As of the end of the third quarter of 2024, Poland’s total resources for modern trade space amounted to 13 million square meters, according to data provided by Colliers. From the start of July to September, 103,000 square meters were made available, with an additional 337.6 thousand square meters under construction. The vacancy rate in the eight largest agglomerations remained relatively low at 3.3%, indicating steady demand and a good market dynamic.
Shopping parks still on top
In the third quarter of 2024, the commercial real estate market in Poland additionally received 7 new structures and had 3 expansions. In total, this brought 103 thousand square meters of modern commercial space.
“Among the newly opened spaces, shopping parks were once again predominant. The largest among them was the BIG shopping center in Ostróda, offering 27 thousand square meters, followed by the BIG center in Gorzów Wielkopolski, which offers 25 thousand square meters, and the San Park Mysiadło in the Warsaw agglomeration, which offers around 18.5 thousand square meters,” said Wojciech Wojtowicz, the senior analyst in the Department of Advisory and Market Research at Colliers.
The final quarter of 2024 will see even more significant launches in this category. Things planned for the coming months include the re-opening of Sukcesja in Łódź, the Vendo Park Szczecin, and the Comfy Park Bielik in Bielsko-Biała. In total, there is an additional 337.6 thousand square meters under construction, with 190 thousand square meters planned to open this year.
Mixed-use projects are also strengthening their position. In August, new stages of the multifunctional Bohema project in Warsaw were opened. The construction of other multifunctional investments, including the Łódź Fuzja, Gdynia Waterfront, and Poznań Stara Rzeźnia, is ongoing.
Debuts and Exits
The landscape of Polish shopping centers was enriched with new marks. Arket and Uniqlo opened in Westfield Arkadia in Warsaw, Dreame and TAG Heuer made their entry in Westfield Mokotów, while Tissot opened a store in Złote Tarasy. GAP returned to Poland, opening its shop in Designer Outlet Warszawa. Additionally, a Bvlgari boutique offering luxury accessories and jewelry was opened in the capital.
Marks like Kontigo and Eastend, however, decided to finish their activities in Poland. Responding to changing consumer preferences, Media Markt launched new stores in the Xpress format, which are already operating in locations like Suwałki, Jabłonna, and Ostrów Wielkopolski.
New gastronomy offerings
There were significant openings in the gastronomy sector, too. A second Polish location of the L’Osteria chain was opened in San Park Mysiadło, and there were debuts from the Ukranian Rebernia at Manufaktura in Łódź, and Greek House, which opened its first Polish store in Galeria Młociny. Steakownia expanded its presence in Łódź, joining Off Piotrkowska’s renters. Additionally, NEON opened in Doki in Gdańsk, nearby Montownia. Chocobon Home of Sweets became a newest member of Fabryka Norblina in Warsaw.
“The Polish gastronomy sector is entering a period of intensive revival, as evidenced by the growing number of new venues and gastronomic concepts,” says Paweł Paciorek, expert in the Department of Retail Spaces at Colliers.
Łódź with a record low vacancy rate
The vacancy rate in the largest Polish agglomerates in the third quarter of 2024 reflects the diverse conditions of local shopping malls. One of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, amounting to 1.3%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, was recorded in the Łódź agglomeration. The rate also fell in the Tricity and Upper Silesia (by 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points respectively), reaching the levels of 3.5% and 3.7% respectively.
However, the vacancy rate increased in Krakow (by 0.4 percentage points to 2.1%), Poznan (by 0.1 percentage points to 4.5%) and in Wrocław (by 1.1 percentage points to 5.4%).”This is a signal of the stability of the capital market, which, despite increasing supply, retains a high level of absorption of new space,” emphasizes Paweł Paciorek.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/iii-kwartal-2024-roku-na-rynku-powierzchni-handlowych-w-polsce-88618
