Polish retail developer Scallier has unveiled its eighth Romanian venture, opening a 10,000 m² FunShop Park in Ploiesti's northern district. The milestone reinforces Central and Eastern Europe's position as the continent's most lucrative retail expansion frontier, with Romania emerging as the crown jewel for international developers seeking untapped consumer spending power.
The newly opened complex anchors around a standalone 2,300 m² Lidl supermarket, complemented by prominent international brands including DM, Sinsay, TEDi, KiK, ZooCenter, Pepco, Jysk, Hervis, New Yorker, CCC, Flanco, and Agroland. The development strategically targets Ploie?ti's 200,000 residents with a mixed-use approach, incorporating Rimini restaurant and FryDay's drive-through concept alongside a branded fitness facility.
"Romania's economic conditions - characterised by ongoing growth and a large internal consumer market, the second largest in Central and Eastern Europe - are favourable for the development of new retail facilities," explained Wojciech Jurga, Managing Partner at Scallier. "The favourable business environment in Romania encourages us to continue expanding our operations in the country and to pursue further development projects."
What makes Romania particularly attractive to institutional investors is its remarkably low modern retail space saturation rates compared to Western European markets, coupled with consistently robust vacancy performance below 5% across major urban centres. This scarcity dynamic, combined with retail sales growth outpacing EU averages, creates compelling value propositions for developers willing to navigate local planning processes and establish operational presence.
Since launching Romanian operations in 2021, Poznan-headquartered Scallier has systematically built its FunShop Park network across secondary cities including Rosiorii de Vede, Focsani, Turda, Vaslui, Timisoara, Mosnita Noua, and Arad. The company's 70,000 m² delivered portfolio demonstrates the viability of targeting Romania's underserved regional markets, where modern retail provision lags significantly behind consumer demand.
The retail park model's success in Romania mirrors broader CEE trends, where convenience-focused developments continue outperforming traditional shopping centres in both leasing velocity and occupancy costs. With retail park developments contributing the majority of new commercial space across the region, Scallier's Romanian expansion positions the company advantageously within Europe's fastest-growing retail property segment.
People mentioned:
- Wojciech Jurga - Managing Partner at Scallier
Companies mentioned:
- Scallier - Polish commercial real estate developer and investor
- Lidl - German discount supermarket chain
- DM - German drugstore chain
- Sinsay - Fashion retailer
- TEDi - German discount retail chain
- KiK - German textile discount chain
- Pepco - European discount retail chain
- Jysk - Danish furniture and home goods retailer
- Hervis - Austrian sporting goods retailer
- New Yorker - German fashion retailer
- CCC - Polish footwear retailer
- Flanco - Romanian electronics retailer
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