Colliers has released a new report showing how retail markets worldwide are adapting to transformation through the convergence of physical and online retail, growing Gen Z influence, and value-conscious consumer behaviour.

Florentin Avădanei, Founder & Co-CEO at Goldbach Group, talked to Property Forum about the company's strategy of focusing on small urban and rural areas, their consolidation in 2024, and the future of physical retail in Romania.

Penny Romania retail chain has inaugurated its new logistics depot in Mihăilești, Giurgiu County, near Bucharest, marking a €35 million investment in sustainable infrastructure. The facility is the first in the company's network to operate entirely without gas heating, using waste heat recovery systems and heat pumps instead.

Once considered a purely transactional asset class, retail in CEE is rapidly evolving into a platform for experience, community, and brand identity. This shift was at the centre of the discussion at SEE Property Forum 2025, where industry leaders explored how shopping centres are adapting to changing consumer expectations, ESG requirements, and the growing demand for meaningful, multi-use spaces. 

The Vinohradská 8 project, jointly prepared by Penta Real Estate and PSN, has received a zoning permit. Just a few steps from Wenceslas Square in Prague, a mixed-use development is designed, including housing, office space, and new shops and restaurants.

A retail park is being developed on the site of the former Glinki shopping centre in Bydgoszcz, with opening planned for Q1 2026. The project, developed by Redkom Development, will initially have 16,000 sqm GLA. A second phase is planned to add another 4,000 sqm GLA. The investor is Newgate Investment.

Romania's retail sector delivered 186,000 sqm of new shopping centres and retail parks in the first three quarters of 2025, already exceeding the 180,000 sqm delivered across the entire 2024. Developers plan to complete an additional 30,000 sqm by year-end, bringing the total annual supply to approximately 217,000 sqm.

Echo Investment has completed the sale of Libero shopping centre in Katowice to Estonian investment firm Summus Capital for €103 million. This marks the largest single retail property acquisition in Poland in 2025.

Futureal, owner of the Etele Plaza shopping centre in Budapest, has signed a €165 million loan agreement with a consortium comprising Erste Bank Hungary, Erste Group Bank and UniCredit Bank Hungary. The refinancing extends the loan maturity to 2035.

After almost two years of reconstruction, PSN is reopening the modernist Grand Palace in Pardubice to the public. The company has created a modern department store that combines history with today's urban life.