The pace of change in property is undoubtedly getting faster. The way real estate is being built, managed and valued is being digitised which means that sooner or later many of the current job titles will disappear. Property Forum reports from MIPIM where a discussion held on the Colliers International boat provided a deep insight into the future of the property business.

EPP published its financial results for the full-year of 2017. During the period, the distributable income was at €76.6 million, exceeding the forecasts. At the same time, the company kept building its strong presence in Poland’s key cities, while EPP-owned properties enjoyed growing footfall and increasing sales. The value of asset portfolio rose by 29%, to €1.95 billion.

Panattoni Europe is to build a courier delivery distribution centre for DHL Parcel Polska. The cross-docking facility will feature close to 9,000 sqm and will be built in Radzymin. Construction works commenced at the beginning of the year and will be finished in October 2018. The lease was signed for 10 years, and the contract was mediated by the international advisory firm CBRE.

Czech online retailer alza.cz plans to bring its new self-service concept store to Hungary, local daily Magyar Nemzet reports. Alza opened its first similar store at Prague’s Flora metro station this January. The store, which is able to serve 1,000 costumes daily, operates with no staff and offers 24-hour accessibility. The company invested nearly €200 million in the opening of the store.

2017 was the best year ever for Poland's industrial market with gross demand totalling 3.9 million sqm, JLL reports. Retailers and logistics operators continued to drive the market, together accounting for more than 65% of net take-up in 2017.

The European retail market has changed drastically and market players looking to stay in the race need to invest in innovation. Although there is no definite recipe for success, the general consensus is that offline stores need to transform into places that provide an experience. Panellists at the RICS European Retail Conference 2018 in Milan provided an insight into the key industry developments

Retail is changing rapidly with e-commerce having already brought on the death of several shopping centres overseas. Europe is not exempt from this phenomenon, even though the market in general strongly differs from that of the U. S. An interview with Savino Natalicchio MRICS, Director of the Retail Business Unit at Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group’s Advisory and Valuation Department in Milan, who talked about the future of retail and changing shopping centre valuation practices.

Czech online retailer alza.cz has opened a new self-service concept store at Prague’s Flora metro station. The retailer has branded the new concept ‘the store of the future’. The store, which is able to serve 1,000 costumers daily, operates with no staff and offers 24-hour accessibility.

Carrefour opened a new hypermarket in Warsaw. Its customers will be able to take advantage of its digital solutions, as well as range of new commercial concepts, including m-commerce type services, a restaurant right in the heart of the store and a line of checkouts that is not quite what they'll be expecting.

Czech online retail giant Alza has leased a 22,000 sqm warehouse at P3 Prague D8 park as increasing sales volumes put pressure on its existing logistics centres around Prague in the Holešovice District and at P3 Prague Horní Počernice park. Alza will move into the specially adapted facility – which will feature a mezzanine storage system that has the capacity to almost quadruple the total floorspace – in January (2018). Both of Alza's existing logistics centres are equipped with technology to ensure that the company can meet its delivery time promises – particularly useful during the hectic pre-Christmas season.