Savills, the international property firm whose investment arm recently expanded operations in Germany, has helped Italian fashion chain Calzedonia to expand in Europe's largest market via two new shops in Essen.

Savills advised an unnamed Danish investor landlord, which will rent retail space of two stores in Essen to Calzedonia SPA, probably before the end of March.

In these shops, Calzedonia will sell various undergarments and beachwear, though the group also sells knitwear.

Stephan Jung, head of retail consultancy at Savills Germany, said Essen "continues to be a focus for national and international retailers who are mostly interested in prime locations".

Germany has also been a focus for the Cordea Savills investment unit, which grew its German assets towards €1bn in February by buying German rival International Property Asset Management.

This also expanded Cordea Savills' network in Germany, beyond a main base in Munich.

On the underwear front, Calzedonia is helped to expand from its current six stores across Germany.

When property consultants CBRE polled property investors late last year on their European plans for this year, Germany was their second most popular European country, and Berlin, Munich and Hamburg all ranked among the Continent's seven most popular investment destinations.

This was helped by Germany's economy holding up comparatively well during the Eurozone's sovereign debt crisis, however weaker than expected German manufacturing data out this week have dampened expectations.

The purchasing managers index for Germany has fallen to 48.1, below the widely expected 51. FX firm Clear Currency called the number "particularly shocking".

"These figures from Europe's core were expected to show improvements from previous peripheral readings, helping to bolster the otherwise contracting sectors, but weaker readings will no doubt show an increased contraction to the Eurozone."