Since July 2010 Geoff Nicholson and Richard Wassell have been talking to property owners with the Objective of forming an overall view of the shape of the retail /restaurant/ leisure property market in 10 years’ time.
Key issues included…
- What will be different and will the change be broadly beneficial or detrimental?
- Will the concept of “consumer” still be acceptable in a time of global fragility?
- What will be the response to the sustainability and environmental issue?
- How will leading operators respond to increasing competition from other channels?
- Will the relationship still be predominantly landlord and tenant~ or will there be clients and suppliers of property services
- How will development be financed?
- Where will shopping take place – major centres, locally, remotely?
- How important will internet shopping become?
- How will the planning system change to accommodate changes in society? Will out-of-town, edge of town growth be allowed?
The results of these interviews were reviewed and key points used to create the below article that was to be published in Estates Gazette.
Full article can be found here.
What is keeping our panel awake at night?
Behaviour is determined by what is given attention. So what are the issues currently pre-occupying senior members of the industry? ...
THE ‘ALWAYS ON’ WORLD
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home”. So said Ken Olsen, President of
Digital Equipment Corp, in 1977…
Add to basket
Online sales currently account for less than 10% of retail turnover -much more of course in categories like books, music and electrical goods…
Clicks and Bricks are Complementary
The concept of “online“ in isolation is obsolete, particularly with the advent of smart phones and the mobile internet…
Media goes multi
With so much technology at our fingertips, the watchwords for retailers are immediacy, real-time -and transparency. There really is nowhere now to hide…
NEW YORK, LONDON, PARIS, MUNICH…..
The world is getting smaller. The globalisation of the retail supply chain has been very high profile. It has led to 15 years of clothing price deflation and scandals about factory working conditions…
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…
By no means were all our panel persuaded that the financial crisis has fully arrived.
Quantitative easing and continued governmental expenditure have so far disguised the full impact. Ironically, the property industry, more reliant on transactions than most, may have had an early taste of recession…
THE MAN ON THE STREET
Staying younger, older
The demographic change of most interest to the panel is the ageing of the UK population.
The age statistics are not in dispute, but the implications for shoppers and retailers are less
clear…
From consuming to conserving?
The age of austerity will become reality .There will be a significant reduction in retail spend, both in value and volume. And consumers will move towards becoming conservers…
RETAILING
In the middle of the road you’ll get run over
More than 30 years ago, Suzy Menkes, then fashion correspondent for The Times, predicted the demise of the middle market. She was right. Premium brands and value retailers have gained market share at the expense of the middle market…
Creating a sense of place
With a largely US perspective, Marvin Traub, the New York retail visionary, writes, “In recent years, shopping centres have seen declining market share and loss of traffic. I believe that the approach to shopping centres will need to be redefined over time.”…
Improving owner and occupier relationships
The panel was unanimous that the single most powerful change required in the industry is talking, listening and engagement directly between landlords and occupiers…
Redefining the retail experience
100 years ago, Gordon Selfridge used his store to offer ‘theatre’ and an unforgettable experience. At the same time, Spedan Lewis was offering a breadth of product and great service with price taken out of the equation…
Focus on communities
Shopping centres will become more locally relevant, providing a place where people can find out about, and get basic training for, the jobs that are locally available…
THE LAST WORD
Our objective has been to identify the opportunities over the next 10 years that will secure the best returns. It is increasingly apparent that this objective can best, perhaps only, be achieved if the stakeholders work more closely together. The role of other participants in the industry is to facilitate this closer relationship…
THE REPORT AUTHORS:
Geoff Nicholson Managing Director of FSP, the leading source of leasing support and strategic advice to UK property portfolios.
Richard Wassell formed twentyretail in 2005 to advise occupiers, landlords and development companies in the UK and Ireland.
Full article can be found here.
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