International advisory company JLL has analyzed how the direction of retailers’ future expansion in Poland relates to the supply of warehouse space. According to the summary, the Katowice agglomeration’s total retail stock is set to increase by 7% by the end of 2015.
The Katowice region, as the second largest warehouse market, has seen strong demand mostly from logistics companies and tenants from the production sector. The development of retail chains in Poland may result in higher demand for warehouse space, also in the Upper Silesia region. The grow by 7% is similar to other well developed warehouse market in the country, apart from the Eastern part of Poland – its dynamic growth will be bolstered by the influx of shoppers from across the eastern border, additionally reinforced by a local border traffic agreement with the Kaliningrad region.
Tomasz Mika, Head of Industrial Agency Poland at JLL, said: “Retail chains make up the second, after logistic operators, largest group, with a 24% share in demand for logistic space in the last 5 years. The average size of a unit leased by such a company is around 10 000 sq. meters. The best availability of this kind of units can be observed in Central Poland and Upper Silesia. In other parts of Poland the selection of such space for immediate lease is limited.”
Total modern warehouse stock for lease is currently 7,5 million sq. meters, of which 92% is centered in 5 regions (Warsaw, Upper Silesia, Poznań, Central Poland and Wrocław). At the end of 2013, Upper Silesia’s warehouse and production stock totaled 1,43 million sq. meters, while the total retail floorspace amounts to 1,3 million sq. meters. The densely urbanized region benefits from a long production heritage and is today the largest industrial center in Poland.
