The recovering European economy and a rise in net migration into Germany will spur retail sales growth in the country, according to research by CBRE.
The recovering European economy and a rise in net migration into Germany will spur retail sales growth in the country, according to research by CBRE.
The findings highlight 14 German regions as potential retail hot spots among Europe’s top 60 retail destinations, based on market size, tourist spending and growth potential.
CBRE said the recent upsurge of migration into Germany will have a positive impact on retail sales growth at the national level and, in particular, on some of the large German cities where good employment prospects make them natural magnets for new migrants.
Five German markets feature in the top 25 hot spots with Munich (3) and Hamburg (13) taking the lead, followed by Mannheim (23), Frankfurt (24) and Berlin (25).
Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Cologne and Osnabrük also appear in the top 50. These findings are supported by CBRE’s research ‘How Active are Retailers in EMEA’, which found that more major retailers are planning to expand in Germany than in any other European country (53% compared with 23% in the UK).
Neil Blake, head of UK and EMEA research at CBRE, commented: ‘Population is a key determinant of spending power in a demographically constrained but economically successful country like Germany. Higher population will mean more spending, pushing up the space needs of domestic retailers and making Germany a more attractive destination for international retailers.’
With seven regions listed in the same top 60, Turkey has by far the most retail sales growth potential in Europe with an average forecast sales growth of 4.8% per annum.
