Posted by: FSPRetail , 26 May 2011
How to save our town centres - EGi 23/05/2011
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 20 May 2011
As discussed in a previous SnapShop Blog Waterstone’s Vs. Amazon, HMV has sold its Waterstone’s book store to Russian investor Alexander Mamut for a reported £53 million. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 17 May 2011
Mary Portas has been appointed by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to carry out a review aimed at halting the "decline of the high street" in England. That the decline is real is well attested by shop vacancy rates and the achieved levels of rents in many “secondary” towns. The solution will be more fundamental than improving the level of customer service. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: Hpratley , 01 April 2011
I went recently to Northampton to visit Legal & General’s two day exhibition in the Grosvenor Centre.
The exhibition outlined the plans for the Centre and gauged what the residents of Northampton want in their town.
FSP Director Jo Hewson has worked closely with Legal & General on the re-development project and was there to help explain the plans to members of the public and to register their comments.
The Grosvenor Centre provides two levels of shops in the centre of Northampton between the bus station and the Market Square. read more…
Tags: CENTRES, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, GENERAL
Posted by: FSPRetail , 21 March 2011
This week Retail Week reported that Asda chief executive Andy Clarke believes “the future of retail is local, and supermarkets need to be clear about the role they play in local communities.” read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, SHOPPERS, SHOP LOCAL
Posted by: FSPRetail , 17 March 2011
The outlook for town centre retailing is much worse, and the required action is more urgent, than is suggested in the BCSC and Lunson Mitchenall report on the Shopping Centre development pipeline. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING, SHOPPERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 31 March 2010
Managing Director Geoff Nicholson comments in Retail Weeks' Letters To The Editor on an article from issue 12th March 2010. Link unavailable. read more…
Tags: TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING, RETAIL PROPERTY
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 February 2010
The proportion of UK multiple retailers trading unsustainably has increased from around 23% last year to 28% this year. Furthermore, the location of the stores of “at risk” retailers, and the reasons for their financial stress, are now different. Retailers are categorised as “at risk” if the ratio of gross profit on sales to the cost of labour and depreciation is below parity. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, RETAIL ADMINISTRATORS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 26 January 2010
…but are they all of equal value? In shopping centres and retail parks, recruiting particular tenants within an explicit retail mix strategy creates a more robust rent roll than simply taking the highest, or any, bidder. Without a tenant mix policy, the retail composition of the centre or park is determined by the judgements and vagaries of individual retailers. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, RETAIL PROPERTY, REGENERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 August 2009
Sharing turnover information has always been a sensitive subject for retailers, and as a result landlords are often unable to measure the effectiveness of their shopping centre or retail park by the most obvious means – sales. Entrant numbers are produced as a Key Performance Indicator but if an increase doesn’t convert to sales it is largely meaningless. read more…
Tags: TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 July 2009
The BRC this week issued their report, 21st Century High Streets: A Vision for our Town Centres, which, in its introduction states “Good retailing is all about great products supported by great people giving great service. It’s down to retailers to provide all of that for their customers. It’s something British retailers, large and small, excel in. But to trade profitably we need customers, drawn in by a pleasant, safe and accessible High Street offer”. Sensible. Indeed the whole report is essentially common sense, but someone needs to drive the message home. read more…
Tags: TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 01 January 2009
The prospects for retail property in 2008 range from a disaster scenario, much loved by journalists in search of a good story, to an expectation that the bottom of the market will be established. What is certain is that active asset management will once more be prized. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES
Posted by: FSPRetail , 25 July 2008
“Proposed Revisions to PPS6” is not a headline to set the blood racing. However, the latest offering from Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, should provoke outrage from all who care for the viability of UK town centres. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES
Posted by: FSPRetail , 19 January 2008
The prospects for retail property in 2008 range from a disaster scenario, much loved by journalists in search of a good story, to an expectation that the bottom of the market will be established. What is certain is that active asset management will once more be prized. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, TOWN/SHOPPING CENTRES