Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Monday, October 17, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
The value of the CEP parcel market in Poland exceeds PLN 17 billion
The courier, express and postal (CEP) parcel market in Poland has been enjoying continuous, double-digit growth for several years, and its value has already exceeded PLN 17 billion – according to the latest “Polish CEP Report 2022”, prepared by Last Mile Experts, 7R and Cushman & Wakefield. Among the factors that most significantly influence the development of the last-mile supply segment, experts point to the dynamic growth of the e-commerce sector, which has become one of the key purchasing channels for consumers.
Online retail sales have grown by an average of 28 percent since 2019 year-on-year. The largest share was recorded in consumer electronics, almost 24 percent, as well as fashion, which accounts for 15 percent of all orders. In turn, the fastest-growing segment in 2021 was e-grocery, with an increase of 30 percent.
“An equally interesting area of development is buying and selling used items on platforms such as Vinted or OLX,” emphasizes Mirek Gral, Vice President of Last Mile Experts.
According to the “Polish CEP 2022” report, InPost is the market leader, both in terms of volume and revenues. In the last year alone the company has grown by nearly 40 percent, and its key competitive advantage remains the largest network of parcel machines in Europe.
“It is true that we are still far from the developed German market, which achieves four times higher results, stresses Damian Kołata, Head of Industrial & Logistics Poland, Head of E-commerce CEE at Cushman & Wakefield.
The PRS market from various perspectives
The PRS market accounts for a mere 1 percent of all rental flats in Poland. Despite being in its infancy, it is likely to become a strong investment alternative and gain popularity in light of the current macroeconomic conditions and challenges facing the housing sector. The latest report prepared by experts of CRIDO and Savills looks at what’s next for this commercial real estate sector in the coming years and legal and tax issues that an investor needs to take into account in investment planning.
According to the report, the private rented sector is still in its infancy, with a very constrained supply of completed developments. The PRS market is gaining traction with investors, but it lacks scale. According to Savills data, there are currently just under 8,500 rental units available. Projects scheduled for completion in the next five to seven years are expected to deliver close to 54,000 units in the largest Polish cities alone.
Kamil Kowa, Savills Board Member, said: “With the number of home sales continuing to fall in recent months, some developers are considering alternative sales channels such as building their own PRS platforms, forward financing/purchase models or joint ventures with PRS investors. These are defensive and low-yield products requiring an appropriate long-term strategy.”
Maciej Dybaś, Partner, CRIDO, said: “The Polish rental market looks poised to grow further and to become institutionalized.”
Hybrid work gaining in popularity
According to Colliers, we are seeing new developments in the labour market – employees’ expectations towards employers are changing, as well as the way office space is designed, which today must meet the needs of a hybrid workforce. The Colliers report Hybrid and Beyond, prepared in association with partners HRK S.A. and Well.hr, shows the most important aspects of implementing hybrid work on the Polish market.
“Today, few companies work exclusively in onsite or fully remote modes. Research shows that to date up to 89 percent of organisations have implemented a hybrid work model,” says Karolina Dudek, Associate Director, People & Places Advisory, Colliers Define.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the way employers look for workers. They have opened up to candidates who are willing to travel long distances to work at the company’s office, for example, twice a week,” says Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Managing Partner, HRK S.A.
“Already, 71 percent of surveyed organisations say they are encouraging employees to work from the office more of the time than before, or they will start doing so shortly,” explains Dorota Osiecka, Partner at Colliers and Director of the Colliers Define platform.
“Today, organisations are faced with the challenge of creating a space that is not only a place for employees to perform their jobs, but also a unique experience – an experience of the company and its organisational culture, the team, and the workplace itself. I am talking here about social glue,” points out Małgorzata Michalczyk, Head of Administration, Colliers.