Retailers entering or expanding across Central and Eastern Europe and southern Europe are still favouring shopping centres over retail parks. This trend is closely linked to the availability of real estate, as shopping centres still dominate the retail scene across the region, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

For existing retail schemes, retailers are mainly targeting the top performing shopping centres in order to minimise their risk, JLL said in its retail barometer for CEE and SEE. The report was published on the first day of the MAPIC fair in Cannes.

While retail parks have lost their main competitive advantage, the cost differential between the average shopping centre and the average retail park has significantly narrowed. This applies in particular to new developments, where retailers are able to secure space at attractive conditions. The real winners, JLL said, are the landlords of the top performing shopping centres as they are able to set their conditions and continue driving the market.

In the more developed and mature CEE & SEE markets, retailers are also interested in securing space in outlet centres, particularly in Poland, which is the most developed amongst these countries.