Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Thursday, January 5 with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
The Czech market welcomes 38 new brands
The Czech retail market once again proved its appeal to retail brands, with 38 new arrivals last year. That is the same figure as in 2021 when the influx of 38 new brands was partly the result of the postponement of some entries due to the pandemic.
Jan Kotrbáček, Partner & Head of the CEE Retail Agency team, Cushman & Wakefield, commented: “The traditional gateway for brands into the CEE region has proven to be the Czech Republic, because of its purchasing power and the continued popularity of Prague with international visitors, who are a major source of retail revenue.”
Market activity will soon be increased with some new commercial developments that will offer new retail leasing opportunities. In Prague, the 100 Yards project is currently under construction on Na Příkopě street, and on Pařížská street the projects Pařížská 25 and Pařížská 30 are set to open following renovation. The new mixed-used project Masaryčka is also scheduled to open and the Letňany Shopping Centre will be expanded.
Six new tenants join Lublin Plaza
In the last months of 2022, six new brands entered Klepierre’s Lublin Plaza in Lubin, Poland. The shopping centre expanded its offer in the fashion, health and beauty, entertainment and food & beverage sectors.
New tenants include the opticians Fielmann and Kodano Optyk. Lublin Plaza Center also delivered an attraction for fans of selfies in the Selfie Fun Gallery and for gamers of classic slot machines, Game Point salon. Cosmetics retailer Hebe and a Czas na herbatę chain also opened stores.
Lease agreements were closed with the CCC Group regarding the opening of an eobuwie.pl brand showroom and a HalfPrice store – a new concept in the off-price category.
Rohlig Suus Logistics acquires delivery and value-added services company
Rohlig Suus Logistics has acquired 100 percent of the shares in Expert, a company specialising in delivery and value-added services for e-commerce. The transaction will help strengthen the offer of Poland’s largest logistics operator with professional last-mile delivery services for household appliances, consumer electronics, and furniture.
“We believe that the comprehensive B2B and B2C offer resulting from this merger provides the market with a new quality,” says Adam Galek, a member of the Rohlig Suus Logistics management board.
This is a new chapter in the history of Rohlig Suus Logistics. In the coming year, Suus wants to grow through acquisitions focusing on foreign markets in the CEE region.
IHG to open two new hotels in Budapest
Verno House Budapest is set to open in the summer of 2023 under a franchise agreement and voco Budapest is to open in late 2023 under a management agreement.
Both properties have been signed with owner BDPST Group, a Hungarian-based capital investment company and one of Hungary’s largest hotel owners and operators within the upscale and luxury hospitality market.
Verno House Budapest is a luxury lifestyle hotel under the Botaniq collection, a lifestyle umbrella brand of BDPST Group. The 50-key hotel will have a restaurant with a bar, a library room which can be used as a flexible meeting space, and a small wellness area and gym.
The 137-key voco Budapest is due to open in December 2023, following a refurbishment of an already operating D8 hotel, currently managed by BDPST Group.