Prague matched London in attracting 38 new international retail brands during 2024—the strongest performance among Central and Eastern European cities. More importantly, Czech retail sales are on track to hit 4.1% growth for 2025, leaving Germany (2.7%), France (2.3%), and the UK (0.8%) trailing in the dust.
New data from Savills Research’s European Retail Market report suggests CEE markets have evolved from secondary expansion targets into primary entry points for international retailers seeking growth outside saturated Western European markets.
The Czech capital leads 96 major European urban markets in projected per-capita annual consumer spending growth through 2030: 5.1% in clothing and footwear, 6.7% in furniture, and 7.9% in telephone equipment. Pařížská Street remains a magnet for new luxury brands, with recent and planned openings from CHANEL, Ermanno Scervino, Damiani, Max Mara, and Pasquale Bruni.
“The Czech capital continues to reinforce its reputation as one of Europe’s most attractive entry points for international brands,” said Veronika Králová, research analyst at Savills, noting that Prague combines robust domestic demand, strong tourism inflows, and accelerating consumer spending.
Warsaw and Prague offer substantially lower prime flagship rents—55% and 20% below the gateway city average, respectively. This creates financial headroom for market-testing strategies that would be prohibitively expensive in established Western European capitals.
Warsaw, for its part, has seen 70% of new international fashion and jewelry entrants since early 2024 come from aspirational or luxury segments. Its positioning has long since moved beyond that of “value-retail.”
American retailers now represent 25% of all new international store openings across Europe, up sharply from 14% in 2024, while European-origin brands still account for 56% of new entrants.
Softening US domestic consumer confidence appears to have accelerated expansion timelines, writes Savills. While trade tariff tensions caused initial hesitation, the July EU-US trade agreement seems to have further strengthened business sentiment, clearing the path for US brands to cross the Atlantic.
“Recent trade tensions may have generated some macro-economic headwinds, but for US retail brands, it appears to have accelerated expansion,” said Marie Hickey, Savills director of commercial research.
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