Last year witnessed the completion of more than 62,000 sq m of shopping space in 17 retail parks - new, renovated or expanded. Their total retail space has thus increased to 1.2 million sq m, and they account for almost a third of the total retail space in the Czech Republic. The Moravian-Silesian Region has the largest amount of such space, while the Olomouc Region leads in terms of area per 1,000 inhabitants. Another almost 90,000 sq m is currently under construction. Investments in retail parks exceeded CZK 2 billion last year, with further transactions expected this year.
The supply of modern retail space in the Czech Republic reached almost four million sq m (3.93 million sq m) at the end of 2023. Retail parks, or shopping parks, i.e. shopping zones with several separate stores with their own entrances and common parking, account for 31% of this total. Traditional shopping centres account for about 67%, and the remaining 2% are outlets. The share of retail parks in the total volume of modern retail space in the Czech Republic has increased by 5 p.p. over the last five years. Given the growing interest in this business concept from landlords, tenants and investors, the percentage of the total volume can be expected to grow in the coming years.
Jan Čížek, Head of Retail Warehousing, Cushman & Wakefield: ”Retail parks continue to enjoy great interest from shoppers, which supports their further development. This is primarily concentrated in smaller towns of up to 10,000 inhabitants, where developers are preparing smaller projects of up to 2,500 sq m. In addition, large, successful projects in bigger cities are being expanded, where the aim is to strengthen their position in their catchment area.”
The largest project completed last year is the expansion of the S1 Center Přerov retail park by an additional 17,200 sq m; the park now offers over 29,000 sq m of retail space with 41 retail units. Another major project is the new construction of the OC Poříčí retail park in Blansko, with an area of 6,900 sq m and nearly 20 retail units. Last year’s third largest project is the new construction of the Strakonická Retail Park in České Budějovice, with 12 retail units on 6,000 sq m.
Jan Čížek, Head of Retail Warehousing, Cushman & Wakefield: “Last year’s volume of retail park completions exceeded the long-term annual average by more than 30% and is the second highest annual volume in the last 10 years - just after 2021, which was a record year. Last year’s high volume reflected deferred construction from the uncertain “covid” years of 2020 and 2021, when a number of projects were put on hold. Retail park developers are able to react much more quickly to market developments and increased tenant demand for space than is the case with traditional shopping centres. They are also much more flexible thanks to the fact that the construction of a retail park usually takes up to 12 months, whereas a shopping centre takes two to three years to build.”
Moravian regions lead the way, interest from fast foods is growing
The largest volume of shopping space in retail parks is located in the Moravian-Silesian Region (12%) and the Central Bohemian Region (11%). When calculated per 1,000 inhabitants, the largest amount of such space is in the Olomouc Region (178 sq m per 1,000 inhabitants) and the Vysočina Region (148 sq m per 1,000 inhabitants).
The tenant mix in retail parks is primarily focused on daily necessities - it consists mainly of retailers selling groceries, toiletries, home appliances and household equipment, as well as recently very popular discount stores.
Jan Čížek, Head of Retail Warehousing, Cushman & Wakefield: “In most district towns, we are now also seeing increased interest in new space from fast food operators.”
Retail parks are trusted by developers and investors
Developers are preparing more new retail parks for the future: 87,200 sq m of their space is currently under construction, and an additional ca 380,000 sq m is in various stages of preparation. If all planned projects are completed as planned, the area of retail parks could increase by more than 400,000 sq m by 2025. Most projects under construction are located in the Central Bohemia (31%) and South Bohemia (26%) regions.
Investors’ interest in new retail parks is not waning either, as their tenant mix offers stable rental yields - and investment is cheaper than in traditional shopping centres. A number of large domestic investors have thus recently entered retail parks financially, not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad: last September, the ZDR Investments fund bought a retail park in Rijeka, Croatia, worth CZK 1 billion, and the BHM Group invested roughly the same amount in ten retail parks in Poland last year.
Jiří Kristek, Head of the Industrial and Retail Warehousing Team, Cushman & Wakefield: “Over CZK 2 billion was invested in retail parks in the Czech Republic last year. According to information from developers, further sales of newly completed retail parks are under negotiation.”
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