Galeria Katowicka draws over 67,000 on first day

Galeria Katowicka, the new city centre retail destination in the southern Polish city of Katowice, recorded a footfall of over 67,000 on its opening day this week.

The €240 mln retail-anchored, mixed-use development is part of a major regeneration of Poland's second largest railway station and the surrounding areas, led by the Polish State Railways PKP.

The retail element comprises 250 shops over 53,000 m2 was opened to the public on Wednesday 18 September. Developer Neinver and investor Meyer Bergman had hoped for a footfall of up to 50,000 on the first day of trading which started at 10am. A footfall of 24,000 was recorded in the first three-and-half hours and by the end of the day this had risen to 67,110.

Katowice has a population of 300,000 but is the hub in an urban conurbation in the Silesia region of Poland which provides a catchment area of 2.3 million residents within a 30-minute drive. Average earnings are among the highest in Poland.

Meyer Bergman's team had set its sights on achieving 50,000 footfall as the investor's other completed shopping centre project in the region, Forum Nova Karolina in the Czech city of Ostrava, drew 46,000 on its first day of trading.

Developer Multi Corporation and Meyer Bergman opened the 58,000 m2 Nova Karolina in the former industrial city of Ostrava, near the Polish border, in March 2012. In the first year after the opening footfall rose 27.3% and sales were up 14.4% year-on-year at end-July 2013. Ostrava is about 100 kilometres south-west of Katowice.

Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners I and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), which is also an investor in the MBERP I fund, acquired Forum Nova Karolina and Forum Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic from Multi for €300 mln in September 2011.