Romania has development potential for retail projects in smaller cities, and five counties with a combined population of 1.8 million inhabitants are not covered by any modern retail schemes, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Hungarian developer Wing is set to start renovation works on the EuroCenter shopping centre in Budapest in the spring of 2021 with reopening scheduled for the spring of 2022. In addition to the international fashion brands, the shopping centre will offer its future visitors a diverse range of services, a renovated cinema, culinary experiences and a roof garden.

Henley Investments, a private equity real estate firm based in the UK, has purchased its first Polish shopping centre, Galeria Pestka in Poznań, from a global investment manager.

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.

Mountfield, Europe’s largest specialised retailer of garden machinery, swimming pools and home and garden equipment, has chosen the Shopping Palace centre as the site of its new store in Slovakia. Managing the shopping centre since 2013, the MVGM team has created a compact retail space for Mountfield, which covers 1,500 square metres and also includes a warehouse and suitable office space. On the occasion, MVGM summarised the state of Slovakia’s retail market.

Online shopping is continuing to grow in the European Union. With high street shopping affected by the COVID-19 restrictions and changes in habits and preferences, e-commerce can be expected to grow further. Data realised by Eurostat reveals that over the last five years, the largest increases in online shopping among internet users were recorded in CEE countries.

Although the retail segment is among those affected the most by the coronavirus crisis, this does not show in the number of brands newly incoming to the Czech market. Whereas 24 new brands came to the country in 2019, in the crisis year 2020 there were 25. This year, the number of newcomer brands could be even higher – some brands postponed opening their shops to 2021 due to the corona crisis., according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

CBRE Czech Republic has taken over the property management of the Novo Plaza shopping centre in Prague, starting 1 January 2021. The property offers 27,500 sqm of space, comprising a retail centre with a GLA of 21,500 sqm including retail, office, storage and support areas and a hypermarket with a GLA of 6,000 sqm, anchored by Tesco. The shopping centre has 710 underground and 140 surface-level parking spaces.

The 172 million-strong consumer market of the CEE-17 region  should continue to deliver better growth rates and returns than more developed markets in retail and other sectors according to a new report released by Colliers International

Current owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is reportedly planning to sell the Aupark shopping centre in Bratislava and is currently in the final talks with Czech investment group Wood & Company, according to index.sme.sk. The potential new owner is allegedly interested in purchasing the asset for around €500 million.