Lidl has opened its first logistics centre in the eastern part of Romania, in the town of Roman, Neamt county.

JSE-listed EPP successfully completed an equity raise of ZAR 1.45 billion equating to approximately €90 million. The Polish retail company will use the equity to fund tranche 2 of its M1 portfolio transaction. The company expects to complete tranche 2 of the M1 transaction by June of this year. The deal is expected to add an additional 184,000 sqm of retail GLA to EPP’s portfolio.

Developers are revising their strategies. The convenience centre and mixed-use projects segment is growing. 2019 could see 430,000 sqm of new retail space in Poland. JLL summarised conditions on Poland's retail market at the end of Q1 2019.

The construction of retail park Prochownia Łomianki (Łomianki Powder House), Ghelamco Poland’s new project located right past the northern border of Warsaw, in Łomianki, has been launched. The space of the building will cover around 5300 sqm. The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2019.

As shopping centre markets reach maturity in most European countries, there will be growing polarisation between successful prime schemes and struggling secondary sites which have to diversify to survive, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield.

Since the beginning of April Novaston Marketing Consultancy has taken over all marketing activities for Rajićeva Shopping Center in Belgrade, from BTL to PR and digital.

DBK, a Czech retail specialist, has acquired a majority share in Europark – Štěrboholy, a shopping centre in Prague 10 from Austrian developer, SES Spar European Centers.

The modern retail stock in Bucharest remained stable in 2018, at 1.2 million square meters, a level which is 7% higher than in the Central-West region of the country which reached 1.18 million square meters, and twice the corresponding value of the Moldova region which reached 595,000 square meters, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

What is Warsaw residents' favourite shopping destination? Shopping centres. In this regard, the residents of Poland's capital differ from the residents of Madrid, Paris or Berlin, who prefer to visit stores located on their respective high streets. However, according to a new report by JLL, with the maturing shopping centre market, the popularity of high streets is increasing as well. As a consequence, high streets have a chance to come back into favour as alternative locations and diversify the expansion strategies of retailers.

Expect retail to regain popularity as an asset class especially in tourism-led locations, Colliers International said at MIPIM 2019. Whilst logistics has benefited from the growth in e-retailing, there are signs that is has hit maximum penetration across Europe. In the meantime, pure-play retailers are resorting to omni-channel strategies to survive and deliver profits. This has put the onus back on the need for retail space supported by modern logistic facilities.