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

Wing Zrt. has acquired a retail portfolio which includes the EuroCenter Óbuda shopping centre as well as two properties in the regional city of Szombathely. The company has over ten years of experience developing and managing retail properties and plans to carry out value-enhancing investments across the new portfolio with a particular focus on the Buda shopping centre. Wing intends to invest in improving the shopping centre’s existing strengths for both shoppers and tenants.

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.

Aerium, a European real estate fund manager has disposed of three shopping centres in Poland to Newbridge, a Warsaw-based investment & development firm. The portfolio includes CH Czyzyny and CH Bielawy, both opened in 2002 in the cities of Krakow and Torun, respectively, and CH Guliwer, which has been operating in Lodz since 1997. The assets comprise over 72,000 sqm of gross lettable space and are anchored by Carrefour on a long-term lease.

The Polish retail market witnessed a large number of interesting developments throughout 2017. Magdalena Sadal, Head of Retail Research and Advisory at Cresa Poland presented an outlook for 2018.

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.

In 2017, Green Caffe Nero, TK Maxx, Dla Spania, KappAhl, Newbie, Home&Deco, Good Label, T-Mobile and Forever 21 opened twelve new stores across Poland totalling more than 9,800 sqm of floorspace. Each project was delivered by the Retail Agency team of Cushman & Wakefield.

Union Investment has expanded its Polish shopping centre portfolio by making its first investment of this kind in Wrocław. The latest addition to open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa is Magnolia Park, which comprises some 100,000 sqm of retail space. Sold to Union Investment by Blackstone for around €380 million, the shopping centre is almost fully let, with leases having an average of 4.2 years to run. The shopping centre will continue to be managed by Multi after the sale. Cushman & Wakefield advised Union Investment on the transaction.

NEPI Rockcastle inaugurated Shopping City Ramnicu Valcea, following an investment of €40 million. With a leasable area of 27,900 sqm, Shopping City Ramnicu Valcea offers 14,000 sqm of fashion brands, a hypermarket and services area of 10,000 sqm and 3,000 sqm of restaurants and entertainment area.

Aberdeen Asset Management has sold the King Cross shopping centre in Zagreb to SES Spar European Shopping Centers. The transaction price has not been disclosed.