ALDI SÜD

Deutsche Fachmarkt AG has signed purchase agreements for three additional retail properties located in Hersbruck and Adelsdorf in Bavaria, as well as Freiberg in Saxony with a total lettable area of 3,400 sqm.

Anastasia Stolzenburg of umdasch The Store Makers looks at adaptive reuse and the challenge of giving buildings a new role. With retail remaining an important part of the mix, the future may lie less in replacing retail than in creating stronger relationships between retail and other uses.

A former department store becomes housing. An empty office building turns into a hotel, healthcare facility or multi-tenant workspace. A redundant shopping center makes room for leisure, culture, gastronomy or community uses. Across European cities, buildings are beginning to acquire second lives as their original purposes lose relevance. The phenomenon is often discussed as a response […]

NEPI Rockcastle‘s first investment outside Central and Eastern Europe marks a new chapter for the company. Chief Investment Officer Anca Nacu explains where and why she sees future opportunities. ACROSS: NEPI Rockcastle has built a large retail real estate portfolio over the years. What are the key investment principles behind that expansion? ANCA NACU: I […]

Tine Aggerholm, partner in the strategy and foresight practice at Ajeto, argues that fit-out contributions are the price owners pay for not understanding the demand side, and explains the method she built to replace them.

by Tine Aggerholm Two of our centers sat less than two kilometers apart. On a map, they shared a catchment. In practice, they served two populations with almost nothing in common: different household economies, different weekday rhythms, different ideas of what a good Saturday looks like. Same country, five million people, and the values changed […]

VIA Outlets maintained its lead position in the ‘European Retail’ category from the latest 2026 GRESB results.

Achieving a 5-Star rating for the seventh consecutive year through a high score of 97.0/100, VIA Outlets outpaced the Peer Group average of 79.7 and the GRESB average of 80.9. Across ten of the 14 assessment categories, including Risk Assessment, Stakeholder Engagement, and Building Certifications, VIA Outlets once again secured the full 100 points. Across […]

Danish retailer NORMAL has chosen NEPI Rockcastle’s Mega Mall, Bucharest and Shopping City Timisoara to spearhead its first entry into Romania, the brand’s 14th European market.

The two stores, spanning 311sqm GLA at Mega Mall Bucharest and 445sqm GLA at Shopping City Timișoara, opened their doors in early October. NORMAL offers a broad selection of more than 3,500 products of everyday items, including popular brands for personal care, cosmetics, household products, food and beverages. Ramona Marusac, Regional Head of Leasing at […]

Awarded for excellence in innovation and design, Las Rozas The Style Outlets redefines the modern shopping experience following its landmark 2026 refurbishment.

Las Rozas The Style Outlets, owned by Neptune — the joint venture between NEINVER and TIAA (Nuveen Real Estate’s parent company) — and managed by NEINVER, has been recognized at the 2026 AECC (Spanish Association of Shopping Centres)  Awards, the annual accolades presented by the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks to celebrate […]

Leading mall in Northen Italy reopens following €39m redevelopment.

Following a €39m (£32.6m) redevelopment program, Eurofund Group and SIGNAL have re-opened Parma Promenade, the landmark retail and leisure redevelopment project in Northern Italy. The 51,000 sq m (approximately 549,000 sq ft) scheme was acquired by the joint venture and has since undertaken a transformation including the addition of a 15,000 sq m (more than […]

European retailers continue to prioritize physical expansion despite a more challenging economic backdrop and growing investment in AI and digital capabilities. Nearly two thirds (65%) still plan to expand their store portfolios in the near term, creating the potential for up to 8,000 net additional stores across Europe, according to CBRE’s European Retail Occupier Survey […]

Landsec announced that it exchanged contracts to acquire a 100% stake in Metrocentre, Gateshead, circa two miles from Newcastle city centre, from Tynehawk Holdings (Jersey) Limited for a net cash consideration of £516 million.

Based on in-place net rental income of £41 million, the net cash consideration of £516 million implies an in-place net rental income yield of 7.9%. At this price, Metrocentre offers an attractive combination of a high day-one income return, strong future rental growth prospects and an expected low double-digit unlevered IRR. The Acquisition is expected […]

Galeria has filed for insolvency proceedings at Düsseldorf District Court, marking the department store operator’s fourth insolvency filing since 2020. The company said operations at its remaining 83 stores will continue for the time being. Around 12,000 employees are affected. Call for Clarity The latest filing follows a renewed deterioration in trading. According to dpa […]

Supervisory board approves acquisition of the Wien Mitte complex.

The supervisory board of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG approved the repurchase of Wien Mitte station today. ÖBB sold the property in 2005 to what was then the Bank Austria Creditanstalt Group, which later passed it on. The seller is now an investor group led by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing. The deal includes the shopping center and […]

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) is transforming the former food court at Westfield Ruhr Park in Bochum into a new open-air dining and leisure destination called Wald Terrassen. The 6,200-sqm project includes 850 sqm of outdoor terraces and will feature ten F&B and two retail units. Nine of the twelve units have already been pre-leased. New F&B and […]

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announces the rebranding of two flagship destinations in Edinburgh and Wrocław, expanding its Westfield network in Europe and further strengthening the presence of its globally recognised brand in major cities around the world.

St James Quarter in Edinburgh has officially been renamed Westfield St James Quarter, marking the expansion of the company’s Westfield-branded destinations outside of London. In Poland, Wroclavia, one of the country’s leading retail and lifestyle destinations, has been rebranded Westfield Wroclavia, becoming URW’s third Westfield centre in the nation.  Anne-Sophie Sancerre, Chief Customer and Retail Officer at URW, said: “The […]

Sonae Sierra announces the appointment of Luís Mota Duarte as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 2027, succeeding Fernando Guedes de Oliveira.

The transition comes after more than four decades at the Sonae Group for Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, 35 of them at Sierra. He became CEO in 2010 and played a decisive role in the company’s development, overseeing and leading different stages of its growth and transformation. Under his leadership, Sierra strengthened its international presence and […]

Retail investment across Central and Eastern Europe increased by 24% year on year in the first half of 2026. Poland accounted for much of the activity, while Hungary returned to large-scale shopping center transactions. At the same time, retail supply is expanding, particularly in the retail park segment, and pricing has remained broadly stable.

Retail has regained momentum in the CEE investment market. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s CEE Investment Market Update H1 2026, retail accounted for 28% of total regional investment in the first half of the year, up from 24% for full-year 2025. The increase was driven overwhelmingly by the landmark acquisition of a 70% stake in […]

Investment in Poland’s retail park and convenience retail market has exceeded €2.5 billion since the first transaction in 2008, with almost 70% of the volume recorded since the beginning of 2020. According to a new investment report by Avison Young, CMS, Newgate Investment, and PROH, activity accelerated further in 2025 and the first half of […]

Weekend footfall increased by 15.8% as the nationwide cinema initiative encouraged audiences to the big screen.

National Cinema Weekend delivered a strong uplift in footfall at GRID Braehead, a multi-format destination combining experiential leisure, dining, family entertainment and an ODEON cinema, home to one of the area’s standout IMAX screens. The results demonstrate the power of cinema-led initiatives to drive visits to mixed-use destinations. Taking place on Saturday 5 and Sunday […]

NEPI Rockcastle has started work on an 11000 sqm extension of Karolinka Shopping Center in Opole, Poland, investing EUR 33 million in the modernization and expansion of the region’s largest retail complex.

The scheme adds over 8000 sqm of GLA across 30 retail and service units, with leasing focused on fashion and brands not yet present in the region. It also includes an underground car park, a modernized main facade, and a roof prepared for solar panels. The project is being built to BREEAM standards. Karolinka offers […]

The seventh XOPark project will bring 20,000 sq m of modern retail space and a strong mix of leading Bulgarian and international brands to the city of Stara Zagora.

Developed by Trinity Capital, Bulgaria’s leading investor and operator of retail space, XOPark Stara Zagora is designed as a comprehensive destination where customers combine their everyday shopping needs with fashion, home, services, dining and leisure. The seventh project in the Bulgarian national XOPark retail parks chain is set to open in the second half of […]

ambas expected to surpass 2025 transaction volume as retail investment activity picks up.

ambas Real Estate GmbH has advised on four large-scale retail property transactions so far this year, exceeding its total transaction volume for the whole of 2025. Three of the completed deals involved core-plus shopping centers and outlet centers; the fourth was a value-add transaction involving a convenience-led retail park. Together, the assets comprise approximately 105,000 […]

Atmospheric marketing is nothing new in retail. Stores have long been designed to shape buyer mood and encourage purchases using layout, lighting, colour and other sensory cues to attract customers and create memorable interactions. Yet one of the most influential elements of any environment often receives far less attention: sound.

SPONSORED ARTICLE This has become the driving force behind a new campaign by leading audio brand Sonos exploring the measurable impact that sound can have on commercial performance. Underpinning this campaign is a scientific report titled ‘Sound for Business’ developed under the academic supervision of Professor Daniel Müllensiefen from the Institute of Systematic Musicology at […]

Founded by Serbian real estate executive Nemanja Bucinac, Stonedge combines leasing, asset management, and repositioning expertise with a particular focus on retail real estate markets across the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe.

Independent advisory firms continue to play an important role in retail real estate markets, particularly in regions where local market knowledge and personal networks remain critical success factors. Stonedge, a Belgrade-based consultancy founded in 2023 by retail real estate professional Nemanja Bucinac, provides strategic advisory services with a particular focus on the Balkan region. Its […]

Lidl and Kaufland owner Schwarz Group is reportedly one of several parties interested in acquiring Tesco’s Central European operations, according to a Financial Times report cited by Reuters. Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize and Polish discounter Biedronka are also said to be weighing bids for the business, which spans 561 stores across Hungary, the Czech Republic […]

Over the past three years, the very heart of Warsaw has changed significantly. Public investment and the transformation of the surrounding cityscape have brought new energy to spaces that had long been underused, creating vibrant places where residents, workers and visitors meet, shop and spend time.

Wars Sawa Junior has evolved alongside this transformation. G City has been steadily repositioning one of Warsaw’s most recognisable retail destinations for the way a contemporary capital city works – opening it more directly to the street, attracting distinctive international concepts and strengthening its role within the urban fabric. Today, Wars Sawa Junior is emerging […]