Lagardère Travel Retail Romania brought the new bakery concept, Hello, to the Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport.

For 2025, Lagardère Travel Retail Romania has set itself the goal of continuing to expand its brand portfolio. Among the main objectives are the inauguration of 24 new units and the implementation of innovative concepts, such as Local+40 and Bread&Co.

“The target for this year is to inaugurate a number of 24 units, maintaining the pace of development of the previous year. Lagardere Travel Retail has consolidated, with each year of presence on the local market, the business and the value of its assets through constancy and permanent attention to global trends and consumer preferences,” stated Costin Neacșu, Chief Operating Officer of Lagardère Travel Retail Romania.

Among the main businesses and brands owned by Lagardère Travel Retail Romania are: Relay, Inmedio, Aelia Duty-Free, with a focus on high-traffic locations, such as airports, train stations and other shopping centers.

The “Sector-Specific Trends, Part 1” panel held at CEDER 2025 showed that, despite navigating a complex landscape marked by rising costs, regulatory hurdles, and economic uncertainty, key players like NEPI Rockcastle and IULIUS are pursuing significant development projects, focusing on creating enhanced visitor experiences.

Robert Ioniță, Group General Counsel for NEPI Rockcastle, highlighted the Promenada extension in Bucharest as a “pearl in the crown” of their efforts, representing a €300 million investment which “will generate 55,000 sqm GLA”. The project is a complex, mixed-use development aiming to redefine the urban retail experience. Robert Ioniță noted its impressive scale and engineering, including a seven-level underground structure, and an architecturally significant design. The project features an “innovative tenant mix, with many premieres”, integrating retail with office space, “a four-star international hotel, […] [a] high-capacity theatre and the most technologically advanced cinema in the country”. This strategy targets a diverse audience, from office professionals and business travellers to families and culture seekers, enabling them to attract “landmark projects, with the premiere concept” from tenants. NEPI also leverages its extensive portfolio to serve as a “gateway” for new brands entering the CEE market, having recently introduced brands like Lefties, Rituals, Wendy’s, and Sports Direct to Romania for the first time. Robert Ioniță observed a trend where “food and dining continues to gain importance” and saw “more wellness than usual” integrated into their centres.

At the same time, IULIUS, identified as “the biggest Romanian developer in Romania”, is focused on creating large-scale mixed-use developments in cities like Iași, Timișoara, and Cluj. Oana Diaconescu, Head of Leasing at IULIUS, pointed to a strong and even growing demand from tenants within their portfolio. She noted that both newcomers and “big anchors, big department stores” are “in need to extend their area”, requiring the developer to be “really creative in order to find room”.

IULIUS’s significant investment in the Rivus project in Cluj, budgeted at half a billion euro, underscores this, featuring Romania’s biggest retail component, at over 145,000 sqm GLA, alongside other functions, with over 70% of the retail space already signed with “big names”.

They are also extending Palas Iași in partnership with renowned architects Foster and Partners, aiming for 80,000 sqm GLA total and introducing new entertainment and edutainment features.

While attracting luxury brands can be challenging due to the lack of competitive formats, IULIUS has successfully introduced some, like Furla and Boss. Oana Diaconescu explained that luxury brands consider several factors like “the level of the wages, […] the standard of living. Then, the knowledge, the awareness of the lifestyle and values that are appreciated in the West. Then the existence of a cluster of brands that would address the same public formats. You need, […] to have the proper aesthetic, to have the proper design, because all these ultimately contribute to the experience of shopping and in the end, to the performance of their sales.”

The Sinsay brand, part of the LPP Group, has reached a significant milestone in Romania with the opening of its 173rd store. The brand inaugurated three new units in Tulcea, Medgidia, and Petroșani, all of which opened on the same day, further expanding its presence in the country.

In a separate development, LPP Group has entered into a strategic partnership with PayPo, a leading financial service provider. This collaboration enables customers of Sinsay, as well as other LPP brands like Reserved, Mohito, House, and Cropp, to benefit from the “Pay in 30 days” service. This service allows shoppers to make purchases today and pay later, without incurring any additional costs.

LPP, a Polish family-owned company, operates five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. With a presence in 42 markets worldwide, LPP’s portfolio now includes over 2,800 stores, both physical and online.