Tailor Your Business in Lodz 2023

INTRODUCTION FOREWORD BY CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

I have no money; neither have you. Nor has he. So, we have just enough, just exactly enough to start quite a big factory.” Who doesn’t know this quotation from The Promised Land, a novel by Władysław Reymont? Had it not been for the period of fast paced growth that Łódź experienced during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, some of the first steam engines of Ludwik Geyer, the spinning mill of Karl Scheibler or the Grohman factory, perhaps today we would not be talking about modern logistics, supply chains and Central Poland as one of the largest warehouse markets in the country. Łódź - dubbed the Polish Manchester - was the largest centre of textile industry in the then Congress Kingdom of Poland. Today, in Central Poland we can still do good business - no doubt about that. This is why we decided to turn our focus in our second regional market report to the investment potential of this region - not only of Łódź and Stryków, but of the entire Łódź province as the road leading from Łęczyca to Piotrków Trybunalski, completed in 1821, marked the current route of Piotrkowska Street in Łódź. With nearly 4.5 million sq m of class A warehouse stock, Central Poland is the third-largest industrial market in Poland, behind Mazovia and Silesia, providing an excellent springboard for the growth of manufacturing, logistics and e-commerce. However, a closer look at the statistics reveals that more than 50% of that total is less than five years old and the region’s total warehouse stock more than quadrupled in the last 10 years. As a result, Central Poland offers first-rate modern warehouse and industrial infrastructure being a driving force for both local, Polish and international companies which have found in the Łódź province an ideal place for their business.

We think there is no need to reiterate the advantage of the region’s perfect location at the junction of two motorways as this factor has become so obvious for investors that it is no longer an additional category in network study analyses. The Łódź province is, however, a unique example of synergy between modern manufacturing space, big-box distribution centres for e-commerce, including for leading global fashion platforms and marketplaces, and logistics facilities operated by the world’s well known third-party logistics providers (3PLs). This is where shiny household appliances are made for the whole of Europe. This is where parcels are shipped from to more than a dozen European countries whose inhabitants can receive them the next day thanks to excellent 3PL services. This report looks at the potential created by the synergy between manufacturing and logistics, its underlying reasons, the current situation, trends and opportunities opening up for the region. It also explores the concept of a smart city and the resultant challenge to the warehouse and logistics sector. Ludwik Geyer, one of the pioneers of the textile industry in Łódź, would have said now: “Start the steam engine!” With the tall chimney and the beautiful historical space of the White Factory in mind, let us set off on a journey once travelled by the founders of Poland’s largest textile manufacturing companies. Let us do business in Central Poland together - warehouses are already there and so is land for new projects.

Damian Kołata Partner Head of Industrial & Logistics | Poland Head of E-Commerce | CEE Cushman & Wakefield

Katarzyna Misztal Negotiator Industrial & Logistics Department Cushman & Wakefield

Renata Krzyżanowska Associate Industrial & Logistics Department Cushman & Wakefield

5