Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Prague

  • Dame jidlo to deliver products from ten Tesco Expres stores in Prague

    Dame jidlo to deliver products from ten Tesco Expres stores in Prague

    The new Dame jidlo service is available in Prague and customers can choose from ten Tesco Expres stores when ordering a purchase.

    The price for delivery of the purchase is CZK 69 and the order itself must exceed CZK 99. In the first phase, a portfolio of approximately 600 items is available to customers, writes CzechCrunch.

    A Tesco employee completes the order after it has been confirmed and the Dame jidlo courier will take over the whole order upon arrival.

    Customers will get their purchases within 30 minutes, up to a maximum of 45 minutes from ordering.

  • Stora Enso invests in cross laminated timber (CLT) production in Czechia

    Stora Enso invests in cross laminated timber (CLT) production in Czechia

    Stora Enso decided to invest approximately EUR 79 million in a new production line for cross laminated timber (CLT) at its Ždírec sawmill in the Czech Republic.

    Production is scheduled to begin during the third quarter of 2022 and the estimated annual production capacity will be approximately 120 000 m³ after ramp-up.

    The investment is expected to generate annual sales of approximately EUR 70 million when run at full capacity and to meet the Wood Products division’s profitability target of 20% operational return on operating capital (ROOC).

    Construction expected to start during the first quarter of 2021

    Stora Enso invests in the latest technology, which, together with fully integrated production at the Ždírec sawmill, will provide customers with cost-efficient solutions and premium products.

    Integration with the existing sawmill will also add benefits in, for example, raw material and energy supply, and logistics.

    The investment is estimated to increase the number of employees at the mill by approximately 110 FTEs. Stora Enso has received all required permits for the project.

    Currently, Stora Enso has three CLT production units with a total capacity of 270.000 m3: Gruvön in Sweden and Ybbs and Bad St. Leonhard in Austria.

  • Czech unemployment rate reached 2.7% in July

    Czech unemployment rate reached 2.7% in July

    The general unemployment rate of the aged 15–64 years reached 2.7% in July 2020 and increased by 0.7 p.p., year-on-year.

    The male unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, attained 2.4%; the female unemployment rate reached 3.2%.

    The employment rate of the aged 15–64 years reached 74.2% in July 2020 and decreased by 1.0 percentage point (p.p.) compared to that in July 2019.

    The male employment rate was 81.2%; the female employment rate was 67.0%, both seasonally adjusted.

    The employment rate of persons aged 15–29 years, seasonally adjusted, was 45.3%, in the age group 30–49 years it attained 87.5%, and in the age group 50–64 years it got to 76.3%.

  • Skoda launched ENYAQ iV, its first full electric SUV

    Skoda launched ENYAQ iV, its first full electric SUV

    Measuring 4,649 x 1,879 x 1,616 mm, the ENYAQ iV is similar in size to the traditional KODIAQ SUV and has 2,765 mm wheelbase.

    The new electric car will be available in five power outputs, three battery sizes and two drivetrains.

    The basic model is the ENYAQ iV 50 with a 109 kW electric motor and rear-wheel drive. This version’s battery has a capacity of 55 kWh (52 kWh net) and a range of 340 kilometres in the WLTP cycle.

    The ENYAQ iV 60 has a 62 kW battery (58 kW net). Combined with a 132 kW electric motor, it delivers a range of up to 390 kilometres.

    The ENYAQ iV 80 is the third version with rear-wheel drive. It has a 150 kW electric motor and torque of up to 310 Nm. The battery capacity is 82 kW (77 kW net), and it is this version that offers the longest maximum range of 510 kilometres (in the WLTP cycle) on a single charge.

    The two all-wheel drive versions also feature the biggest battery

    The ENYAQ iV 80X, with a second electric motor on the front axle, delivers a total output of 195 kW, while the sporty ENYAQ iV RS boasts an output of 225 kW.

    Both these versions have a range of up to 460 kilometres in the WLTP cycle.

    One brand new design element on the electric SUV is the optional Crystal Face radiator grille. The traditional Skoda grille is enhanced with a crystalline effect and is backlit with a total of 130 LEDs that give the car a unique “light signature”.

    Special ENYAQ iV to celebrate 125 years of Skoda

    One special version of the ENYAQ iV that will be available in a limited series is the Founders Edition, which is already available for pre-order.

    With this version, which customers will receive in the first quarter of 2021, Skoda is celebrating 125 years of history. The total production will be just 1,895 units.

    ”The first electric SUV from Skoda is made in Mladá Boleslav and it represents the next level of transformation with the focus on advancing electrification and digitalisation,” said Thomas Schäfer, Skoda chairman of the board, at the electric SUV’s premiere.

  • Dutch non-food discounter Action enters the Czech Republic

    Dutch non-food discounter Action enters the Czech Republic

    Action, the international non-food discounter, has opened its first two stores in the Czech Republic.

    The stores in Hradec Králové and Kladno will be followed by three more openings in the Moravia-Silesia region during the first two weeks of September, in Ostrava, Opava and Frýdek-Místek.

    Action says that they have „the lowest prices in over 1,600 stores across Europe”.

    With about 6,000 products on the shelves, Action offers a broad range of products at low prices – at least 1,500 products sold in Action stores cost less than CZK 25.

    The product range, with items from over 350 well-known brands and more than 70 private labels, consists of 14 categories: decoration, DIY, toys and entertainment, stationery and hobby, multimedia, household goods, garden and outdoor, laundry and cleaning, pet, sport, clothing and linen.

    Action announced its entry into the Czech market at the beginning of 2020 and the discounter’s expansion in the country will be rapid.

    Every store will employ approx. 15 employees.

  • Penta Real Estate Churchill Square project in Prague is LEED GOLD certified

    Penta Real Estate Churchill Square project in Prague is LEED GOLD certified

    LEED certification is an internationally recognized standard in the design and construction of environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings.

    This certificate confirms that the Churchill I and II projects take into account both the environment and the workplace, which can positively affect employee performance.

    The project, located by Prague‘s main train station and comprising two office and one residential building, is being implemented by Penta Real Estate in a consortium with SUDOP. 

    The office buildings Penta intends to build as part of the project will offer a total of 30,100 sq. m. of floor area, of which 3,700 sq. m. will be for retail.

    Penta plans to invest EUR 60 million into the Churchill project.

  • RC Europe opens its third Nest retail park in Romania, in Oradea

    RC Europe opens its third Nest retail park in Romania, in Oradea

    The Czech real estate developer RC Europe to open on August 27 the third retail park of the group in Romania, after a total investment of 9 million euro.

    The retail park is under the nest brand and located in Oradea, occupying approximately 6.500 sq m GLA. Construction works on the project started in October 2019.

    Nest retail park Oradea is on Calea Borșului in the northern part of the city in the proximity of Lidl and Kaufland. The project has a parking lot with 200 places and accommodates 13 retail stores of local and international brands, including JYSK, Martes Sport, Sportisimo, CCC, ZOO Center, KIK, PEPCO, dm-drogerie markt, and Zoomania. 

    Nest Oradea is the second retail park project RC Europe delivered in 2020, following the opening of Nest Miercurea Ciuc in May.

    The first Nest retail park project opened in Romania was in Dorohoi, in 2017. Besides Romania, the company operates two Nest retail parks in Serbia, where it also plans to develop new projects in 2020.

    In Romania, RC Europe owns five office buildings: two in Pitesti, and the rest in Craiova, Drobeta and Slatina, totalizing over 18,000 sq m GLA.

    The company has also in pipeline a Class A office building in Bucharest, Arc Office Building, with 30,000 sq m GLA and a new retail park in Sighisoara.

  • XXXLutz opens seven new furniture stores in Czechia

    XXXLutz opens seven new furniture stores in Czechia

    XXXLutz will open seven new XXXLutz stores throughout the Czech Republic from Monday 17 August in addition to the existing three stores.

    Seven former Kika stores acquired last year were rebranded under the XXXLutz logo.

    The new XXXLutz stores are located in Cestlice, Pilsen, Ostrava, Liberec, Budweis, Olomouc, Letnany and complement the 3 existing stores in Prague Stodulky, Prague Cerny Most and Brno.

    “Our goal is to be number one in every country and location where we operate. With the acquisitions, we are further expanding this position and using synergies to offer customers even more service and even better prices,” says company spokesman Mag. Thomas Saliger.

  • Overnight stays of tourists in Prague dropped by 94.9% on Q2 2020

    Overnight stays of tourists in Prague dropped by 94.9% on Q2 2020

    In the Q2 2020, the total number of guests in collective accommodation establishments decreased by 82.9%, year-on-year, and the number of overnight stays decreased by 81.7%.

    In April, the number of guests slumped by 98.9%, in May by 94.1%, and in June the number of accommodated guests decreased by 60.8%.

    The number of overnight stays of guests in collective accommodation establishments reached 2.6 million nights in total in the Q2 2020, which was by 81.7% less compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

    To put it in absolute numbers, it was a decrease by 11.5 million nights. The number of overnight stays of guests from the Czech Republic decreased to a third (by 66.7%) and the number of overnight stays of guests from abroad decreased by 96.2%.

    In total, 988 thousand guests accommodated in collective accommodation establishments in the Q2 2020, which was a decrease by 82.9%. Compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, it was a decrease by 4.8 million guests.

    A ban on travelling, closure of borders and also of accommodation establishments resulted in a drop of guests from the Czech Republic to the level of 30.4% of the last year´s result. The restrictions were reflected even much more in numbers of guests from abroad, only 4.3% of foreigners accommodated compared to the corresponding period of 2019.

    Prague registered the biggest decrease

    As for the slump of the number of guests in relation to the coronavirus crisis, the most affected region was the Capital City of Prague (Hl. m. Praha Region).

    The decrease of the number of the accommodated in Prague was 93.6% and the number of overnight stays dropped by 94.9%.

    Accommodation providers in the Karlovarský Region also missed over one million nights that guests did not spent there. The number of guests in collective accommodation establishments decreased nationwide in all regions of the Czech Republic.

    Restrictions of international movements of persons influenced inbound tourism and affected all source foreign markets.

    The numbers of both arrivals and overnight stays decreased by over 90% as for guests from all surveyed countries, except for Slovakia. The number of guests from Slovakia decreased by 84.1%. In Czechia, e.g. 50 thousand Germans accommodated, i.e. by 91.2% less than in the previous year.

  • Czech Temelín’s Unit 2 began to produce electricity again

    Czech Temelín’s Unit 2 began to produce electricity again

    Temelín’s Unit 2 began to produce electricity again at 50 % of the reactor rated power. The technicians are now waiting for the tests at 80 percent of reactor rated power to check the reactor core power distribution.

    The operators shut it down as planned for refueling on June 12. The outage lasted 58 days and, during it, the technicians replaced a quarter of the fuel, checked the safety systems, and mastered 55 investment actions.

    During the outage, the technicians replaced 42 out of 163 fuel assemblies in the reactor.

    Altogether, one thousand workers including the suppliers participated in the outage. At the same time, the power engineers planned the outage works so that Unit 2 at Temelín would be connected before the planned disconnection of the Dukovany Unit 2.

    Together with the Dukovany power plant, all six nuclear units are currently in operation.

  • Alza.cz starts selling wine and spirits

    Alza.cz starts selling wine and spirits

    Alza.cz adds another unusual segment to the online store. From today, customers can also buy drinks through a partner with delivery to the address.

    Soon, customers will also find beer and non-alcoholic products such as mineral water, lemonade or energy drinks in the product range of alza.cz.

    Wine lovers can choose from almost 700 types of wines, champagne and sparkling wines from Bohemia, Moravia and abroad (France, Chile, Spain, New Zealand, etc.). There are a number of varieties, areas and wineries at different price levels.

    The company also listed almost 600 types of spirits – from premium rums to matured whiskeys. The sale of all alcoholic products is subject to strict age control on site, both on the web and when the goods are received.

  • CzechInvest: 143 transactions reported in the second quarter of 2020

    CzechInvest: 143 transactions reported in the second quarter of 2020

    In the Czech Republic, 143 transactions were reported in the second quarter of 2020, CzechInvest M&A Report shows.

    The largest number of mergers and acquisitions (41) occurred in the industrial products and services sector, followed by the real-estate sector with 39 transactions and the retail, consumer goods and entertainment sector with 19 deals concluded.

    The most important M&A activities in in the second quarter of 2020

    Significant activities on the Czech market include MVM Group’s acquisition of the Czech energy group Innogy from the German company E.ON.SE.

    The Brno-based holding company Solitea announced the largest merger on the Czech market so far this year, involving the consolidation of twenty-three companies in the Czech Republic and seven in Slovakia.

    C-Energy Planá acquired a majority stake in Teplárna Tábor. ČEZ Group is selling its share in the Israeli company CyberX. Czech Aircraft Group took control of the light sport aircraft manufacturer Czech Sport Aircraft.

    Agrofert is selling some of its bakeries that fall under PEK Group. Detailed information on selected mergers and acquisitions is available in the attached report.