Romania is posting one of the biggest recoveries of non-food consumption in the European Union (EU) and retailers with online stores are set to benefit most from this growth, according to an analysis by real estate consultancy Colliers. 

By purchasing a 50% stake in a business partner, Fidurock has become the 100% owner of Retail Park Choceň on June 8, 2021. With this step, the company completed the acquisition, which began in 2018 with the purchase of 50% of building land. The construction itself began in April 2020 with the opening to the public taking place in December of the same year. 

LCP has signed a purchase contract for a retail park in Rawa Mazowiecka, located between Warsaw and Łódź. It offers over 2,700 sqm of GLA and 45 parking spaces. The size of the entire plot is over 5,200 sqm. Among the tenants are Kik, Dealz, Martes Sport and CCC.

A total of 23 retail park projects with a total area of almost 55,000 sqm were completed in the Czech Republic last year, with the volume of development exceeding a ten-year average. In effect, the aggregate area of all retail parks in the Czech Republic has exceeded 1 million sqm. Retail park development currently focuses on smaller towns with up to 40,000 inhabitants. The greatest volume of new development was in the Central Bohemian Region last year, according to an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield.

The retail park format was gaining ground before the pandemic and continues to grow despite it. Over the past 20 years, the share of retail parks in the entire pool of shopping facilities in the country has increased from 6% to 15% and now they occupy approximately 1.97 million sqm, according to CBRE data. Retail parks remain popular among investors, confirming their strong position, even in times of a pandemic. Their popularity is underpinned by their locality, concentration of stores providing basic needs in one place and a smaller number of customer contact points than in large centres. According to CBRE experts, the current trends indicate that by 2030 retail parks may constitute 28% of all shopping space in Poland.

Without a doubt, the pandemic has brought many changes for the retail market but many developers see this as a time for trailblazers. Christoph Andexlinger, Chief Operations Officer at SES Spar European Shopping Centers discussed with Property Forum the effects the pandemic had on the company’s operations and shared some details about future plans.

Spektrum shopping centre, CPI Property Group’s latest retail development in the Czech Republic, opened its doors on 25 March. Located in Čestlice, in Prague’s south-eastern agglomeration, Spektrum is a convenience-focused retail park comprising over 20 units and over 6,500 sqm of space.

Over 80% of the new retail space expected to be completed in 2021 will be in the form of retail parks, including smaller strip malls, highlighting a market shift towards proximity-based schemes or those with a smaller financial footprint for the developer, according to Colliers International Romania. 

Slovak company KLM CHG intends to build a new retail park near Chorvátsky Grob in the Bratislava Region with three separate buildings, following an investment of about €6.5 million.

On Thursday, 11 March, SES Spar European Shopping Centers opened S-Park Kaposvár, a new retail park in Southern Hungary. As a result of a renewed lockdown in the country, only those stores that are deemed essential for the provision of basic goods and services to the population have been allowed to open. These are a 6,800 sqm Interspar store, a 600 sqm dm drugstore and a 150 sqm Ofotért optical retail store. S- As soon as official Hungarian regulations permit, all other stores located at S-Park, such as Hervis, Deichmann, Euronics, Pepco, and Kik will go into full operation. The segment and shop mix, which includes 10 stores, covering a leasable area of 11,200 sqm, will deliver a comprehensive range of brands and services to Kaposvár and the surrounding region.