The year 2025 confirmed a significant shift in the structure of demand for warehouse space in Poland. Companies are increasingly moving away from concentrating their operations in a single, large logistics hub and instead are building networks of regional locations closer to consumers and end markets. Accolade’s leasing data shows that this trend is no longer niche – over the past year, the investor leased nearly 400,000 sqm of warehouse space in regions outside the largest agglomerations, translating into approximately 5,000 jobs nationwide.
Demand was spread across regions, including the West Pomeranian, Podlaskie, Lubuskie and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships, with no single market clearly dominating. This structure points to a lasting geographic shift rather than a one-off effect. Regional markets are no longer an alternative to central locations – they are becoming the foundation of modern supply chains.
This shift aligns with broader trends observed across Central and Eastern Europe. As highlighted in the “Colliers CEE-6 Real Estate Market – Highlights & Predictions 2025/2026” report, the industrial and logistics sector remains one of the main beneficiaries of nearshoring and supply-chain restructuring. Companies are increasingly seeking locations that enhance operational resilience and reduce the risks associated with business concentration.
“Our day-to-day conversations with tenants clearly show that companies today are looking for three things: operational resilience and stable supply chains, access to labour, and flexibility that allows them to respond to market changes without excessive cost increases. These are very pragmatic decisions driven by real business challenges, not expansion ambitions. That is precisely why we are seeing a clear shift in demand towards regional markets—locations that not only better meet operational needs, but also genuinely strengthen local labour markets by creating thousands of jobs nationwide,” says Joanna Sinkiewicz, Managing Director of Accolade in Poland.
Retail Shortens the Distance to the Customer, Logistics Follows
One of the key drivers behind the regionalisation of demand is the transformation of retail and consumer behaviour. The growth of omnichannel models, the increasing importance of convenience formats such as retail parks, and pressure to shorten delivery times mean that retail and e-commerce companies are increasingly locating logistics facilities closer to the end customer.
Instead of a single central warehouse serving the entire country, companies are opting for several smaller or mid-sized facilities located closer to consumer markets, borders or ports. This model enables better control of operating costs, greater flexibility and reduced exposure to supply-chain disruptions.
The evolution of retail is also accelerating this trend. According to the “Colliers CEE-6 Real Estate Market – Highlights & Predictions 2025/2026” report, the development of retail parks and the expansion of retail chains into smaller cities are becoming the dominant model across the CEE region. Combined with the growing importance of convenience and omnichannel formats, this increases demand for logistics facilities located closer to consumers.
Optimisation Decisions Rather Than Expansion
In 2025, leasing decisions were largely a response to market conditions rather than part of aggressive expansion strategies. Tenants are increasingly focusing on operational efficiency, cost stability and access to local labour markets. Regional locations offering good infrastructure, predictable employment conditions and the ability to scale operations naturally continue to gain importance.
From an investor’s perspective, nearly 400,000 sqm of leased space in a single year represents a result almost twice as high as the previous year, but its significance goes beyond scale alone. For more than 11 years, Accolade has consistently invested in regional markets, which, alongside the maturation of supply chains and changing operating models, have now become a fully-fledged element of Poland’s warehouse landscape. Data from 2025 confirms that this direction was not an alternative to central markets, but a long-term response to tenant needs and lasting changes in demand structure.
