Half of the retail space in shopping centers in the Czech Republic, totaling 1.33 million sqm, is more than 10 years old, according to an analysis conducted by BNP Paribas Real Estate. After 10 years in operation, centers need touch-ups and a few changes to the tenant mix to retain their appeal for shoppers. Roughly 700,000 sqm of the space has already been remodeled. Older projects are up for a thorough remodeling, repositioning, redesign and redevelopment, which BNP Paribas expects to happen in 2017-18. The country’s first shopping malls started going up in 1995 in city centers or next to hypermarkets like Tesco Letňany, Centrum Černý Most, Borská Pole Pilsen and Avion Shopping Park Brno. Regional centers then followed, including Olympia Brno, Olympia Olomouc, Futurum Ostrava and Futurum Hradec Králové. Lenka Šindelářová of BNP Paribas says that the age of the center is not as important as its catchment, the purchasing power of its shoppers and the mix of shops and services. The center’s layout should allow for easy navigation.
