SES is refurbishing the King Cross shopping centre in Zagreb, Croatia which it has owned and managed since 2018. Construction work to completely refurbish the centre will begin in 2024 following an investment of approximately €40 million. Completion is scheduled for autumn 2025.

The number of photovoltaic surfaces installed on SES shopping malls is constantly increasing. This year, SES has invested in the construction of photovoltaic systems in the five Slovenian shopping centres, namely Aleja, Citypark and Center Vič in Ljubljana, Citycenter Celje and Europark Maribor. The systems, boasting a total output of 4,300 kilowatts, have been in operation since July and August. They cover around one-fifth of the centres’ electricity requirement with a 1,200-ton saving in terms of CO2 emissions. The SES climate objective to fit photovoltaic systems on at least 50 percent of its available mall roof surfaces by 2040 has therefore already been achieved or exceeded to a significant extent in Slovenia. SES is currently operating four photovoltaic systems in Austria. An additional three locations are scheduled to be equipped with these systems by the end of the year.

The gross sales turnover of a total of 1,800 shops located on the 30 SES Spar European Shopping Center sites in Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic continued to grow in the past year. With sales up 18.5% and a €3.1 billion turnover compared to 2021, SES enjoyed a record year in terms of development since its inception in 2007. In 2022, SES invested in numerous sustainable measures such as the large-scale installation of photovoltaic systems and the ongoing interim expansion of e-charging stations, currently amounting to 175 charging points coupled with extensive LED retrofitting.

People have started to return to their usual shopping destinations. That is reflected in the positive business development of SES Spar European Shopping Centers during the second year of the pandemic. Compared to 2020, significant growth was recorded in retail partner sales, visitor footfall and average spend per purchase. This positive upward trend was recorded by SES in all countries in which it operates centres. Despite the pandemic, in 2021, a total of €22 million was invested in maintenance and sustainable measures relating to the operation of the centres, as well as in project development.

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.

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.

Austria-based retail developer and operator SES Spar European Shopping Centers has announced the opening of a new retail park in the Hungarian city of Kaposvár which will take place on 11 March 2021. S-PARK Kaposvár is a supraregional supply centre featuring strong anchor stores, including the only Interspar market of the city, located in the southwest of the country. The addition of S-PARK Kaposvár increases SES’s property portfolio to a total of 30 shopping destinations in six countries.

The SES-operated shopping centre Weberzeile located in Ried, Upper Austria, now generates its own environmentally friendly solar power, which is also the case at SES shopping centre Murpark in Graz. Last week, SES Spar European Shopping Centers commenced operation of a 520-kWp photovoltaic rooftop installation, which produces approximately 500,000 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity per year for its own use and reduces CO2 emissions by 128 tons. The photovoltaic system installed atop Weberzeile is the largest to be mounted by SES to date and is the benchmark for the installation of solar power systems on the roofs of other SES shopping centres throughout Austria.

SES Spar European Shopping Centers has opened Aleja Center in Ljubljana on 20 May 2020. The €150 million investment serves as a mixed-use shopping and leisure hotspot. The centre was completed in March, but, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally planned opening date had to be postponed. The first shops with focus on local supply opened at the beginning of May, and the entire centre is set into full operation on 20 May. The Planet Lollipop children's adventure world and part of Aleja SKY are scheduled to open at a later date.  

Developer and operator SES Spar European Shopping Centers has announced that the customer opening of Slovenia’s most modern shopping centre, located in the northern district of Šiška in Ljubljana, is scheduled to take place on 19 March 2020.