FSP Retail Blog

Secondary Shopping Centres – The elephant in the room

To the Royal Institution, founded in 1799, to witness the retail property industry discussing secondary shopping centres in a suitably historic setting. There was much to marvel at, not least that the group on whom shopping centres depend was entirely unrecognised. Shoppers, who ultimately pay the rent, were effectively ignored.

Ray Morgan, Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council, implored shopping centre developers to consult “the local community”. Since this appears to be code for talking to the local authority, this does not qualify as taking shopper views into account. Richard Akers, Chief Executive of Land Securities Retail, and BCSC President-Elect, was the sole exception. He acknowledged that as landlord, Land Securities carries out substantial consumer research which could be, but generally is not, shared with tenants.

The useful question to be answered is not, “Why does the property industry ignore consumers?” but rather “How can the property industry take consumer preferences and behaviour into account?” Viewed in isolation, research is expensive; viewed within the context of the decisions based on research results, the return on research investment can be multi-fold. Of course FSP has a vested interest but can show solid evidence that consumer research is justifiable, even necessary, in maximising ROI on many retail property assets.

What matters in considering the cost of research, as for most goods and services, is not the initial outlay but the cost per use. The FSP experience is that broadening the application of research results in a dramatic reduction to the cost per use. This requires an ability to take a strategic view – standing back far enough to comprehend that it is an elephant.

Comments (0) | Send | del.icio.us | Digg It! | Linking Blogs

Contact us on 01494 474740

or alternatively