The successful lease is also the starting signal for the nationwide expansion of the European retailer of clothing, household goods and decorative items with high quality at low prices, which plans to open up to 2,000 stores in Germany alone over the next few years. Pepco has been active in Germany since 2022 and currently operates eight stores in this country. Since opening its first store in Poland, the retail chain has been pursuing a continuous strong expansion course and now has more than 3,300 stores in 18 countries in Europe. More than 400 new stores are to be added each year.
Some of the space for the initial 17 new Pepco stores in ECE centers has already been handed over, and the opening will take place gradually over the next few weeks. A significant proportion of the retail space was previously leased from the now insolvent shoe retailer Reno, which can therefore be re-let at short notice – and which is ideally suited to Pepco’s requirements thanks to modern standards, flexible floor plans and the technical equipment available in shopping centers.
“We are happy that we will be able to offer our high-quality items at consistently low prices at even more locations in Germany in the coming months thanks to our cooperation with ECE. Our goal is to be close to all potential customers and the opening of 17 stores in ECE shopping centers across Germany is just one of many next steps,” says Patrick Steiger, Operations Manager Pepco Germany.
“We are very pleased with this strong leasing success and the partnership with Pepco,” adds Joanna Fisher, CEO of ECE Marketplaces. “This leasing success is an excellent example of how well and flexibly shopping centers can adapt to structural changes in retail. With Pepco, we gain a strong, expanding retailer that will be an attractive attraction in the centers.”
The first new Pepco location at ECE will open on August 17, 2023, in Rathaus-Center Dessau, with further stores to follow in Sachsen-Allee Chemnitz, Phoenix-Center and Billstedt-Center in Hamburg, Milaneo in Stuttgart and Altmarkt-Galerie Dresden, among others.
With the expansion in Germany, the two partners ECE and Pepco further extend their already existing cooperation: There are already ten Pepco stores in ECE centers in Poland, Hungary and Austria. In addition, the 3000th Pepco store across Europe recently opened in the repositioned “The Playce” at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.
