sqm) and outlet centres coming in with 2% (0.25 million sqm). JLL summarised H1 2018 on the retail market in Poland.

A good location is the key to success in retail. It may, however, take some time before a suitable store is found for a brand entering the Polish market. Most brands want to open their first stores in Warsaw. That’s why retailers would rather wait than start off somewhere else, says Szymon Łukasik, Head of Retail Department at Cresa Poland.