Warsaw was the scene of a retail revolution 10 years ago, and it is still at the forefront of future industry innovation, delegates heard on the first day of the ICSC’s annual European conference being held in the Polish capital this week.
Patrick Delcol, chairman of the Polish Council of Shopping Centres and CEO of BNP Paribas in CEE, opened the conference by reminding the audience just how far Warsaw has come since last hosting the ICSC’s annual event.
‘Ten years ago, in April 2007, I was sitting where you are and listening to my predecessor, who had managed to bring the ICSC European Conference to Warsaw and CEE for the first time. The whole of Poland was booming, the Hilton had just opened, and the city was in the grip of a retail revolution. Ten years on, there is 700,000 m2 of space under development within the next five years in a 500-metre radius of this location alone.’
'Before and after' photos underlined his point, with the Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Center – the seat of the conference – standing today in a veritable forest of towers. According to Delcol, in the past decade the Polish economy has grown by 47%, average spending power has risen by 68%, and the stock of shopping centres in the capital is two-and-a-half times higher.
With the Polish economy still growing far faster than the Western European benchmark, the next four years are likely to bring a minimum of 2% annual growth, and a further flood of retailers, said Delcol. ‘In 2007, Massimo Dutti somewhat sceptically opened its first Polish store. Now the Inditex brand has 26 nationwide,’ he said.
Former vodka factory
While planning in the past has been somewhat haphazard, next-generation projects are getting it right.
Delegates heard from the team behind Centrum Praskie Koneser about the planned conversion of a former vodka factory in the city’s trendy Old Praga district. Comparable to Spitalfields Market in London or the Meatpacking district in New York, Koneser is an attractive development covering some 88,000 m2 with ambitions to become an iconic mixed-use destination.
Situated on the right bank of the river, which only experienced 25% destruction in the Second World War compared to the loss of 85% on the left bank, its appealing mix of surviving red brick structures and space for modern development is at the heart of its appeal, said the Deputy Mayor of Warsaw Michal Olszewski.
Mariusz Kozlowski, president of project developer Liebrecht & Wood added: ‘Consumers may have gone online for many things, but there are still many key offline experiences, around which we’ve focused our project.’
From extensive and innovative food and beverage experiences to the presence of Google Campus, a company incubator and co-working space, Koneser will also mix high-quality residential with a trendy Marriott franchise, the Moxy Warsaw Praga. And if that weren’t enough, it will also house one of the first vodka museums in the world.
‘Millennials are looking for a different style of work and play environment,’ said Kozlowski. ‘Customers are already voting with their money and their feet, and we’re confident it will set a new standard.’
