'The bright future of warehouses': the expert

Many industries are suffering from the effects of the pandemic, which has been going on for almost a year. The warehouse and industrial sector was one of the few that recorded significant increases during this time. According to Colliers estimates, in 2020 the demand for warehouse space in Poland, compared to the previous year and depending on the local market, increased by 20-30 percent. However, this is not just the result of the pandemic. For many years, the forecasts heralded a strong development of this sector.

"In several industries, we observe a trend of increasing the number of sqm of already rented warehouse space. One such industries is trade. The experience of the last few months has made retail chains notice the need to make larger inventories than in recent years - the number of goods stored in warehouses and ready for distribution. The production industry is also developing intensively, including the automotive industry. Many companies from this sector are currently interested in renting production space to supply components to the new Tesla factory near Berlin. The third industry, expanding the portfolio of leased warehouse space, is broadly understood. the construction industry, as well as furniture and home furnishings. Due to many limitations in the access to services and entertainment, Poles during the pandemic started renovating their apartments and making minor repairs at home, which contributed to an increase in demand for building materials and interior decoration products, "Jan Barbasiewicz, a partner in the Colliers Logistics and Industrial Agency, commented.

The potential of warehouses has also been noticed by investors from outside the warehouse market. Among them, there is an increased interest in expanding their activities to this sector.

"Of course, there are also industries operating in the warehouse market that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. These are mainly companies dependent on the service sector, e.g. supplying the HoReCa sector. However, we note that even these tenants adapt to the new situation quite quickly and also invest in warehouse space, looking for savings in logistics," the expert added