The south is also about logistics

A mixed overall situation
After an exceptional year in 2021 (3.8 million sq. m of space placed for areas over 10,000 sq. m), 2022 is bound to be different. 2,333,100 sq. m were placed in the first three quarters, placing 2022 within the average of previous years. However, the economic situation calls for caution. 70% of the market is concentrated on the Lille-Paris-Lyon-Marseille corridor and XXL platforms, with surfaces of more than 50,000 sq. m, represent more than a quarter of the market.
Geographically, the Ile-France and Lyon centres are naturally in the lead in terms of surface area marketed, but the South region has been a major centre for several years.

Supermarkets set their sights on the South
The region is taking advantage of its demographic weight (more than 5 million inhabitants), its Euro-regional position and its port potential to attract the big names in distribution. Operated by themselves or by logistics service providers, the logistics platforms of large-scale distribution support the logistics market of the southern region.
For several years now, several large-scale distribution groups, both food and non-food, have been reconfiguring their logistics organisation in order to meet new challenges: e-commerce, sustainable development, but also increased competition in a market that is not very extensible. The recent installations of Intermarché in the Vaucluse (55,000 m²) or Lidl in Saint-Martin-de Crau (30,000 m²) meet these objectives. The fast-growing players, such as Getir or Action, are creating or completing their networks in order to supply the local shops or warehouses. The endogenous needs of the mass retail sector also aim to accompany the development of e-commerce activities.
Transactions carried out in the southern region for e-commerce players often involve smaller surfaces, from 5 to 7,000 m². The e-commerce service provider MCE, for example, has rented 7,000 m² in Clésud in order to complete its service offering.

The South: a logistics region in the plural
For many years, the region has structured the supply of logistics land around several major centres: the Fos-Distriport port area, the Clésud logistics platform and the two neighbouring centres of Saint-Martin-de-Crau and Salon-de-Provence. The historic Marseille-Vitrolles-Rognac axis completes this logistics landscape.
The main significant offer in this geographical sector is a 44,000 m² non-divisible platform in Saint-Martin-de-Crau, built in white and due to be delivered at the end of the year. Also of note is the rare availability of a 16,000 m² warehouse with a rail connection at Distriport. In a context of energy transition, the mass use of rail is a credible solution for many activities.
However, the southern region has seen the emergence of several other significant centres. The establishments in the Vaucluse, between Cavaillon and Bollène, respond to a less endogenous demand turned towards the Rhone axis. A little further west, Arles and Nîmes are finding their advantages for logistics locations, in a context of under-supply in the main centres of the South region. Several developments are underway in the Nîmes region, which is only one hour from the Phocaean metropolis.

Urban logistics on the horizon
The region's major cities, as well as certain towns such as Grasse, Monaco and Cannes, are all implementing urban logistics action plans to reduce the environmental impact of deliveries. It is also a question of responding to the needs linked to the evolution of consumption, in a context of energy transition and the setting up of Low Emission Zones.
But real estate offers that allow the implementation of solutions are rare. The demands around Nice or Toulon are not satisfied. In Marseille, the situation is a little different. There is multiple demand, both for courier services, for which it is difficult to find available offers in the privileged sector of Vitrolles, and for spaces closer to the city. The Sogaris Arenc site still has a very high occupancy rate. Several projects seem to be emerging, such as that of the Frey group, which consists of building a 20,000 m² urban logistics centre for a dedicated operator at La Valentine.
The needs around the metropolises of the southern region are of several kinds: courier sites to carry out carbon-free deliveries, local logistics spaces to deliver to hypercentres and neighbourhoods in soft modes, small local storage sites to meet the needs of the territory's wholesalers and distributors.The search for new solutions and the verticalization of logistics real estate will perhaps constitute one of the axes of development in order to meet the growing demand.

EOL: your privileged partner
Involved in the development of the main logistics sites in the South of France, EOL assists companies with their location projects. For more information on these projects, please contact Laurent Bedjidian, Director of EOL Sud - lbedjidian@eol.fr - Tel. : 06 86 57 45 03