Are retail parks the future of stationary trade?

Despite the growing popularity of online sales, stationary trading is still doing well. It is predicted that by 2026 it may increase by 10.5%.

However, this tendency is accompanied by changes in customer preferences, and an example may be the growing popularity of retail parks.

What does retail park mean?

Retail parks can be considered the continuators of the retail and service pavilions that began to be built in Poland in the 1970s, when multi-family housing estates were intensively expanded. Just like pavilions in the past, retail parks are designed to meet the basic needs of local communities.

A retail park is a collection of one or more detached buildings connected by a shared car park from which individual stores can be entered directly. Such facilities do not have common parts.

The main tenant is usually a grocery operator, and its offer is complemented by drugstores, pharmacies, newsagents, bookstores, clothing and footwear stores, pet stores and, rarely, catering facilities.

Retail parks – why their popularity is growing?

Retail parks have gained immense popularity among clients of large cities and smaller towns. They offer a convenient shopping model due to its neighborhood character, convenient parking, a rich, cross-sectional offer and the ability to do shopping conveniently and quickly. Retail parks are considered to be the biggest beneficiaries of the structural changes of the last decade in Poland: their supply has doubled, and the share in the total supply of retail space has increased by 4% (report “Retail parks and convenience centers in Poland“, Trei Real Estate Poland Sp. o.o. and Jones Lang Lasalle Sp.z o.o., September 2020).

Over time, developers of these facilities have discovered opportunities not only in large cities, but also in regional and medium-sized ones, adapting the concepts and offer to the needs of the local market.

However, the growing popularity of retail parks is not only Polish specific – their number is also growing, for example, in France and Spain. In 2018 alone European  retail parks increased by 2.2% to a total of 50.1 million sq m (Cushman & Wakefield’s “European Retail Parks: What’s next” report).

This tendency is accompanied by a decline in the popularity of traditional shopping malls in city centers. The problem for tenants in these places is the high fixed costs. In retail parks, rental prices are lower, which makes these locations more viable in costs and benefits.

Experts predict retail parks will see at least five more years of boom. “These are flexible facilities that can be easily and relatively cheaply adapted to changing market conditions, including consumer preferences” – says Bartosz Nowak, Managing Partner at Scallier, in an interview with Rzeczpospolita.

Production of stores in retail parks

Our portfolio includes productions in retail parks for big clothing brands. In recent months, in this type of facilities, we have prepared, among others Sinsay stores from the LPP group – both in Poland (e.g. in Legnica, Knurów and Puławy), as well as abroad – e.g. in the capital of Serbia – Belgrade).

We invite all brands interested in expanding their store network in retail parks to cooperate.

Photo: lcp.pl, eds.pl