Getting malled

According to a recent poll conducted by research institute Pentor, for Życie Warszawy newspaper, residents in Warsaw don't want any new shopping malls to be built. Some 84 percent of Warsaw's inhabitants feel that there are already enough large shopping centers located in Poland's capital, and only 12 percent want more to be constructed.

However, it looks as if investors aren't discouraged by these signals. Soon shoppers might be put to the test with new shops opening at the nearly completed Złote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw's city center, as well as another new complex in Wilanów.

"Warsaw's population is increasing very rapidly at the moment, and that's why there is still a large market for shopping malls," said Stephen Pragnell, the president of the Polish Council of Shopping Centers. "When I go to Arkadia mall or Galeria Mokotów, I see it filled with people and I assume most of them come from Warsaw."

Pragnell also added that very often Poland's shopping complexes offer a similar range of products, and thus their transformation into more specific centers that focus more on niches should be expected.

Retail advisers admit that the market is very competitive and the situation forces investors to search for new solutions and locations.

"The ratio of one sqm of retail space per inhabitant in Warsaw is the highest in Poland, but still quite a significant number of investors are interested in the market and can see new prospects for retail projects," said Agnieszka Michalczewska, a senior retail negotiator at King Sturge. "But there is a lack of sites designated for retail projects."