EPP is taking over the management of nine M1 shopping centres and three Power Parks from Metro Properties Polska. Some of Metro Properties Polska's employees, including local property management teams will join EPP. The company plans to develop the properties through leasing activities and space rearrangements and upgrades.

Prague is the only city in the CEE region to boast a prime high street, a shopping street with only the most prestigious global brands, according to Colliers. This location is Pařížská (Paris) Street, where currently 46 out of 48 available retail units are occupied.

Mitiska REIM has announced the opening of a new food-anchored retail park in the Polish city of Świebodzin. Developed in partnership with Karuzela Holding, this is the tenth project undertaken by Mitiska REIM and Karuzela over the past five years, with five more developments planned to open over the next two years.

A new shopping centre called OCKE is to be developed in Košice, reports DennikE.sk. Provided that the permitting process and following construction are successful, it is going to be the second-largest shopping centre in the Eastern Slovakia metropolis.

Reconstruction of the mixed-use commercial centre Černý Most in Prague 14 is beginning in April this year. The project from the Unibail-Rodamco portfolio is bringing 32 new shops and restaurants and 3 new cinemas.

Time Out Market Budapest is set to open in 2025 at Corvin Palace at Blaha Lujza Square. The historic department store first opened in 1926 and has recently been renovated back to its original neoclassical state and redeveloped as a mixed-use real estate property offering retail, leisure and a hotel, timeout.com reports.

Cushman & Wakefield has summarised the situation on the Polish retail market. The opening of 2024 is encouraging and new retail space supply in the coming months is likely to match or even surpass last year’s total. The Polish market continues to attract interest from new brands, borne out by several debuts. More arrivals are expected to follow amid improving retail sales, rising shopping centre footfall and turnover levels as inflation is weakening.

Romania’s retail market could top 4.5 million sqm this year considering that around 185,000 sqm of new retail projects are under various construction and planning stages, according to CBRE data.

Fashion House Group will deliver in late June the second phase of its outlet centre in the Pallady area, eastern Bucharest, following an investment of €45 million.

More than 60% of Polish consumers do their larger grocery shopping in excess of PLN 100 in discount stores. A similar proportion of people in Poland opt for shopping centres on account of their entertainment offer, while nearly 40% go to retail parks which they value for familiarity with space layouts - a guarantee of a quick and easy shopping trip. According to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, Polish people have clearly defined expectations about each retail format, with each likely to respond to different shopping and other needs.