Bratislava is the fourth most attractive city in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that retailers plan to expand into over the next five years, according to the annual International Retailer's Survey 2007, which was initiated by Real Estate Publishers (REP) in cooperation with the International Council for Sale Centres (ICSC).
Moscow, St. Petersburg and Prague were ranked as the top three cities out of 20 evaluated. The survey was carried out by real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield, with 250 retailers from 23 European countries taking part.
Slovakia has 126 square metres of retail space per 1,000 inhabitants, which is less than in the Czech Republic and Poland, for example. In 2008, however, a total of 160,000 square metres of retail space should be created, while an additional 380,000 square metres should be available for retailers in 2009.
According to the survey, 21 percent of all retailers in the centre of Bratislava come from abroad, while 47 percent of those in Bratislava shopping centres are foreign. The survey indicates that Prague has the most developed retail market in the CEE region, with the highest GDP per person and a total of 857,000 square metres of retail space. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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