New Aupark shopping centre in Hradec Králové already 80 percent leased ahead of autumn 2016 opening
This autumn the Czech retail market will see the arrival of successful Slovakian shopping centre chain Aupark, a much needed addition to the country’s retail market. Aupark is already 80 percent leased, with committed tenants from respected international brands, some opening in the city for the first time. Occupiers will include ECCO, Marc O´Polo, Le Premier, Muziker, Costa Coffee, Vegg GO.
Pan-European developer HB Reavis is opening Czech Republic’s first Aupark in Hradec Králové, which is part of the country’s third largest agglomeration, in Q4 this year. The shopping centre will provide 22,000 sq m of leasable retail space.
Located on Gočárová třída in the U Koruny site, Aupark will be accessible from Hradec Králové main high street, allowing visibility and accessibility for 18,000 passing cars each day. To accommodate, Aupark is designed to offer a large-capacity garage with 1100 parking spots. What’s more, over 42,000 people use the adjacent bus terminal and train station daily, ensuring significant footfall exposure too.
The shopping centre will create a completely new food destination in the city with a capacity to welcome up to 300 people. There will be a rich selection of restaurants and cafés, including seven fast food units, two restaurants and three cafés and for families a children’s zone has been included. Customers can look forward to new brands, which include, Costa Coffee and the vegetarian/vegan restaurant Vegg GO, as well as popular international options such as KFC, McDonald’s and Bageterie Boulevard. The design of the food court will be inspired by nature and characterized by organic shapes.
“Seven months before Aupark’s opening, we already have more than three quarters of the retail units leased and we are in discussions with additional brands. This is no doubt the result of HB Reavis’ strong reputation in the Czech Republic, as well as our great international retail relationships. We have already constructed four Auparks in Slovakia, beginning with the highly successful shopping centre in Bratislava. We are proud that several of the renowned brands we are cooperating with in Slovakia will also be opening their branches in Hradec Králové,” stated Milan Mašša, the Leasing Manager of the HB Reavis project.
Aupark will become a business opportunity for expansion in the Czech Republic, not only for already established retail chains and brands, but it is also suitable for those who are only planning to enter the local retail market now.
Aupark Hradec Králové brands will include fashion labels such as H&M, C&A, New Yorker, Terranova, Orsay, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, GUESS, Marc O’Polo, Le Premier; shoe retailers CCC SHOES & BAGS, Reno obuv and ECCO; jewellers PANDORA and Klenoty Aurum; health and beauty suppliers dm drogerie, Yves Rocher, Manufaktura and FAnn parfumerie; BILLA supermarket, Knihy Dobrovský bookshop, EURONICS for electronics, SPORTISIMO sporting goods, RE-FIT Fitness Club, Muziker for musical instruments and Bambule for toys.
Hradec Králové is part of the third-largest urban cluster in the Czech Republic after Prague. The city has long had one of the highest standards of living in the country; Hradec Králové is regularly ranked among the four top cities in which Czechs would most like to live, and transportation infrastructure and civic amenities are excellent. In spite of this, Hradec Králové currently has the lowest saturation of retail space among the Czech Republic’s large cities, with approximately 750 sq m per thousand inhabitants.
With regard to the current local retail market Tomáš Drtina, the Managing Partner of market research firm GfK Czech, stated: “With such high saturation of retail space in the majority of the Czech cities, it is no longer easy to find successful locations for new shopping centers. Hradec Králové proves
to be a great exception and area primed for growth.”
