Cities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) dominate a top-20 ranking of new-destination cities to be targeted by cross-border retailers over the next five years, with Moscow in No 1 position, followed by St Petersburg and Prague.

The only Western European city in the top ten is Amsterdam, which shares 10th position with Kyiv. This year’s risers are the capital cities of the European Union’s newest members, with Sofia and Bucharest both up two places to 6th and 7th respectively.

The ranking is part of the annual 2007 International Retailers’ Survey, commissioned by Real Estate Publishers (REP) in association with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and produced by global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

The survey interviews property executives responsible for international expansion at
250 retail companies from 23 countries across Europe. The survey focuses on retailers’ views on expanding across border, their expansion plans, and the main issues affecting these plans. For the first time, retailers were also asked about sustainability (see 2007 Sustainability Retailers’ Survey and separate press release – European retailers to “lose market share” if they fail to address sustainability).

Marinus Dijkman, President/CEO of REP says: “Central and Eastern Europe, in particular Russia, is still clearly seen as the land of opportunities for many cross-border retailers. At the same time, we are also seeing retailers with their origins in CEE expanding internationally.”

On a country basis, Russia and the United Arab Emirates are in joint top position, with 9 per cent of retailers planning to expand in these countries over the next five years. Then comes Slovakia (6 per cent of retailers), followed by Bulgaria, Slovenia and Hungary (5 per cent each).

When looking at the current international representation of the retailers interviewed,
26 per cent have units in France and Spain, at the top of the list, 25 per cent in Belgium, German and the UK, 20 per cent in Austria and Italy, 18 per cent in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and 17 per cent in the Czech Republic, Portugal and Russia.