FSP Retail Blog
What Would Confucius Say?
Posted At : 05 September 2008 14:26
Even the great philosopher would struggle to shed light on the confused commentary on retail parks. In July, the latest footfall trends survey from Experian told us that Britons are cutting back on trips to out-of-town retail parks due to rising petrol prices and doing more of their shopping on the Internet.
Now Verdict tells us that an unprecedented wave of investment in town centres will fail to reverse the long standing migration of retail sales from town centres to out-of-town retail parks.
So, there appears to be some disagreement. However, read on and you will find that Experian didn’t actually mean out-of-town retail parks. It meant, I think, regional shopping centres. Furthermore, the threat to town centres from out-of-town retail parks identified by Verdict is as much anticipated as actual. Verdict notes that currently retail parks have a high exposure to big ticket retailers. This means they are more vulnerable than town centres to the current fall in sales of large household merchandise.
Is all this throwing up of dust just a publicity stunt, to draw attention to over-priced standard reports and therefore to be disregarded? Or when supposedly serious commentators confuse the debate about the development of UK retailing, is it actually irresponsibility that should be condemned?
As FSP has pointed out before, town centres and their shopping both need to be imaginatively re-invented to enhance the users’ experience. This would apply to out-of-town centres too. Know your customer and delight them with your offer and you will be impervious to whatever trend is being reported at the time!
Who's determining your requirements?
Posted At : 04 August 2008 22:43
I understand FOCUS – the service provided by CoStar - has reverted to providing the Requirements List in Word format. Although I’m sure everyone appreciates their chivalry in doing so, I’m still rather surprised that people other than short-cutting letting agents have a use for it – Word format or not! It is the retail and catering mix of the centre that sets it apart from its competitors. The mix should therefore be under the control of its managers, not the whims of retailers.
You don’t need to rely on the Requirements List to determine your tenant line up. Shoppers are attracted to the centre by what’s inside and retailers are attracted by the profile and behaviour of the shoppers. Retailers who understand their own customers will want to know how the centre’s shopper profile relates to their own customer profile. Your tenant mix planning should rely on the shoppers you want to target. Your letting strategy should be to show your preferred retailers how your centre can work for them, irrespective of what the requirements list states!
Recession, what recession?
Posted At : 04 August 2008 18:47
Westfield is driving a coach and horses through talk of recession. The White City development in London is on course to open in October and is already 90% let. This development has a few advantages over others. Out of town retailing is apparently sliding, but this development is slap bang in the middle of London – indeed at 1.6m ft2 it will be the biggest city centre retail destination in Europe. And London retail sales seem to be immune to the slump in the rest of the country, with the BRC recording like-for-likes in London at 8.7% up for the year to June. Finally, the Westfield centre at White City is very definitely targeted upmarket – the crunch feels more like a mere nibble when you’re comfortably cosseted in luxury!
Much of the benefit of retailing in London comes from tourists, especially the European ones who can use the euro exchange rate to their advantage. These tourists can fly in and reach their shopping destinations by public transport. Westfield has added to the anticipated ease of shopping in the White City development by funding a couple of tube stations!
What if your development is not so fortunate? FSP has the knowledge to help retail property developers and asset managers plan for the future and put their centre on the map
Home Town versus Clone Town
Posted At : 04 August 2008 17:58
I’m not impressed with the latest offering from Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary. “Proposed Revisions to PPS6” makes me wonder if the Government has any care for the state of our town centres. The proposed revisions are hardly decisive action to stop the free-fall of the wellbeing of these centres and retail developments out of town will just hasten their demise.
Town centres are central to our communities, they need a vociferous representative body, prepared to tackle this head on and each town needs to reflect its own character and the particular aspirations of its own citizens. It has to be Home Town, not Clone Town.
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