The retail space market in our country reported its next good results in the third quarter of 2025. Almost 34,000 sq. m is the new volume put into operation, or 24% more than in the April-June period. The new areas include the fully completed Holiday Park Krasno Selo, as well as parts of other retail parks in Sofia, Svilengrad, Kozloduy and Rakovski. Thus, the total volume of retail spaces in our country by the end of September reached 1.47 million sq. m or 228 sq. m per 1,000 people.
„Retail parks are confidently catching up with malls in our country. In the last few years, their volume has been increasing at a rapid pace. Today, 26 malls operate in the country, where 55% of the retail space is concentrated. The remaining 45% are located in 63 retail parks. It is characteristic of them that they also operate successfully in smaller settlements, where they often provide the main supply of modern retail space in the region, while there is a market for malls only in large cities, commented Anastasia Tsolova, Manager of Capital Markets and Key Projects at Cushman & Wakefield | Forton.
Investors' optimism in the retail market is visibly high. At the end of the third quarter, 13 retail parks were under construction in 11 cities in the country, with their volume amounting to 130,000 sq m. Additional 240,000 sq m, located in 14 retail parks and 1 shopping center, are in various phases of planning. The company's forecast indicates that by the end of 2026, the total volume of retail parks will reach 800,000 sq m.
Serious dynamics are observed during the period and in terms of demand. A total of 86 stores were newly opened, and their area - 39,000 sq m compared to 75 stores with an area of 34,000 sq m in the previous quarter. Openings in retail parks accounted for 55% of all new sites and 84% of their total area.
The most active are retailers of electronics and electrical appliances with just over 8,000 sq m leased.. The fashion segment is in second place with about 6,300 sq m, followed by food products – 4,650 sq. m. Shoe, bag and accessory stores occupy a total of 4,120 sq. m, and mixed-use stores (such as KiK, Pepco and Tedi) occupy 3,370 sq. m. In terms of the number of stores, the most active are food establishments with 17 stores (3,182 sq. m), followed by fashion retailers with 15 stores, and shoe, bag and accessory retailers with 10 stores.
In malls, activity was particularly high in Sofia's The Mall, where 9 new stores were opened. Second place is shared by Serdika Center, Mall Plovdiv and Paradise Center, each with 4 stores. Among retail parks, Holiday Park Krasno Selo was the undisputed leader with 26 units, followed by XoPark Sofia with 9 and Retail Park Svilengrad with 5 units.
Worldbox entered the market during the quarter. The brand offers its own, partner and licensed brands of goods in categories such as clothing, footwear and accessories. Worldbox is part of the portfolio of the Polish group CCC, which is one of the leading players in our country. Worldbox is likely to position itself entirely in the retail park segment. The first unit with this name was opened in XoPark Sofia, and a second is expected in Retail Park Svilengrad by the end of the year.
The share of free retail space is decreasing. The available space in Sofia malls was only 9,000 sq m at the end of the third quarter, or 2.2% of the total volume. In all retail parks, the vacant space is about 15,000 sq m or 2.3% of the total volume. Rents for prime space in Sofia malls rose slightly to 46.5 EUR/sq m, and in retail parks remained unchanged at 13 EUR/sq m. There is no change in the return on prime properties in both segments - 7.5% in malls and 7.25% in retail parks.
Retail projects were in the focus of investors during the reporting period. Two buildings of this type changed owners in recent months. City Center Stara Zagora, a property with a gross lettable area of 23,000 sq m, was acquired for about 6.5 million EUR. The other property, a building on the main shopping street in Plovdiv, with an above-ground developed built-up area of about 4,000 sq m, was acquired for about 5.7 million euros.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg