Currently, this type of firms occupy approximately 370,000 square meters of storage spaces, with most storage spaces being located in the vicinity of capital city Bucharest.
The online retail has developed massively over the past six years, reaching EUR4.3 billion end-2019, four times higher than the level reached in 2014 and nearly 20% higher than in 2018.
“Online sales of home appliance retailers are on the rise and we expect this to generate an increased need for storage spaces. Currently, these retailers occupy an area of 330,000 sqm of logistics space, with most warehouses being located near Bucharest, within the projects of real estate developers P3 and CTP. In the next 18-24 months, the logistics area leased by Electro-IT retailers may grow at least 50%”, said Andrei Jerca, Head of Industrial Services at CBRE Romania.
The situation triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak contributed to the development of the online commerce after non-essential stores had been closed, while employees had to work from home and children had to study remotely. The electro-IT stores stayed open during the period of the state of emergency and saw growing sales both in physical stores and especially in the online sector.
Retailers in the Home & Deco sector represents another category of tenants that keeps extending on the industrial space market.
“Home&Deco retailers present on the online sector occupied approximately 40,000 sqm of logistics space end-2019, being only at the beginning of expansion and investments in the logistics sector. Some chose Bucharest as the main location for physical stores, which is why logistics spaces are also located in this area”, Jerca also said.
As regards the evolution of the online commerce, CBRE expects new increases, on the one hand, because the internet penetration rate is on the rise, being expected to exceed the 70% threshold in 2020, and, on the other hand, because nearly 25% of Romania’s population consists of Y and Z generations, that is, youths aged 15 to 34, fond of technology, who prefer online shopping.
In the first three months of 2020, a total area of 97,000 sqm was delivered on the Romanian industrial and logistics space market, with the total stock reaching 4.49 million sqm. Nearly 80% of the newly delivered area is in Bucharest and targeted the extension of two projects, WDP Stefanestii de Jos and Eli Park I, respectively, while the remaining 20% was delivered in central Romania, in the counties of Brasov and Sibiu, respectively.
Also, a total area of 172,400 sqm was traded in the first quarter of 2020. The biggest transaction in the first quarter consisted in pre-leasing an area of nearly 70,000 sqm by Ikea within the CTPark Bucharest West project.
Overall, Bucharest attracted 81% of the total leasing activity, while the western, north-western, eastern and north-eastern regions in Romania attracted 19%.