Around 100,000 sqm of new retail space was delivered last year in Romania, of which 80 percent was integrated into retail parks, while new projects with a leasable area of around 230,000 sqm are expected in 2023, which would be a 6-year high, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
New projects consisting of 20,000 sqm were completed in Q4 2022, while the total retail stock across Romania reached 4.2 million sqm at the end of 2022. Shopping centres had a share of 56 percent of the total stock, while 38 percent were in retail parks and 6 percent in commercial galleries.
In 2023-2025, shopping centres will have a share of more than 60 percent of the new expected stock, which would be a reversal of the trend recorded by this year. Across Romania, the development of retail parks had accelerated during the pandemic.
“The 2022 new supply and the plans for the next three years prove once again that traditional retail will continue to play a key role in the overall real estate landscape. This is primarily explained by the fact that malls, retail parks or commercial galleries are no longer just shopping destinations. They provide the perfect ecosystem for the new brands which are contemplating to enter the market, and also for the existing ones to adapt their sales policies to the emerging changes in consumer behaviour,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Almost 600,000 sqm of retail spaces are currently in different planning stages and are expected to be delivered between 2023 and 2025. Around 40 percent of this pipeline is in line to be completed by the end of the year, according to data from the major market players quoted by the real estate agency.
Last year, the biggest completed project was the extension of the Colosseum Mall in Bucharest spanning 16,500 sqm. By 2025, the single largest delivery will be Oasis Consulting’s Prima Shopping Center in Sibiu which will have a leasable area of 70,000 sqm.