Poland leads regional retail space market

2011-11-23



The supply of modern retail space in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and South East Europe (SEE) will increase by 2.5 million m² by the end of 2013, with 45 shopping centres set to open in 2012 alone, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Nearly half of the new space will appear in Poland, followed by Romania, Serbia and Croatia.
Poland also stands out in the region as not being a centralised market. Only 14% of the modern shopping centre space supply is located in Warsaw, with the rest being evenly split between eight other large agglomerations with populations of over 500,000. In contrast, In Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, 50% of the retail space supply is located in capital cities, and along with other countries in the region they are mainly centralised markets dominated by their capitals.
More than 670,000 m² of modern retail space is currently being developed in Poland. Also, Poland attracts the largest number of new brands - 25 retail chains have entered the market in 2011, including Desigual, Dorothy Perkins, Gucci, GAP, Israeli Elie Tahari, Jula, Lindex, Rena Lange, Toys "R" Us and Veroni.
Meanwhile, the most saturated market in the region is the Czech Republic at 231 m² of modern retail space per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Poland at 197 m².