Czech Retail Parks Expand at Fastest Pace in 15 Years

Europe’s retail real estate market continues to polarize between large destination assets and convenience-driven formats — and in the Czech Republic, retail parks are emerging as one of the clearest growth stories.

By the end of 2025, the country’s total retail park stock had reached nearly 1.4 million sq m, accounting for roughly one-third of all modern retail space in the Czech market. During the year alone, around 82,400 sq m of new or expanded retail park space was delivered — the highest annual figure since tracking began.

Developers are expected to maintain that momentum in 2026, with 19 additional retail parks and more than 88,000 sq m of space currently planned.

Newly Completed Retail Parks in the Czech Republic since 2010

Convenience Retail Gains Strategic Importance

The rapid growth of retail parks reflects broader shifts in consumer behavior. Rather than traveling to large regional shopping centers, many consumers increasingly favor fast, accessible, and car-oriented shopping close to home.

Jan Čížek, Partner and Head of Retail Warehousing at Cushman & Wakefield, describes the trend as a long-term structural shift:

“Retail parks have been strengthening their position in the retail market for a long time, and customers have come to like them for quick and practical shopping.”

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the segment has also proven relatively resilient during recent market disruptions, including the pandemic and the inflation-driven consumer slowdown.

The tenant mix reflects this focus on everyday convenience. Grocery chains, drugstores, pharmacies, discount retailers, and home-improvement concepts dominate most schemes, creating highly functional retail environments with comparatively stable footfall patterns.

Growth Shifts to Smaller Cities

One of the more notable developments is where growth is happening.

Unlike previous retail waves centered on Prague or Brno, current expansion is increasingly concentrated in smaller and mid-sized regional towns, often with populations between 10,000 and 25,000 inhabitants.

The strongest development activity is currently visible in the Ústí nad Labem and South Bohemian regions, while the Central Bohemian region remains the country’s largest retail park market overall, with more than 50 schemes totaling approximately 190,000 sq m.

The Olomouc region currently has the highest retail park saturation per 1,000 inhabitants.

Čížek notes that these regions often lack large metropolitan retail destinations, making local convenience retail more viable:

“The greater distance to large cities with shopping centers motivates retailers to open new stores even in towns they might not consider around Prague or Brno.”

Retail Park Saturation in the Czech Republic per 1,000 inhabitants (sq m)

Ostatní is Largest Owner, Portin Leads New Development Wave

The market is also becoming increasingly concentrated among a handful of active developers and owners.

While Ostatní is the main player in the market, owning every second retail park, Portin currently is the most active development company. It is behind several of the country’s largest recent projects and much of the pipeline planned for 2026 and likely 2027.

Largest Retail Parks Completed in the Czech Republic in 2025

Among the largest retail parks completed in 2025 were:

• RP Kozomín (14,700 sq m)
• RP Neratovice-Byškovice (8,100 sq m)
• OC Klokan Uničov (6,900 sq m)

All three projects are newly developed schemes, with further expansion already planned for some of them.

On the ownership side, Saller Group currently controls around 16% of Czech retail park space, followed by InterCora with roughly 13%.

Overview of the Largest Retail Park Owners

A Different Retail Model

The continued expansion of retail parks also highlights a broader divergence within European retail real estate.

While large shopping centers increasingly focus on experience, leisure, gastronomy, and flagship retail, retail parks are positioning themselves around efficiency, accessibility, and everyday needs.

This distinction has become more relevant as inflation, mobility patterns, and changing consumer priorities reshape retail demand across Europe.

For investors and developers, retail parks currently offer several advantages:

• comparatively lower operating costs
• simpler layouts and construction
• easier car accessibility
• stable necessity-based tenant mixes
• lower dependency on discretionary fashion spending

At the same time, the sector’s growth underlines how retail real estate is becoming increasingly fragmented into specialized formats serving different shopping missions.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, retail parks have established themselves as one of the most stable and predictable segments of Czech retail — a position that may become increasingly important as the wider European retail market continues to recalibrate.

(ps)