Briefs

H&M's first Polish outlet to open end of next March

Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish clothing retailer, is to open its first shop in the Wola Park retail centre in Warsaw at the end of March 2003, after signing a contract with CERPF, (the centre's owners), on November 15th. The 1,564 sqm store will inaugurate H&M's long-term venture in Poland, which will involve more new outlets, probably in Warsaw at a later stage next year, though the company eventually hopes to open a number of shops throughout the country. Jones Lang LaSalle represented CERPF and Cushman and Wakefield H&B Hennes and Mauritz, in negotiations for the Wola Park deal.
 

Auchan and Casino get closer

French retail companies Casino (Geant hypermarkets' operator in Poland) and Auchan have merged their purchasing departments. The new company, International Retail and Trade Services, will liase with global goods' deliverers and companies that want to expand to foreign markets.
Casino and Geant have been co-operating since 1999, when their competitor Carrefour, merged with Promodes and became the world's second biggest retail chain. Should Auchan and Casino ever decide to merge they will become the world's sixth biggest.

End of November for Galeria Echo

Echo Investment's Galeria Echo which opened at the end of November, is the first modern shopping centre in Kielce (Central Poland) and all its shops, (totalling 58,000 sqm) will start doing business immediately, but Kinoplex, a multiplex cinema, (which is joint largest tenant with the Tesco hypermarket (12,000 sqm)) will start showing films later.

Spanish firm's 'Factory' outlet to open

The Spanish firm Neinver opened its first 'Factory' outlet in Poland in Ursus, near Warsaw, in the first week of December. The 15,000 sqm building cost USD 10 mln to develop, plus another USD 4 mln from tenants, (which include Adidas, Reebok, Sunset Suits, Solar and Salamander and Echo), for the fittings.
The project's general constructor was Hoctief Polska and Jones Lang LaSalle represented the developer during negotiations with potential clients.

Cushman & Wakefield H&B report puts Warsaw streets in 33rd place

A newly published report by Cushman & Wakefield H&B entitled 'Main Streets Across the World 2002', has placed Warsaw's Nowy Świat and ul. Chmielna in 33rd place, on a list of the world's forty-four most expensive shopping locations, on which New York's Fifth Avenue and East 57th Street come first and Riga's Krasta last.
The annual rents for the main Warsaw streets are given as USD 960 sqm per annum, just below those of Beirut with USD 1,000 sqm and immediately above Istanbul with USD 840 sqm.  Yearly rents in other major Warsaw streets such as ul Marszalkowska and Al. Jerozolimskie are USD 720 sqm but in other Polish cities such as Łódź, Katowice and Wroclaw, they are exactly half the figure of Nowy Świat and ul. Chmielna.