The market for retail development has recovered more strongly than expected a year ago. Parts of CEE, Russia and Turkey are seeing particularly vibrant growth.

That was one of the key conclusions of the Forum of CEOs held on Wednesday on the first day of the ICSC conference in Paris.

Elsewhere in the more mature markets of Western Europe, redevelopment and refurbishment are the name of the game, according to Marcus Huttermann, COO of MFI. Germany is a case in point, he said. 'Germany has about 400 shopping centres. About 100 to 150 are well managed. There is great potential for refurbishment.'

French hypermarket operator Carrefour also sees huge potential for redevlopment and extensions in the core markets of Western Europe, in particular France, Spain and Italy. The company has a portfolio valued at about EUR 10 bn, of which about 60% is located in France, with the remainder spread over Spain (30%) and Italy (10%).

The company has another EUR 2 bn of projects in the pipeline, but in terms of new markets is targeting China and Brazil after having withdrawn from Russia, Pascal Duhamel, CEO of Carrefour Property said.

'Russia is too volatile and unpredictable but China is a very important area. We are convinced we can make money in China.'