More than 230,000 sqm of retail spaces are planned to be delivered in 2023, which would represent a record for the last six years, according to data from real estate consultancy company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. By comparison, roughly 100,000 sqm of retail spaces were delivered last year in cities such as Bucharest, Timisoara, Pitesti, Turda, Baia Mare, Slatina, and Miercurea Ciuc.

New projects consisting of 20,000 sqm GLA were completed in Q4 2022. The total retail stock across Romania reached 4.2 million sqm at the end of 2022, with 56% located in shopping centers, 38% in retail parks, and 6% in commercial galleries.

Cushman & Wakefield Echinox expects the development activity to be dominated by shopping centers in the 2023-2025 period, shopping centers which have a share of more than 60% of the total new spaces estimated to be built nationwide by 2025. This shift would come after a few years in which the developers have focused on retail parks, which have accumulated more than 80% of new deliveries.

“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,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency 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% of this pipeline is in line to be completed by the end of the year.

“Prime Kapital - MAS Real Estate, NEPI Rockcastle, Scallier, AFI Europe or Oasis remain among the most active developers of such properties in the short and medium term, which shows that the local market remains attractive even in the face of macroeconomic pressures. On the other hand, the overall appetite for consumption in Romania has encouraged new retailers such as Primark, Popeyes, TEDi or HalfPrice to enter the country and open their first stores in 2022,” the real estate consultancy company said.

Some of the major projects in the pipeline for 2023-2025 include Prima Shopping Center in Sibiu (70,000 sqm), Promenada Craiova (63,700 sqm), Mall Moldova in Iasi (53,700 sqm), Arges Mall in Pitesti (51,300 sqm), the Promenada Mall extension in Bucharest (34,000 sqm), AFI Arad (29,400 sqm), Alba Iulia Mall (29,000 sqm), IMGB Value Center in Bucharest (28,000 sqm), Shopping Park Pitesti (22,500 sqm), and Brasov Value Center (19,800 sqm).

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Eugene Suslo | Dreamstime.com)