Focus Filtrowa lands Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank is shifting its operations to the new $80 million Focus Filtrowa office development in Warsaw in a move that property watchers say will increase the development's credibility.
"A tenant like Deutsche Bank adds to the prestige of the building," said Chris Grzesik, head of the Polish office of King Sturge, a U.K.-based property-consulting firm.
Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank signed a contract to lease 8,000 square meters of space in the building, which is on the Trasa Lazienkowska highway just south of the city center. The bank will move to its new offices in March and plans to use the ground floor for a retail outlet, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, which is marketing the building.
"The deal makes the building more credible," said Jerzy Wysocki, head of the Knight Frank Nieruchomosci property agency.
To date, the Focus Filtrowa office complex has had a mixed reception among property analysts because of its location. Grzesik said it was too suburban for a class-A office building. "This is not a prime location," he said. Wysocki disagreed. "The location is attractive because it's between the center and the airport," he said.
Before landing Deutsche Bank, the 11-story, 33,000 square-meter building had attracted only three tenants. Two of them the Mostostal Export construction company and the Compensa Insurance Group, which took 16,000 square meters in the building are both connected with the building's development. Mostostal Export was the owner and developer of Focus Filtrowa until it sold out for "about $100 million" to Hamburg-Mannheimer, a German insurance firm last year, according to Teamworx, a firm representing the new owner. Hamburg-Mannheimer also owns Compensa.
The other tenant is Rheinhyp-BRE Bank Hipoteczny mortgage bank, which has leased 2,000 square meters, Jones Lang LaSalle said. But since the confirmation of Deutsche Bank as a tenant, Focus Filtrowa could have an easier task attracting other customers for the remaining 6,000 square meters.
Wysocki is optimistic that German companies will want to rent space in the building. "Because of the owner and Deutsche Bank, the building will be attractive to German companies," Wysocki said.
The landlord hopes to rent the building out by the end of this year, ahead of completion planned for the first quarter of 2001. "I hope most of this (remaining space) will be under contract by Christmas," said Peter Chatfield, head of the Jones Lang LaSalle office in Warsaw.
Rents of $28 per square meter are being charged in the building, including a no-cost fit out for tenants, Chatfield said.
Ahold builds mall in Bielsko-Biala
Netherlands-based retail company Ahold plans to start building a 33,000 square-meter shopping mall this month in the southern city of Bielsko-Biala, the company said.
If Ahold goes ahead with the project it will be the company's first large shopping mall in Poland, said Marta Pawlowska, spokeswoman for Ahold Polska.
To date, Ahold in Poland has focused on the development of individual stores but not whole malls. The Dutch company operates five chains including three outlets of Mega Cash & Carry semi-wholesale stores, eight outlets of Hypernova hypermarkets, 36 outlets of Max supermarkets, 86 Sezam discount stores and 11 stores of the Centrum chain located in southern Poland.
The shopping mall in Bielsko-Biala, to be called Sarni Stok, will be anchored to Hypernova hypermarket, which will have 11,000 square meters of space, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, Ahold's agent for the project.
Bielsko-Biala has a population of 150,000 and is located between Katowice and the Czech border. About 270,000 residents live within a 20-minute drive of Sarni Stok, Jones Lang LaSalle said.
As well as a hypermarket, the shopping mall will include 45 smaller stores, all of which have already been pre-leased, Pawlowska said. Ahold received a pre-lease contract before it obtained a legal construction permit. "We are still waiting for a construction permit," she said.
Ahold expects to obtain the permit later this month and start building immediately. The shopping mall, scheduled for completion next November, will also have 1,300 parking spots, Jones Lang LaSalle said.
Smyk to set up national chain
DT Centrum, a department store operator, opened a Smyk outlet in Warsaw's Galeria Mokotow shopping mall last week as part of its strategy to develop a chain of children's stores.
DT Centrum, which owns the original Smyk department store on Aleje Jerozolimskie in central Warsaw, decided last year to capitalize on the Smyk name and start a national chain, said Katarzyna Gorecka, DT Centrum's spokeswoman.
In addition to Galeria Mokotow, the company has also opened Smyk stores in Wroclaw, Lodz and Lublin. "We started with the big cities," Gorecka said.
It also plans to open three outlets in Opole, Katowice and Poznan, she said.
Unlike the Aleje Jerozolimskie store, which has 3,000 square meters of retail space, the new Smyk stores are smaller at about 600-700 square meters, the company said.
Gorecka said that early revenue results are encouraging. "The stores are very successful," she said. While she wouldn't reveal any figures, Gorecka said that the Galeria Mokotow outlet had already posted a few days of higher sales than the company's flagship store on Aleje Jerozolimskie.
Tchibo: 50 cafes in 5 years
Tchibo Warszawa, the Polish unit of the German coffee company, opened two new coffee shops over the past two months as part of its strategy to operate 50 such outlets in three to five years, said the head of the company's Polish operations.
"We are looking at about 50 coffee shops in three to five years," said Attila Balogh, managing director of Tchibo Warszawa.
Both of the recently opened outlets are in Warsaw, with one located in the Sadyba Best Mall and the other in the suburban Centrum Janki shopping mall.
With the two new coffee shops, the company has a total of five outlets in Poland: one in Warsaw's Klif shopping center, one in Katowice and one near a railway station in Gdansk.
Tchibo cafes are typically 60 to 100 square meters in size and sell coffee, sandwiches and coffee beans. Balogh said the stores primarily serve to promote the brand, but are in themselves profitable.
He said the shops, which are located in rented space, pay back in about half a year. "They are profitable in six or seven months," said Balogh, who wouldn't reveal how much it costs to set up a coffee shop here.
The most successful Tchibo outlet is located in Klif, Balogh said. The Klif cafe generates as many as 400 receipts a day during the week and 600 on weekends. On average, one receipt translates into 1.8 cups of coffee sold, he said.
Tchibo plans to focus its expansion on shopping malls and prime downtown locations in the country's biggest cities. The company is also considering setting up cafes in the Czech Republic and Hungary, Balogh said.
According to an August-September ACNielsen report, Tchibo is currently the leader in the roasted coffee business, with a 20.5% market share.
In brief:
Media Business Centre (MBC), owned by the ITI media group, held a cornerstone ceremony this month for the construction of a $30 million office building in Warsaw's Wilanow district, the company said last week.
The building, called Media Business Centre, will be located on the corner of ulica Augustowka and ulica Wiertnicza. It will house mostly companies owned by ITI such as television broadcaster TVN, MBC said.
The six-story building, planned for completion in May 2002, will have gross space of 31,000 square meters including 13,375 square meters of net office space and 1,837 square meters of retail space.
Construction company Hydrobudowa-6 was hired as general contractor for the project, MBC said.
