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Rw property2012[1]
1. September 2012
At your leisure
The new shopping centre experience has leisure at its heart
● Digital shift UK shopping centres are embracing technology
● High street review the key challenges still facing town centres
● Global ambition why retailers are exploring key international markets
● Right-sizing how ecommerce and convenience are influencing grocers’ portfolios
RetailWeek
PROPERTY
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The longer-term view
We talk of unprecedented change but we should remember that retail has always been a dynamic market – evolving
with movements in fashion, taste, demographic shift, global trends, spending power and technology.
What we’re experiencing now is fundamental structural change – a merging of physical and online retailing
from which there is no going back. This requires a reworking of built environments to create an experience that
competes with the electronic alternative. That means changes in ownership, creation of partnerships, embracing
technology, and a supportive planning regime.
And then there’s pricing. There remain plenty of prime spots where the business case stacks up for retailers but
many others that need to price themselves back into the market. Pick any retailing location that thrives today,
whether it is in London or regional UK, and it is because all these elements are in place. Look more carefully and you’ll see that success
didn’t arrive overnight, supporting the case for a longer-term view.
So what of the advisers? If investors and occupiers are reinventing then it’s certainly not enough to be a silo property agent.
Adding value is offering advice, which helps create sustainable destinations for property owners and supports retailers right across
the supply chain.
Capita Symonds Real Estate has a heritage in retail property consultancy and investment while wider Capita is known for transforming
the built environment in many sectors and driving change in business efficiency. This breadth of offer makes us excited by change and
the opportunities it presents.
John Burnside, Director – Investment, Capita Symonds Real Estate
Courage to adapt in a changing world
Stephen Hawking once said,“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”.Well, the world is buzzing with change,
but what are we doing about it? The retail and property sector is rolling out new ideas and initiatives on a daily
basis, and I am proud to say many of them are Innesco’s clients. Look outside and you’ll see all the signs; those
managing uncertainty with the banks, reassessing their retail property assets, rewriting business and marketing
plans, using architecture and design to invigorate shopping places, adjusting tenant mixes, enhancing customer
experience, and utilising new technology to increase revenues and reach customers better.
Market forces have always been at play across the sector,from gold medal winning centres down to the struggling
Portas towns. What will divide the winners from the ‘not so successful’ will be the speed retailers and landlords
respond to anticipated changes in the wider marketplace – the global marketplace. This is a universal truth, whether you’re in Perth or
Paris,Stratford or Stockholm,São Paulo or Shepherd’s Bush.Fortune favours the brave,and while not everyone is doing well,what’s clear
is that those with the courage to communicate their own brand of change will leave the traditional and conventional thinkers trailing in
their wake – and they know who they are.
In the coming week there are two important conventions for this sector – the BCSC’s Annual Conference in Liverpool, and the ICSC’s
World Summit in Shanghai. High on people’s list of discussion points will be the conviction to adapt in a changing world – harnessing
inexorable changes in consumer behaviour, to successfully capitalising on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as the Olympic Games.
When we look back on 2012 this Christmas,‘innovate’ and‘adapt’ will have been the watchwords of 2012.
Dan Innes, Managing Director, Innesco
A word from our sponsors
6. 6 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
H
ow do you spot a tipping point? When
something unusual becomes everyday,
or when a service or facility becomes
expected? In most cases it is a quiet
crossover point, and the UK’s shopping centres
seem to be going over one such threshold right
now, as they increasingly embrace technology,
and wi-fi in particular.
Land Securities got the ball rolling when it
revealed earlier this year that it would install free
wi-fi and a price comparison programme in all
its 22 centres.
The owner of such big shopping centres as
St David’s in Cardiff and Cabot
Circus in Bristol made the at
one time controversial move to
create a “seamless experience
for customers”. The company
said at the time: “We have
got to get over ourselves and
realise the internet isn’t going
to be the end of the property
industry.The two can co-exist.”
Initially launched at the
White Rose Shopping Centre
in Leeds, the scheme was rolled out with Sky
subsidiary The Cloud and was supported
by retailers including Debenhams, Topshop,
Warehouse and Oasis.
Land Securities is at the forefront of technolog-
ical innovation and was the first UK mall owner
to install Amazon collection lockers in some of its
shopping centres. The lockers enable customers
to pick up orders from deposit box-style units.
The first installation was at One New Change
in the City of London. British Land, meanwhile,
launched a delivery collection point at Meadow-
hall earlier this year in partnership with Collect+.
It enables online shoppers to pick up merchan-
dise or return goods.
However,free wi-fi remains a contentious topic
among retail professionals, who divide into two
camps: those who believe it encourages non-store
purchasing and those who feel that its incursion
is inevitable and might as well be embraced.
Many of the latest developments have come
about because of the rise of the ‘showrooming’
phenomenon. First noted in the US by retailers
such as electricals giant Best Buy, the term
describes a consumer who comes into a store to
check out products and prices, then uses their
mobile device to price compare and make a
purchase online.
It caused such concern that Best Buy initially
created barcodes that could not be scanned by
mobile devices. Retailers have since abandoned
such techniques for more fundamental rivalry –
such as Dixons’ decision to pare down costs and
start to compete more aggressively on price with
pure-plays.
Cyriac Roeding, co-founder and chief execu-
tive of Shopkick, a US-based loyalty app, believes
mall owners need to deliver footfall to persuade
retailers of the virtues of a store presence.His own
business provides a loyalty system that awards
points to consumers coming to a mall, then a
specific store, plus further points for purchases
and spending above certain basket thresholds.
A fine
romanceShopping centres and technology at first seemed like adversaries, then
uneasy bedfellows, but now they are positively united – or at least they
should be. Mark Faithfull reports
We see wi-fi and emergent technology
as a direct complement, not as a threat
to the offer at our centres
Ben Tolhurst, Hermes Real Estate
Describing showrooming as “scary as hell”, he
nonetheless insists that shopping centres must
open up to technology, stressing that “the only
successful walled garden right now is Apple”. UK
retailers seem to have welcomed the introduction
of technology into malls, believing it provides
them with more flexibility.
Debenhams head of international business
development John Scott says bringing wi-fi and
technology into malls gives the retailer more
flexibility over its formats and the store size it
requires, with its own wi-fi helping store staff
drive sales across channels.
John Lewis managing director Andy Street,
meanwhile, highlights the benefits of click-and-
collect and online in supporting the retailer’s
smaller format store developments in Exeter and
York.“If we can develop smaller stores they make
less financial demand on new developments
[because of the concessions department stores
achieve],which means it is more financially viable
to develop smaller schemes more appropriate to
their location,”he points out.
At the Centre of RetailAt the Centre of Retail
7. 0
76950 45047
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retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 7
The real thing
When Hermes’s The Centre:MK in Milton Keynes
decided to focus on technology to enhance the
shopper experience and drive footfall, it started
with the advantage that the whole city has free
wi-fi, which its shoppers can tap into.
The scheme’s major focus of investment on
technology has been to create points for 28
42-inch screens around the centre, which carry
a combination of information, wayfinding and
advertising, plus local area information.
The Centre:MK head of marketing and
communications Melanie Beck says customer
satisfaction, especially with finding routes
around the centre, immediately improved.
“We integrated the screens with our Bliss
loyalty programme, so shoppers can use their
mobile technology to print off promotions within
the mall,” she explains. “This gives shoppers
another reason to come and because of the
amount of marketing activity going digital,
we have also saved significantly on marketing
print costs.”
One particularly ambitious campaign
launches this autumn when the centre rolls out
its first augmented reality project. Visitors will
be able to search for and download via their
mobile phones virtual ‘balloons’ around the
centre, which will reward them with escalating
offers and prizes.
The virtual balloons will be located at
different parts of the centre on different days,
encouraging exploration and loyalty. Based
on the results, a new initiative will be rolled
out in the run-up to Christmas. A real hot air
balloon will also tie into the theme, as the centre
combines the real and digital worlds.
“We believe it is something genuinely ground-
breaking and will bring together the physical
shopping world, visitor numbers, traffic to our
website and mobile app and create a sense
of event,” stresses Beck.
The wi-fi gives us an opportu-
nity to partner with retailers
to showcase promotions
Ailsa Davidson, Wereldhave
Shopping centre owners are keen to stress that
technology enhances the retail offers. “We see
wi-fiandemergenttechnologyasadirectcomple-
ment, not as a threat to the offer at our centres,”
says Ben Tolhurst, asset manager at Hermes Real
Estate, who is in charge of destinations including
The Centre:MK in Milton Keynes, The Friary
Centre in Guildford and Royal Victoria Place in
Tunbridge Wells. “Given that technology is now
such a fundamental part of the world of the
modern shopper this ought to be considered as
a basic part of a shopping centre’s offer.”
Tolhurst believes that the relevance of initia-
tives that employ new technology is dependent
on catchment and shopper profile. “So if your
customers want it, providing wi-fi access,
Shopping centres
are introducing
initiatives such
as digital screens
(top), free wi-fi
(middle) and
infopods (left)
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8. 8 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
The Balanced Approach to Retail. See page 11.
0092 C&R RW Strip 2012 28/08/2012 11:12 Page 1
using Facebook ‘check in’ technology and devel-
oping shopping centre apps for example should
be fully embraced and incorporated within a
wider asset management strategy.”
The Centre:MK has introduced a series of
initiatives based around the use of digital screens
and access to wi-fi, and an ambitious augmented
reality project [see box].
All the more reason
Wereldhave shopping centre asset manager Ailsa
Davidsonisoverseeingtheinstallationoffreewi-fi
at the investment company’s shopping centre in
Ealing Broadway.It went live in mid-August,after
an initial trial at the Dolphin shopping centre in
Poole. In the first month 231 visitors used wi-fi
and there was a 40% rise in smartphone usage on
the website.
“We have to retain the differentiation between
lifestyle shopping and internet shopping, which
technology allows us to do,”says Davidson.“Wi-fi
gives us an opportunity to partner with retailers
to showcase promotions and special offers.”
Davidson says technology should “provide
extra reasons for people to come to a mall” and
likes the sense of event that the right types of
digital technology can add. “It’s bringing the
practicality of the Amazon lockers or the theatre
of a QR shopping wall,” she says. “We’re looking
to partner with more brands and we’d love to
have a shopping wall in one of our centres.”
Another property group opting for free wi-fi
is Hammerson. Retail portfolio director Martin
Plocica says:“Through our multichannel strategy
we are focused on ensuring our digital presence
matches the quality of our physical space.”
Thatstrategyincludesmobile-enabledwebsites
rolled out across the portfolio and single sites
that integrate with social media and other
platforms such as Google Product Search.
Plocica says mobile technology will become
Tapping into the social shopper
The next generation of ‘social shopper’ is expected
to emerge by 2021, when 41% of the UK’s
consumer population will be influenced by or using
social media to make a purchase, according to
research from bank Barclays. Among 25-to-34-
year-olds, this figure is higher still with 45% of this
age group already engaging in ‘s-commerce’ and by
2021 the figure is predicted to have risen to 73%
of the demographic.
Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at
Barclays, says: “When someone you know and trust
makes a recommendation it’s extremely powerful
and we’ve seen that the social shopper isn’t afraid
to express online how much they want, love or
dislike a product or service.”
Barclays expects that in the UK ‘influenced
sales’ will more than double from £1.4bn now to
£3.3bn in 2017.
Earlier this year retailers including House of
Fraser, Tesco and Primark announced that they had
teamed up with American Express and Foursquare
to offer customers location-based deals. The service
allows customers to collect savings when they
‘check in’ to foursquare when they are in particular
shops – once their location is logged on their mobile
device, the savings are automatically credited to
their American Express card account. American
Express said the deal will drive footfall for retailers,
and increase engagement and loyalty among
customers, and all three retailers are running
promotions that allow customers who spend £10 or
more to get money back. Other participants include
restaurants such as Pizza Express and Strada.
It must only be a matter of
time before malls offer general
click-and-collect points
Mark Bourgeois, Capital & Regional
increasingly important for landlords to engage
with customers to drive sales conversion. “We
are already trialling location-based promotional
tools in two of our centres, which are deliv-
ering encouraging early results, and our entire
shopping centre portfolio will offer free public
wi-fi to all customers by the end of the year,” he
says. “Consumers’ use of technology is part of
their everyday lives.”
He cites the first House of Fraser click-and-
collect store, which opened in Aberdeen’s Union
Square, as a success. “The convenience of the
store pick-up for consumers in a city centre
location and brand presence for the retailer has
been a great combination,”he observes.
House of Fraser has a second such store
at Grosvenor’s Liverpool One shopping
centre and other retailers have mooted the
possibility of dedicated click-and-collect stores
or hybrid locations.
HobbyCraft chairman Simon Burke believes
it is time for a different mind-set from retailers
when it comes to embracing technology. While
multichannel retailing through in-mall wi-fi,
click-and-collect and online returns may confuse
the picture of in-store sales, he believes retailers
have to end their obsession with store produc-
tivity.When identifying the sales route,he advises,
“we’ve got to stop focusing on store profitability
and focus on customer productivity”.
Mark Bourgeois, managing director of
shopping centres at Capital & Regional, echoes
this need for a sea-change:“The merger of online
and offline seems inevitable. It’s only a matter of
time before malls offer general click-and-collect
points, and the days of trying to repel technology
are surely over.You can’t turn back the tide.” ■
Free wi-fi has been
installed in the
Ealing Broadway
shopping centre
In association with:
9.
10.
11. London 0207 932 8000 | Glasgow 0141 225 6600 | capreg.com
The Balanced Approach to Retail
Join us on our stand at BCSC Showcase
12. 12 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
Michael Green,
chief executive, BCSC
This is the first year when there
hasn’t been a new shopping
centre opening so, at the
moment, property is about
making the most of the stock that’s there. It
is a difficult time for retail, but that’s when the
industry has to pull together.
The impetus driven by Mary Portas’ work
is fantastic, but if we don’t maintain that
momentum, there will be short-term wins
but no long-term change.
Everyone needs to be more flexible and
adaptable – from the public and private sector to
retailers, developers and agents. They’ve all got
to take on the fact that towns and cities are going
to look different in future.There needs to be a mix
of theatre, entertainment, leisure and residential.
But how do you turn around a centre that has a
30% vacancy rate? It’s not easy when you haven’t
got retailers willing to expand, and when rents
generally are a bit restrictive. There has got to be
help from the Government.
Out of necessity, we are in an era of partner-
ships. There has been some moving together of
landlord and tenant, and it has to get even closer.
Internet shopping is here to stay, but city
centres and shopping units will be there too.
As for development, people still talk about
potential deals.We will see cranes going up again,
but it’s a long process. It won’t happen over night.
High and dry?As tenants, landlords and local authorities continue to grapple with myriad challenges still facing
high street retail, Retail Week Property talks to some experts about what steps need to be taken
to overcome them, and how the future of the high street might look
Towns and cities are going to look different
in future. There needs to be a mix of theatre,
entertainment, leisure and residential
Michael Green, BCSC
Justin Taylor,
UK chief executive,
Cushman & Wakefield Retail
Thechallengestheretailproperty
market faces need both hard and
soft measures. The Portas Pilot
is more about the soft measures, but the hard
measures are about whether the Government
will do something more significant in terms of
business rate reductions and planning policy.
The problem of bank lending also remains.
Small businesses need access to capital, so again
it comes to central Government to facilitate
bank lending.
One of the biggest issues on the high street
is still car parking. There needs to be extended
periods of free car parking, which requires firm
financial measures that create a more sustainable
environment in the town centre for businesses to
be successful and get shoppers back into towns.
However, for many town centres, especially
small or secondary town ones, retail will not be
the panacea that it has been in the past. Some will
need to reshape and almost go back through their
natural cycle to be more of a community place
where people socialise – and part of that will be
residential change.
13. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 13
The Portas Pilot programme contains some good
ideas that will help but it’s not really going to
affect the way we see retail locations develop
Jonathan De Mello, CBRE
Increasingly, larger multiples have a more
international outlook. If you talk to them about
opening a new store in the number 70 retail
location in the UK, versus one in Berlin, it’s no
contest – their view has changed from a domestic
to a European outlook.
It’s certainly not the end of the high street as we
know, but there will be some that are in terminal
decline for retail and therefore their sustainability
must rely on a mixture of other uses.
There is no question that generally leases
are getting shorter, we are seeing an increasing
number of temporary lettings in some shopping
centres and some of the landlords will have to be
more flexible in terms of rents on the high street.
Charles Maudsley,
head of retail, British Land
There are four key factors for
success in today’s retail property
market: dominance and
accessibility, affordability, unit
configuration and flexibility, and the overall
shopping environment. In our view these factors
define prime locations. It’s what the modern
retail environment looks like,it’s what we look for
in all our schemes and it’s where our portfolio
is positioned today.
Landlords need to proactively manage retail
environments to improve them by overseeing the
tenant mix, co-ordinating marketing, supporting
independent retailers, filling vacant units,
ensuring a safe and secure environment,investing
in local relationships and being open to flexible
lease terms.
Key to this is a strong partnership between all
parties – landlord, retailer, local authority, local
community and consumer. Fragmented owner-
ship of our high streets means there is generally
little consideration given to the tenant mix and
this can negatively impact on the ability to refur-
bish or upgrade properties, improve the public
realm, maintain adequate levels of security and
effectively use collaborative marketing. The net
result is that town centres and high streets lose
their consumer appeal.
We encourage high street stakeholders to
work together more collaboratively. Shopping
centres and parks can work with local independ-
ents and high street
retailers to support
them. Initiatives can
include leading on a
joint rebranding and
marketing of the town,
creating partner-
ships to tackle retail
crime and anti-social
behaviour, helping
fund and manage
public realm improve-
ments, ‘buddy’ schemes advising on issues
such as merchandising and contributing to
training programmes.
Jonathan De Mello, director
of retail consultancy, CBRE
This year has been tough for
many retailers. In terms of
job losses, volume of stores
earmarked for closure and
retailers exercising the option to exit a store on
lease expiry, it is the worst year since 2008.
We’re still seeing retailers posting like-for-like
decline,except in sectors such as value and luxury.
One of the key developments missing from
the Government this year was a reduction in
business rates. You cannot set business rate
increases at a historic rate of inflation – that needs
to be looked at again.
Meanwhile, the Portas Pilot programme
contains some good ideas that will help but
it’s not really going to affect the way we see
retail locations develop. For example, interna-
tional retailers will always want to be in the best
locations; ultimately they want to be in big, well-
considered units sitting next to other brands that
complement them.
Landlords need to
be more flexible on
high street rents
In association with:
In addition, the second round of Portas Pilots
could have been better chosen.
According to our research, nine out of the
15 centres chosen were already seeing increased
customer visits over the past year.
In terms of shopping centres, the more
proactive ones think of the bigger picture –
the holistic nature of an asset is key. However,
many locations in the UK are owned by
different landlords, so you can’t really take that
approach, unless incentives are created, maybe
by local governments.
Some locations around the UK will never
be what they were as retail centres and I would
promote general change of use to create commu-
nity again in town centres.
ALAMY
14. 14 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
Tom Carlton,
retail research analyst,
Legal & General Property
In essence, there is too much
retail space at present in the UK.
A combination of other factors,
includingthedownturnintheeconomy,elements
of outdated stock and a change in shopping
patterns has made this even more apparent as
vacancy rates remain elevated.
Central London, the major cities, tourist
hot spots and regional shopping centres have
remained largely robust. However, some towns
are now suffering from functional obsolescence
and therefore need to reinvent themselves.
Solutions to readdress this situation, many
of which were outlined in the Portas Review,
include a greater focus on a convenience offer and
encouraging independent retailers, markets or
other proprietors into the town centre, in order
to create a unique offer and point of difference.
Furthermore, the internet can be seen as
a threat but it also offers certain opportuni-
ties for the high street, if managed correctly.
Shops play a key role for multi-format retailers,
giving customers an interface and acting
as a showroom.
Making sure high street stock is up to date and
able to meet modern retail requirements is one of
the key challenges for landlords at the moment.
Demand is selective and therefore it’s important
to have the right stock in the right location.
One effect of the downturn that can be seen
as positive for existing landlords is a reduction in
the number of new shopping centres being built,
meaning expansionary retailers will have to look
at current stock.
Ben Tolhurst, director,
Hermes Real Estate
Investment Management
The UK high street is struggling
with low consumer spending
and competition from the
internet and out-of-town retailing, affecting large
and small retailers alike.
Central to responding to these challenges is
an understanding of the customer experience.
If a town, city or shopping centre can enliven
the visitor’s experience, and provide not just a
relevant retail offer, but an attractive environ-
ment with leisure, catering and other facilities,
visitors will be inclined to return again.
The Portas Pilot scheme has correctly identi-
fied this need with the emphasis on examining
the shopper experience in particular locations
at the outset. Competent landlords and councils
should already be viewing their assets in this way
by reflecting on the overall customer experi-
ence, catchment research and feedback from
exit surveys to establish what the key drivers
are for a particular location and demographic.
This understanding can be used to manage the
overall offer by influencing tenant mix, shopping
environment, branding and marketing.
Furthermore, it is imperative to ensure
multichannel modes of shopping such as
click-and-collect are catered for. As the major
retailers will attest to, there is a high incidence
of additional spend by customers visiting a
store to collect goods previously ordered online.
The key is to get these customers into the store
to collect the goods.
The relationship between landlord and tenant
is another vital component, and should be
The internet can be seen
as a threat but it also offers
opportunities for the high street
Tom Carlton, Legal & General Property
based on open communication and informa-
tion sharing. Quite simply, poorly performing
retailers do not lead to successful retail invest-
ments. However, landlords that successfully
manage the asset in line with consumer demand
will drive tenant performance and ultimately
enhance asset value.
Hannah Milne, head of retail
asset management, regional
portfolio, The Crown Estate
The UK retail market has not
been left untouched by the
challenges facing the economy.
Development pipelines have been hit and
occupational markets have put pressure on rents
due to reduced sales volumes.
However, good schemes are still succeeding
and that is why we have invested about £470m
into prime retail outside of London in the past
two years. Our strategy capitalises on strong
demand for space in out-of-town schemes across
the country and we expect the consolidation of
successful retailers in dominant prime schemes
to continue. Occupier demand is still robust – it
is just about matching the right tenant with the
right location.
Strong asset management remains key and
landlords and tenants also need to recognise that
more collaborative relationships will ensure long-
term rental growth and success in retail markets.
Achieving the right occupier mix will promote
long-term rental growth and limiting exposure to
struggling tenants is vital.
We believe the next few years will see a number
of changes in the retail property market. There
will be an increase in smaller format stores for
new retailers and also a rise in etailing. And
retailers realise there must be greater integration
of remote retailing with physical stores and the
distribution network. The winners in the retail
world are those multichannel retailers that have
committed to all forms of retailing. ■
Vacancy rates
on the high street
remain high
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17. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 17In association with:
Grocers are moving away from hypermarkets to focus on a more diverse portfolio that
recognises the importance of ecommerce and convenience. Mark Faithfull reports
Pick and mix
N
o one appears to be winning the
space race anymore. Tesco thundered
aheadwithitsexpansionprogramme,
only to take a domestic performance
hit,Asda and Morrisons remain geographically
imbalanced despite continuing talk of growth
in the Southeast and through smaller formats,
and the halcyon days of the 100,000 sq ft super-
tanker hypermarket appear to be over.
That desire to dominate non-food in the
same way as food remains, but now it is
the endless store of the internet, not the
lengthy aisle of the superstore, where growth
is concentrated.
All the big supermarket groups have
conducted serious reviews of their portfolios
even while there has been a surge in develop-
ment activity. Development has increased
by more than half since the credit crunch,
according to property adviser CBRE. It
calculates that the supermarket pipeline in
the UK has grown by a startling 57% since
September 2007 and that the amount of
new space in the pipeline at the end of the
first half of 2012 increased to 5.34 million
sq ft. Supermarkets now account for 38% of
all shops in the development pipeline, up
from 25% four years ago, and 39% of space
under construction.
However, the growth surge is no longer
affecting every grocery format in the same way.
As the rise of online shopping calls into question
the viability of developing additional hyper-
markets, several big grocers have proclaimed
that instead of 100,000 sq ft stores, they will
in future develop at between 60,000 sq ft and
80,000 sq ft.
Grocers have developed a twin strategy. Many
are exploring a next generation of supermarkets
close to urban conurbations and a heavy
The main push continues to
be for edge and out-of-town
space because of accessibility
Chris Keen, CBRE
Sainsbury’s,
which opened 73
c-stores in 2011,
will still focus
on superstores
and extensions
18. 18 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com In association with:
considerable interest in supporting local
communities and businesses.”
That opportunity to acquire rather than grow
organically will likely lead to consolidation.
Morrisons especially has been slow to develop
smaller stores, despite its ambitions.
“It obviously has a national distribution
network so can start to grow organically.
However, we expect Morrisons to look at acqui-
sitions as a way to secure market share quickly
and to enable them to operate convenience
more profitably,” says Keen.
“It has been widely reported that [Morri-
sons] is in discussions with Costcutter but there
are many other opportunities. Non-affiliated
independents account for a whopping 41% of
the c-store market and the symbol groups [Spar,
Costcutter, Musgrave etc] account for a further
31%. There is bound to be considerable consoli-
dation in this sector and so the net gain of new
space may not be as much as many think.”
The other advantage of looking at c-store
benefiting as people favour a ‘little-and-often’
approach to their food shopping that helps
them budget and spread the cost. The sector is
also more competitive than ever, with stronger
promotions, greater choice of goods and better
value for money.“
She also points out: “Nearly three-quarters
of convenience stores are still independently
owned, either by an unaffiliated retailer or
as part of a symbol group such as Nisa or
Spar. So they stand to benefit from the
bias towards the high street, as well as conven-
ience stores.
CBRE director Chris Keen says: “The main
push continues to be for edge and out-of-town
space because of its accessibility. Grocers are,
however, also acquiring additional high street
stores, particularly in conurbations where it is
more difficult to obtain planning permission
for superstore developments.”
On the bandwagon
The big growth in convenience has been led
by Tesco and Sainsbury’s, but all grocers are
exploring options. Morrisons continues to
promise a roll-out of its M Local format, having
announced in February that it was targeting 300
openings of the c-stores by 2014, while Asda
acquired the Netto estate, although those stores
are larger than the typical high-street c-stores.
Waitrose revealed in July that it would open
an additional 20 Little Waitrose c-stores in and
around London over the next 18 months.
The appeal is clear: UK c-stores’ sales are
forecast to reach £44bn by 2017, according to
the latest research from IGD. That represents a
29% increase from the current value of £34bn.
The average annual growth rate for the conven-
ience sector is expected to be 5.1% between now
and 2017.
IGD’s research shows that shoppers are
favouring a ‘little-and-often’ approach, with
49% now doing their grocery shopping three
or more times a week, compared with 39% in
2009, while 72% of c-store shoppers can see
themselves using such shops to pick up parcels
if they are not home for a delivery.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive
of IGD, says: “The convenience market is
Exploiting a wide armoury of formats,
grocers are considering where they need
greater coverage.
The biggest growth area is in the Southeast,
according to CBRE. In 2011 Morrisons opened
15% of its space in the Southeast but in
2013/14 it has said it will be 60%.
Morrisons has 10 superstores under
development within the M25 and aims for 10
more in next five years.
That said, Sainsbury’s says its focus is
in the North, West, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
The big four are also all under-represented in
the Southwest.
Location focus
Tesco and
Sainsbury’s
have led the
recent growth
in convenience
formats. UK
c-stores’ sales
are due to reach
£44bn by 2017,
according to IGD
The convenience market is
benefiting as people favour a
‘little-and-often’ approach
Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD
19. 300 new Drive-thru
restaurants required...
That’s food for thought!
For more information and requirements list visit www.mcdonalds.co.uk/development
Stand alone restaurants with Drive-thru lane
• Retail & leisure parks
• Main arterial routes
• Pub conversions
3,621 sq ft
restaurant plus
car parking or 1/2
acre sites
£20,000
IntroductoryFee
Tim Edwards
tim@morganwilliams.co.uk
020 7493 4455 • 07894 531 924
ALL REGIONS
ALL REGIONS
Adrian Longstaff
adrian@longstaffassociates.co.uk
0113 2091605 • 07808 479273
Longstaff
& Associates
RETAIL AND LEISURE CONSULTANTS
Head of Acquisitions Mike Williams mike.williams@uk.mcd.com 020 8700 7191 • 07973 203 906
South East Alex Lomas alex.lomas@uk.mcd.com 020 8700 7084 • 07802 908 384
Inside M25 Richard Marsh richard.marsh@uk.mcd.com 020 8463 4330 • 07739 304 245
North West, Scotland & N. Ireland Emma Fisher emma.fisher@uk.mcd.com 0161 253 4287 • 07841 497 494
West Midlands & South West Andy Ross andy.ross@uk.mcd.com 0121 253 3535 • 07802 885 281
North East, East Midlands & E. Anglia Paula Reed- Smith paula.reed-smith@uk.mcd.com 0121 253 3445 • 07836 384 380
20. 20 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com In association with:
A global developer of logistics warehouses gazeley.com/retail
UK | Europe | China | Middle East
development is that planning is generally far
easier, with many stores locating in existing
retail sites. Local opposition tends to be less
vociferous too, although new development has
not been without some challenges.
Bob Robinson, managing director of consul-
tancy DPP, says: “In terms of c-stores, a lot was
made of the conversion of pubs to supermar-
kets but really it reflects convergence of require-
ments: the lack of stock available to convert and
the need for pubs to dispose of properties.Again
a lot has been said about the ongoing review of
changes of use in respect to this but I fail to see
in practice how a rule can be written to define
an independent versus a chain, so applying it in
practice would be very difficult.”
However, not all grocers are thinking alike.
Sainsbury’s has pledged to continue developing
hypermarkets, while Robinson believes that
even though Morrisons is keenly looking at
store sites in and around the M25, it may not
actually be so bullish about c-stores.
Instead, Robinson feels that supermarkets
in the 15,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft range may be
where more of a push at the smaller end comes.
“Urban stores with a wide offer are becoming
popular again and Asda has traded well with
its Netto stores,” he explains. “I would not even
discount the mid-range European grocers from
taking another look at the UK.”
However, while the general shift may be
towards smaller stores, Mark Price, managing
director of Waitrose, is among those concerned
that regardless of format, too much space is
being developed. He said earlier this year that
while over the last two years (2009 to 2011),
the space dedicated to food and grocery in the
UK rose by more than 13%, the increase in
sales value over the same period was just 6.8%.
Citing forecasts for 2011 to 2015, he believes the
situation is likely to be further exacerbated.
Changing goal
Others feel that the race for space has already
taken a different direction.“The days of retailers
developing for market share are over,” says
Russell Walker, associate partner and foodstore
specialist at Briant Champion Long. “In the
current phase of development we have seen
the big grocers battling for market share, but
generally that is not going to work any longer
in most locations. Instead they want to build
profitable sales, which means being far more
selective and strategic about where and what
size they build those stores. There will be less
cannibalisation through expansion in future.”
So, the space race is changing direction.
Walker expects most of the next phase of
development to be in urban areas, whether on
the edge of towns or in high street c-stores,
and concludes: “Although Tesco is not now as
acquisitive as it was last year, this has served as
encouragement to the other operators who see
that competition for sites is slightly less intense
than it was. Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons
are still very much in expansion mode.” ■
CBRE director Chris Keen shares his thoughts
on how he sees expansion playing out:
“Morrisons opened more space than planned
in 2011 at 643,000 sq ft and intends to open
2.5 million sq ft in the next three years.
Sainsbury’s opened 1.4 million sq ft in 2011
and 1.5 million sq ft in 2010. It is likely to open
about 1 million sq ft a year going forward.
This means it can be a bit more picky about
sites and 1 million sq ft to 1.5 million sq ft is a
sustainable level, given there is a physical limit
to what a retailer can open each year (capital
expenditure is not unlimited and even things
like store recruitment and marketing have to
be resourced).
In 2011, Sainsbury’s opened 10 superstores
averaging 39,000 sq ft, 15 extensions averaging
15,000 sq ft and 73 c-stores. It has said
that it is going to open a mix of superstores,
extensions and c-stores going forward and I
expect a similar proportion of each.
It is well documented that Tesco is going to
open 38% less space this year but that is still
a substantial 1.5 million sq ft of new space. It
may be cutting back but that is from a one-off
surge last year which was never going to be
repeated, given the physical challenges of
resourcing such growth.
Tesco will likely cut back on rolling out its
very largest stores, but not stop altogether. It
is inevitable it will be more picky if there is less
investment in that part of the business. There
were never that many developed each year due
to the challenges of planning and finding large
sites and so it is not going to have quite the
impact people think.
Asda has said very little and it is only
Sainsbury’s which is giving an indication of the
split between hyper, super and c-store.”
How space will be
developed in future
There will be less
cannibalisation through
expansion in future
Russell Walker, Briant Champion Long
Morrisons plans
to open 2.5 million
sq ft in the next
three years
21.
22. Our flexible approach to store development means we have
an Asda format to suit all locations. We have a range of store
formats including:
n Supermarket: Sales area of between 8,000 and 25,000 sq ft net
n Superstore: Average sales area of 44,000 sq ft net
n Supercentre: Average sales area of 85,000 sq ft net
n ASDA Living (non-food stores): Footprint of 20,000 sq ft with full cover mezzanine.
Ideally suited to retail parks.
New food or non-food store opportunity?
Get in touch.
Investing
across
the UK.
Our flexible approach to store development means we have
an Asda format to suit all locations. We have a range of store
formats including:
n Supermarket: Sales area of between 8,000 and 25,000 sq ft net
n Superstore: Average sales area of 44,000 sq ft net
n Supercentre: Average sales area of 85,000 sq ft net
n ASDA Living (non-food stores): Footprint of 20,000 sq ft with full cover mezzanine.
Ideally suited to retail parks.
New food or non-food store opportunity?
Get in touch.
Investing
across
the UK.
23. Scotland
Northern
Ireland
1
3
2
4
5
12
7
6
8
10
11
9
10
13
National Acquisitions Team.
We have a specialist foodstore acquisitions team working in each region
of the UK. If you are interested in working with us please contact:
1 Scotland
Colin Sangster
colin.sangster@asda.co.uk
07779 700 802
Kathleen Hutchinson
kathleen.hutchinson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 739
2 Northern Ireland
Colin Sangster
colin.sangster@asda.co.uk
07779 700 802
3 North East and Cumbria
Mark Hudson
mark.hudson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 540
4 North West
John Hudson
john.hudson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 949
5 Yorkshire and The Humber
Andy King
andrew.king@asda.co.uk
07779 700 191
Nigel Jones
nigel.jones@asda.co.uk
07779 700 756
6 East Midlands
Andy King
andrew.king@asda.co.uk
07779 700 191
7 East of England
John Mutton
john.mutton@asda.co.uk
07779 700 173
8 West Midlands, Mid
and North Wales
Paul Lowe
paul.lowe@asda.co.uk
07779 700 202
9 South West
Andrew Moulden
andrew.moulden@asda.co.uk
07772 226 789
10 Hampshire, Berks, Oxfordshire,
Gloucester and South Wales
Jon Mills
jon.mills@asda.co.uk
07779 700 711
11 Hertfordshire,
Buckinghamshire and South Essex
Donna Sefton
donna.sefton@asda.co.uk
07779 700 332
12 South London and Surrey
Guy Price
guy.price@asda.co.uk
07800 629 300
13 North London, Sussex
and Kent
Andrew Eldridge
andrew.eldridge@asda.co.uk
07785 556 600
ASDA Living (UK)
Keith Wilson
keith.wilson@asda.co.uk
07939 235 713
Scotland
Northern
Ireland
1
3
2
4
5
12
7
6
8
10
11
9
10
13
Detail of London area.
Scotland
Northern
Ireland
1
3
2
4
5
12
7
6
8
10
11
9
10
13
Scotland
NorthernNorthern
IrelandIreland
1
3
2
4
5
12
7
6
8
110
11
9
110
13
National Acquisitions Team.
We have a specialist foodstore acquisitions team working in each region
of the UK. If you are interested in working with us please contact:
1 Scotland
Colin Sangster
colin.sangster@asda.co.uk
07779 700 802
Kathleen Hutchinson
kathleen.hutchinson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 739
2 Northern Ireland
Colin Sangster
colin.sangster@asda.co.uk
07779 700 802
3 North East and Cumbria
Mark Hudson
mark.hudson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 540
4 North West
John Hudson
john.hudson@asda.co.uk
07779 700 949
5 Yorkshire and The Humber
Andy King
andrew.king@asda.co.uk
07779 700 191
Nigel Jones
nigel.jones@asda.co.uk
07779 700 756
6 East Midlands
Andy King
andrew.king@asda.co.uk
07779 700 191
7 East of England
John Mutton
john.mutton@asda.co.uk
07779 700 173
8 West Midlands, Mid
and North Wales
Paul Lowe
paul.lowe@asda.co.uk
07779 700 202
9 South West
Andrew Moulden
andrew.moulden@asda.co.uk
07772 226 789
10 Hampshire, Berks, Oxfordshire,
Gloucester and South Wales
Jon Mills
jon.mills@asda.co.uk
07779 700 711
11 Hertfordshire,
Buckinghamshire and South Essex
Donna Sefton
donna.sefton@asda.co.uk
07779 700 332
12 South London and Surrey
Guy Price
guy.price@asda.co.uk
07800 629 300
13 North London, Sussex
and Kent
Andrew Eldridge
andrew.eldridge@asda.co.uk
07785 556 600
ASDA Living (UK)
Keith Wilson
keith.wilson@asda.co.uk
07939 235 713
Scotland
Northern
Ireland
1
3
2
4
5
12
7
6
8
10
11
9
10
13
Detail of London area.
24. ST ALBANS
BRISTOL
BATH
BIRMINGHAM
CANTERBURY
CAMBRIDGE
SALSIBURY
SOUTHAMPTON
BASINGSTOKE
READING
MILTON KEYNES
PORTSMOUTH
OXFORD
BRIGHTON
GLOUCESTER
WORCESTER
HEREFORD
Martin Supple
0207 152 5898
martin.supple@eur.cushwake.com
Toby Comerford
0207 152 5063
toby.comerford@eur.cushwake.com
Tony Edwards
0207 152 5038
tony.edwards@eur.cushwake.com
Contacts
For inside the M25
For outside the M25 contact Cushman Wakefield
and for Inside the M25 contact Savills
Dan Kent
0207 409 8161
dkent@savills.co.uk
Ben Tyack
0207 409 8084
btyack@savills.com
Gary Darrell
0207 409 8083
gdarrell@savills.com
Priority Locations
• Neighbourhood and local centres, busy urban high
streets with good residential catchments. 10 -15 dedicated car spaces
• City or town centres with high footfall, busy shopping or
working locations or close to transport links
Site requirements
• 3,000 sq ft - 6,000 sq ft gross ground floor
(Net sales area 2,000 sq ft - 4,000 sq ft)
• Leasehold or Freehold
Property Types
• Existing buildings to be refurbished
• Pub conversions
• New mixed use developments
• Redevelopment opportunities
• Petrol filling stations
• Retail warehouse units
Fees
Introductory fees paid to non retained agents
For outside the M25
Contacts
FRESH REQUIREMENT
for new convenience stores
25. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 25
Retailers are increasingly exploring international expansion, but securing the right property portfolio
abroad brings unique challenges. Gina Lovett reports on developments in key global markets
On fertile ground
T
he prolonged stagnation of the UK
retail market has meant that overseas
expansion is now an ever more
important part of many retailers’
growth strategies.
Thepropertychallengesfacingretailerslooking
to expand abroad are many and varied however.
Retailers are exploring emerging markets as
far-flung as Brazil and Kazakhstan, and inter-
national expansion ambitions are often high. In
August for instance,Boots revealed it would more
than double its store estate in Thailand over the
next three years, totalling more than 300 shops.
But while emerging markets are on the
agenda for many, more well-trodden regions
are also offering fresh opportunities as their
property mix evolves.
Over the past six months, fashion brands have
turned their gaze towards North America with
Ted Baker, for instance, recently revealing plans to
open its third store in Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue,
despite the perceived maturity of the market.
Closer to home, recent figures from the Global
Retail Forum have highlighted Zurich as a retail
oasis in the stagnant Eurozone.
One country that has long been at the
forefront of retailers’ expansion strategies is
the United Arab Emirates. And while it is often
the first destination for European retailers when
expanding outside their home market, one of the
world’s most extravagant retail scenes is shifting
from the glittering mega mall to smaller, commu-
nity-based developments.
Having reached saturation point with the
international tourist contingent in high-end
destination malls, such as The Dubai Mall or the
Mall of the Emirates, retailers are now looking to
the local Emirati market for growth.
Long underserved by retail development, local
communities are demanding shopping facilities
closer to home. And as focus shifts, the region
has ushered in a new wave of value and family-
oriented retailers such as Poundstretcher and
MCo in the past six months.
Matthew Green, head of research and consul-
tancy at CBRE, says people will go to the larger
malls on the weekend for leisure and
It’s about having the right
place for the right type
of audience
Matthew Green, CBRE
Debenhams is
now considering
smaller stores
in the UAE
In association with:
According to research from CBRE, Chinese
cities will continue to dominate global
development activity:
■ Eight out of the top 10 most active markets
globally are in China.
■ Tianjin heads the list with 25.8 million sq ft
currently under construction, followed by
Shenyang and Chengdu.
■ Outside China the most active development
markets are Abu Dhabi, Hanoi, St Petersburg,
New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur (Klang Valley).
Source: CBRE, How Global is the Business of Retail? 2012
China – development
domination
26. 26 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
shopping, but don’t want to stray too far from
home for more basic items. He says: “It’s about
having the right place for the right type of
audience. Within master-planning now, there’s a
trend towards installing community-type devel-
opments with a focus on service-related brands.”
The Arabian Center in Mirdiff, Dubai, for
example, attracts shoppers who live in a 12km
radius. The centre’s audience is 65% Emiratis and
it has widened its domestic retail offering to 15%
to 20% of the total offering.
Regional hypermarket LuLu anchors the
scheme, which includes UK retailers Matalan,
Mothercare and New Look, and across Dubai
key developers including Nakheel Properties and
Emaar Properties have now inked deals to build
such malls.
George at Asda
George at Asda, which teamed up with franchise
operator Azadea Group in January, is among the
UKretailersexploringthepotentialof community
malls. Kevin Rusling, George at Asda’s director of
international, says they will be integral in driving
sales growth in the region in next three to five
years. “There’s only so much that the high-end
destination malls can offer. Retail has lacked
in family oriented offerings for local Emirati
communities,” he says. “Community malls, with
supermarkets as an anchor, are a much truer
picture of a traditional UK high street.”
Considerations in taking up space in a
community mall are primarily around dress
code and modesty. “This impacts things like
window schemes and product mix – we don’t
have to dramatically alter them – but you do have
to carefully consider these things,”he explains.
Scottish value retailer MCo, which opened
its first Dubai store in The Dubai Mall in May
and is due to open a second in the Dubai Marina
Mall, aims to operate in both high-end destina-
tions and community malls through its franchise
partner Liwa Trading. About four of the 13 stores
it has planned in the UAE over the next five years
are scheduled for community malls.
According to Lee Braid, MCo international
franchise manager, such a strategy targets “a
more balanced mix of local customers,expats and
ABOVE Eight out
of the top 10
most active
markets globally
are in China
RIGHT Holland
Barrett plans to
open 322 more
stores in China
by 2016
transient tourists”and diversifies the retail base in
a“challenging”trading climate.
Debenhams too, one of the first UK retailers
to enter the UAE 16 years ago targeting high-end
destination malls, is now also looking at smaller
store formats catering for local audiences to boost
future growth.
The department store group, with franchise
group Alshaya,will open a 37,000 sq ft store in the
Dalma Mall next year.
According to John Scott, head of business
development for international at Debenhams,
a strong customer base in smaller urban and
suburban areas doesn’t always support a full
department store format.“With a smaller format
we can extend our reach with a capsule version
of our store, targeted to local customer
dynamics,”he says.
Another country that has become a key focus
for many retailers is China. With liberal planning
catalysing rapid development, and a system
allowing international retailers full ownership,
global retailers have flocked to metropolises such
as Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.
Now that these are reaching saturation point,
further-flung ‘second-tier’ cities such as Chong-
qing, Tianjin, Shenyang and Chengdu, with
populations of three to 15 million and a nascent
middle class, are being primed for development.
According to property consultancy CBRE,
such Chinese cities will continue to dominate
development activity. Tianjin heads the list with
25.8 million sq ft currently under construction,
followed by Shenyang and Chengdu.
Louis Vuitton has already opened stores in
Urumqi, Kunming and Zhengzhou, while Ikea
has outlets in Tianjin and Wuxi. Swedish clothing
retailerHMhad64storesacrossmainlandChina
in locations as diverse as Chengdu, Changsha and
Harbin at the beginning of this year.
While opportunity for growth in second-tier
cities looks abundant, property and retail experts
are sounding a note of caution. As Chinese
retailers adapt,domestic competition is becoming
fiercer. And while the line of retail developments
brings ample choice, it also leads to a greater
number of unsuccessful schemes.
According to James Hawkey, executive director
of retail services China for Cushman Wakefield,
the most concerning trend is that a wide range
of local developers are going into retail for the
first time, building shopping centres of massive
proportions.
China’s planning system, which allows land to
be auctioned by the Planning Bureau in each city,
and developers to decide for themselves the
In association with:
There’s only so much that
the high-end destination
malls can offer
Kevin Rusling, George at Asda
27.
28. 28 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
commercial use, means rapid growth. Retailers,
though, have to work harder to seek out projects
with“strong fundamentals”, adds Hawkey.
Franchise favoured
Although international retailers can fully own
as many retail sites as they want in China, the
capital requirements for each location, the time
and care needed to select the right development
and bureaucratic challenges are prompting global
retailers to consider franchise or hybrid models.
In the case of a hybrid model, the retailer will
own sites in the country’s key cities, with further
expansion spearheaded by a franchise partner.
Holland Barrett, which opened its first two
stores at the Hongyi Plaza in Shanghai, is one
such retailer working with a franchise partner. It
plans to open 322 stores by the end of 2016 with
Chinese appliance manufacturer Changzhou
Globe Company.
According to Mark Stewart-Maunder, global
franchise manager at Holland Barrett owner
NBTY Europe, so many new malls being
built means “lots of choice” but also lots of
unsuccessful projects. “We need to be very
cautious when choosing retail space in mainland
China,”he notes.
Changzhou, he says, has “the necessary level
of government contacts required to succeed in
China and the necessary capital resources”.
“The pace of change in China means we will
need to adapt quickly to the changing space
available as many parts of the market are yet to
be developed. Our franchisee has a forecast
capital requirement of £50m over the five-year
launch plan,”he adds.
Despite a shift in focus towards Chinese
second-tier cities, as the gateway to China,
Hong Kong’s popularity among global retailers
continues to soar. According to Cushman
Wakefield, it attracted $6bn (£3.8bn) of global
investment last year – six times that of Moscow.
Its favour as a place to study buying habits
before taking on the bureaucratic challenges
across the mainland, has helped push rents in
prime spots to an all-time record high, however.
The average annual rent along Hong Kong’s
Queen’s Road Central soared to HK$1,831
(£150) per sq ft in March, up 35% from
a year earlier, according to real estate brokerage
Colliers International.
While some retailers are still willing to pay,
others are weighing up alternatives. HM, for
example, decided in July to vacate its 30,000 sq ft
flagship in the Central district after five years.
In Causeway Bay, Leighton Road is emerging
as an alternative to the district’s Kai Chiu Road.
In February, G-Star opened its largest store to
date there – at 7,319 sq ft, it is twice the size of its
Tokyo, Los Angeles and Sydney flagships.
An influx of mainland tourists “popping over
the border” for better-quality pharmaceuticals,
watches, jewellery and cosmetics has also helped
to create a new “convenience” market, served
by retail sites in malls near the border, says
Simon Smith, senior director of research and
consultancy at property group Savills Asia Pacific.
Last year 28 million mainland tourists visited
Hong Kong, and one such site is the New Town
Plaza in Shatin.
So, despite a marked shift in property priori-
ties in regions such as China and the Middle
East, retailers are still finding plenty of reasons to
invest there. But keeping abreast of changing
opportunities and consumer demand, and
choosing partnerships wisely, is crucial in getting
the store estate mix right overseas, no matter
which territory retailers train their sights on. ■
The average annual rent along Hong Kong’s
Queen’s Road Central rose to HK$1,831
(£150) per sq ft in March, up 35% from
the previous year, driving some retailers
to focus on alternatives.
Leighton Road
Rents in the area come in at about HK$100 to
HK$150 (£8 to £12) per sq ft and are attracting
“modern luxury” and young fashion retailers
such as G-Star and Jack Wills.
Wellington Street
According to Simon Smith, senior director
research and consultancy at property group
Savills Asia Pacific, Wellington Street is
emerging as an alternative to Queen’s Road
Central. Rents here are about HK$200 to
HK$350 per sq ft, and the area has attracted
retailers including CK Jeans and Y-3.
New Town Plaza, Shatin
This shopping mall is becoming a destination for
international brands including Burberry, Coach,
Club Monaco, Zara and HM. Rents are between
HK$100 and HK$700 per sq ft, depending on
the size, while leases are between two to six
years. Thomson Cheng, managing director of
franchise and retail group ImagineX, which has
opened stores for Club Monaco, Apivita, Juicy
Couture (above) and Aveda at New Town Plaza,
says such stores are benefiting from increasing
“domestic” traffic and mainland shoppers.
Landmark North, Sheung Shui
Popular with beauty retailers including The Body
Shop, Skin Food and SK-II, this centre is being
repositioned for one-day travellers interested
in convenience products, electronics, watches
and jewellery. Rents here are about HK$150 to
HK$250 per sq ft per month or 12% to 16% of
a retailer’s monthly turnover, whichever is the
higher. Leases are between two and three years.
Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui
With the highest concentration of consumers
from mainland China of any mall in Hong Kong,
the shopping centre allows retailers to capture
both the domestic and the travelling consumer
in Causeway Bay.
Hong Kong property – focus shift
The pace of change in China
means we will need to adapt
quickly to the space available
Mark Stewart-Maunder, Holland Barrett
In association with:
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30. gazeley.com/retail
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DELIVERY
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Our teams are some of the most experienced and technically proficient in the world
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31. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 31In association with:
It’s all go in the distribution centre property market, where dedicated and hybrid logistics models are altering
the requirements of retailers, and internet fulfilment is rewriting the rules. Mark Faithfull reports
W
hile some plot national retail
domination through swanky
flagships and iconic statement
architecture, others have a less
high-profile view of how retailing nirvana might
be accomplished in the UK.
From Tesco’s futuristic collection of distribu-
tion hubs around the M25 – known as‘dark stores’
– to the London Gateway project, a different type
of retail future is being mapped.
While the race for retail space might be shifting,
the requirements for distribution centre locations
are also developing apace. When Tesco opened its
115,000 sq ft online delivery facility in Enfield,
north London last year, it was its fourth such dark
store, created to meet online order demand in
densely populated areas.
The £30m Enfield premises provides the
highest level of automation yet, with conveyor
belts dispatching trays to pickers with hand-held
devices strapped to their arms to fulfil orders from
178 stations. Bryan Lewis, senior asset manager at
British Land, says: “What we are seeing is store
portfolios being positioned to cope with the
changing nature of sales.”
Online giant Amazon has also adopted
a strategy to get closer to its shoppers and
opened a 700,000 sq ft fulfilment centre in
Rugeley, Staffordshire and a 1 million sq ft site in
Dunfermline in 2011, as the latest in a proposed
20-centre network.
Expansion has been slowed by planning restric-
tions but the growth ties in with Amazon Europe
Marketplaces, which opened last year, enabling
sellers to list products across all its European
websites with one account. It improved its ‘Fulfil-
ment by Amazon’ service by allowing those
products to be stored in a fulfilment centre in one
country and distributed across Europe.
“Retailers are directly commissioning
warehouse space in locations to suit their
networks,” says Helen Bunch, managing director
of Wates Retail. “This is a growing trend as
retailers look to reduce expenditure on freight and
speed up delivery times.”
While ecommerce businesses have different
location priorities to more traditional retailers,
there are variations in demand within the
ecommerce sector depending on the nature of
the online business.
Grocery distribution centres, for example,
are usually located close to the populations they
serve.However,consumer goods retailers,without
the same constraints, tend to operate from large
national distribution centres. Although these
operators have to consider delivery costs, they
have more flexibility.
“Retailers dealing directly with the public
through ecommerce are looking for large distri-
bution buildings over 500,000 sq ft,” says Andrew
Griffiths, managing director of Prologis UK, a
distribution buildings provider. “There are very
few buildings of this size currently available, but
the main considerations for ecommerce
We are seeing store portfolios
being positioned to cope with
the changing nature of sales
Bryan Lewis, British Land
Change of space
InvestIng In the bestProviding for the long‑term future of our Global customers.
gazeley.com/retail
UK | europe | China | Middle east
32. 32 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com In association with:
TRUSTEDby some of the world’s leading retailers for 25 years.
gazeley.com/retail
UK | Europe | China | Middle East
occupiers are cost and labour availability and they
will look at non-traditional distribution locations
if necessary.Asos,for example,has taken a 530,000
sq ft cross-docked warehouse [in Barnsley].”
He says: “For the pure etailer, they need large
buildings because they have no other stock
holding capacity and they need these facilities
to function as efficiently as possible. They tend
to require a higher loading dock ratio and cross
The main considerations for
ecommerce occupiers are
cost and labour availability
Andrew Griffiths, Prologis UK
London Gateway and the age of the train
If sheds are enjoying a retail renaissance, then so
too is rail distribution as the choice for product
movement. Rail-connected buildings with multi-
modal facilities are available in a limited number of
locations, such as the Daventry International Rail
Freight Terminal (DIRFT) in the East Midlands.
Tesco, which has taken an 840,000 sq ft rail-
connected warehouse at DIRFT, estimates that,
when fully operational, the facility will handle up
to eight trains a day, taking almost 100,000 lorry
journeys off the road annually.
Recently, logistics space developer Gazeley was
given the go-ahead for its first rail-connected UK
mega-shed along with Harworth Estates for an
850,000 sq ft rail-connected shed at G Park Ashby-
de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The site was previously
used for the distribution of coal from local surface
mines and is in a prime East Midlands location.
But the potential catalyst for greater change is
DP World’s £1.5bn London Gateway development,
which involves a new port built in the Thames using
reclaimed land. The port, which is scheduled to open
in the final quarter of 2013, will become one of the
world’s most advanced deep-water container ports
allowing the biggest ships to import directly to the
UK, instead of via rival European cities.
Alongside the port there is planning consent for
one of the UK’s largest logistics parks, which will
include 9.3 million sq ft of rail-connected sheds,
and Britain’s largest privately owned freight and
logistics company, Uniserve, is in advanced talks to
take a 1 million sq ft shed. Marks Spencer is also
considering a 1 million sq ft shed at the site, while
Tesco has looked at the location for a potential
rail-connected mega-shed. But the park is not only
about large occupiers, several multi-let sheds of up
to 500,000 sq ft are to be located there as well.
distribution operations into fewer, larger regional
hubs to increase efficiency. Marks Spencer, for
example, has taken a 1.1 million sq ft distribution
centre at Prologis Park Bradford to service its
stores in the North.
It seems that, while there is plenty of supply,
much of it is not what retailers are looking for or is
it in the right location. Andrew Schofield, director
of research, property at Henderson Global Inves-
tors, says: “E-fulfilment is increasing the demand
for edge-of-town sites, while proximity to the
stores’ portfolios remains more important for
national distribution centres. We’re also seeing
distribution become more port-centric.”
Schofield believes that after 12 months
dominated by food retail demand, the advent of
more bespoke sheds and greater investment in the
picking and sorting technology within them will
mean the landscape changes over the next few
years, especially as some premises can be picked
up at a very low per sq ft rate.“Non-food retailers
have been relatively quiet when it comes to the
mega-sheds but there are signs that this is
changing,” he says. “There is no doubt that logis-
tics is becoming more and more important.” ■
Rail distribution
is becoming a
favoured choice
Requirements for
distribution centre
space are changing
LEFT The proposed
London Gateway
port will house one
of the UK’s largest
logistics parks
docks because parcels are smaller and the volume
of reverse logistics is high.”
Retailers are also starting to consider delivering
goods directly to the customer rather than
through Royal Mail and are, therefore, looking for
parcel hubs between 50,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft
located close to urban centres, usually highly
bespoke with doors on all four sides.
In contrast, retailers are consolidating their
GETTY
33. M6
M5
M1
A1
M1
M40
M25
1
3
2
5
4
6
9
8
10
11
1213
14
1516
17
18
7
Current UK Portfolio:
Gazeley, a global developer of
logistics warehouses
For the latest portfolio news
search online at gazeley.com
The North 1 G.Park Skelmersdale
UP
TO
738,000 ft2
68,563 m2
2 G.Park Liverpool
UP
TO
450,000 ft2
41,806 m2
3 G.Park Doncaster
UP
TO
1.5m ft2
139,355 m2
4 G.Park Newark
UP
TO
768,000 ft2
71,410 m2
5 G.Park Stoke
UP
TO
462,000 ft2
42,921 m2
The Midlands 6 G.Park Ashby-de-la-Zouch
UP
TO
850,000 ft2
78,967 m2
7 G.Park Blue Planet
TO
LET
383,000 ft2
35,595 m2
8 G.Park Tamworth
UP
TO
83,000 ft2
7,711 m2
9
Plot 2110
Magna Park Lutterworth
UP
TO
104,000 ft2
9,662 m2
10 G. Park Crick
UP
TO
1.1m ft2
102,193 m2
The South 11 G.Park Bedford
UP
TO
260,000 ft2
24,155 m2
12 G.Park Biggleswade
UP
TO
538,000 ft2
49,982 m2
13 Magna Park Milton Keynes
UP
TO
4.4m ft2
409,000 m2
14 G.Park Enfield
UP
TO
120,000 ft2
11,148 m2
15 G.Park Sittingbourne
UP
TO
779,000 ft2
72,370 m2
16 G.Park Newbury
UP
TO
145,000 ft2
13,470 m2
17 G.Park Swindon
UP
TO
572,644 ft2
53,200 m2
18
G.Park Western Approach,
Bristol
UP
TO
349,000 ft2
32,423 m2
gazeley.com/retail
UK | Europe | China | Middle East
34. Richard Sullivan
RSullivan@savills.com
Robert Cleeves
RCleeves@savills.com
Charles Binks
charles.binks@knightfrank.com
Russell Crofts
russell.crofts@knightfrank.com
Misrepresentation Act 1967: The particulars are not to be considered a formal offer; they are for information only and give a general idea of the property. They are not to be taken
as forming part of a resulting contract nor be relied upon as statements or representations of fact. Whilst every care is taken in their preparation no liability can be accepted for
their accuracy. Intending purchasers must satisfy themselves by personal inspection or otherwise as to the correctness of these particulars which are issued on the understanding
that all negotiations are conducted through, Savills and Knight Frank. May 2012.
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37. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 37
View the digital edition online at
www.retail-week.com/property
RetailWeek
PROPERTY
A new generation of shopping
centre is emerging, with food and
leisure at its heart. But while the
extra footfall this brings is always
welcome, Ben Cooper asks if it
is all good news for retailers?
At your leisure
D
ance schools, roller discos and craft
fairs aren’t the first things that come
to mind when you picture the
typical shopping centre experience.
But the retail property development game has
changed. Initiatives like these, at Bluewater’s
new experiential events venue, are a sign of the
lengths developers are going to now to attract
and retain consumers.
“For the industry as a whole, there has to be
a far greater awareness that shopping and leisure
are fundamentally linked,”says Nigel Gillingham,
directoratretailagencyBruceGillinghamPollard.
“The bad old days of developers appearing to be
tacking on a leisure offer in locations where they
can’t let shops, and sometimes more of an after-
thought, have to be consigned to history.”
Necessity is the mother of invention, and
it’s the new threats to shopping centres and
retail parks that have bred the latest trends.
The internet has cut out the need for people to
even leave their homes to shop. Combined with
the poor consumer spend of the last few years,
retailers are revising their property acquisition
programmes accordingly.
But people do still like to shop, and socialise.
Even if they don’t plan to splash out as much as
they would have four years ago.
“Despite its popularity, the internet is not a
leisure experience,” says Tesco head of leasing
and investment management Jane McFarland.
“People still enjoy spending quality time relaxing
with friends and enjoying the little free time they
have to socialise.
“We expect developers to be increasingly
focusedoncreatinganenvironmentthatsupports
and facilitates this consumer need and to recog-
nise that a strong leisure offer is key to this.”
So what can be done to make developers’
centres – and retailers’ stores – the place to be?
Matthew Allen, principal of investment and
asset management company Addington Capital,
which is about to carry out a major cinema and
leisure-driven refurbishment of the Harvey
Centre in Harlow, explains how important a
move like this is, especially in the less heavily
populated areas.
He says: “A sub-regional town centre without
a strong leisure or heritage offer will have
shorter trading hours and most likely appeal to a
narrower socio-economic consumer group.
“The key anchor is a cinema because national
casual dining restaurants need evening trade to
be viable which, in turn, needs adjacency to a
multiplex cinema.
“On the back of a cinema and restaurant
cluster there is potential to build related
There has to be a far greater
awareness that shopping and
leisure are fundamentally linked
Nigel Gillingham, Bruce Gillingham Pollard
The Wavehouse,
shown here, at the
Gateway shopping
mall in Durban,
South Africa could
open in the UK
In association with:
38. 38 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
View the digital edition online at
www.retail-week.com/property
RetailWeek
PROPERTY
Westfield Stratford City
Westfield has pushed the boundaries with its
latest UK centre at Stratford City on the site of
London’s Olympic Games. As well as a host of
restaurants, cafes and a 17-screen Vue cinema,
it has some interesting additions in the food and
leisure offer. They are:
■ All Star Lanes Westfield is the first shopping
centre site for the luxury bowling and dining
operator, which opened its largest venue to
date there, finding an ideal home for its food
and leisure combination at Stratford City.
■ Aspers Casino Billed as the UK’s first ‘super-
casino’, Aspers (pictured) is on the third floor at
Westfield Stratford City is open 24 hours a day.
■ Great Eastern Market A homage to a market
of the same name that operated nearby some
100 years ago, the Great Eastern Market
provides space for a cluster of food delis,
luxury food and coffee operators in a quirky
setting in the centre.
leisureusessuchasbowling,swimming,climbing
and extreme sports.”
In 2008, two big schemes opened in the UK,
Liverpool One and Westfield London, and both
had cinemas as their anchors.
The benefits of having a popular non-retail
offering in schemes are huge. The continued
strength of leisure means that empty units are
being taken over by, in particular, food providers.
This means that schemes are generally healthier
and better equipped to prevent shopper leakage.
Tracey Mills, director of development leasing
at leisure property consultancy Davis Coffer
Lyons, says things have moved on so far that
shopping has become a secondary activity for
some, and developers need to keep this in mind.
She says: “It is now necessary to provide the
right, tailored leisure offer for increasing dwell
times in centres at either end and throughout the
day and evening. The leisure facilities within any
centre provide an important part of that experi-
ence, so much so that in some instances it can
be the sole motivation for the visit. For example,
dinner coupled with a cinema visit.”
Citing the examples of Meadowhall and Merry
Hill, Mills says keeping schemes up to date and
investing in non-retail activities is a marked
trend, which has attracted a new type of tenant.
“Operators have been reviewing their acquisi-
tion policy and while some of the more eclectic
a wider leisure offer to include ice skating rinks,
bowling alleys and even bingo, particularly
for larger scale shopping developments where
there is a much wider catchment available.”
Westfield went all out at its latest UK opening
in Stratford City,adding a bowling alley and the
UK’s largest casino into the mix.
At Bluewater, the 55,974 sq ft Glow events
space, completed last year, marked a big step
for the centre, which has had to keep evolving,
particularly since the opening of both Westfield
centres in London.
brands have not considered centres in the past,
their views are changing ,”she adds.“The big devel-
opments deliver huge guaranteed footflow. It may
ebb and flow but it’s normally quite consistent.”
Putting food in shopping centres is hardly
a new phenomenon, although it’s become more
sophisticated recently. But what is emerging
as a genuinely new trend are the more quirky
leisure activities.
Gillingham says: “Developers need to make
leisure more innovative and certainly beyond just
the food and beverage offer. There also needs to be
It is now necessary to provide
the right, tailored leisure offer
for increasing dwell times
Tracey Mills, Davis Coffer Lyons
Hosting events including trade shows,
wedding fairs, BBC Good Food Live and a
one-off experience last winter, Christmas in
New York, has allowed owner Lend Lease to offer
multiple reasons to visit its centre. In the case
of the New York-themed Christmas, more than
35,000 visitors came to see the show.
Lend Lease says it’s also a plus for retailers, not
just for the extra traffic. Sponsorship opportuni-
ties allow tenants in the centre to tie their brands
to various events taking place at Glow.
Bal Nahal, operations manager of John Lewis’
Bluewater store, points out that the dedicated
events and exhibition space at Bluewater
has helped attract new visitors as well as
Bluewater’s
Glow space hosts
events such as
wedding fairs
In association with:
39.
40. 40 RWP | September 2012 | retail-week.com
View the digital edition online at
www.retail-week.com/property
RetailWeek
PROPERTY
However, figures from the International
Council of Shopping Centres suggest that more
than half of the people brought into a scheme by
a cinema will do some shopping too.
McFarland believes there are tangible benefits
to retailers in a successful food and leisure
strategy, particularly in town because of the
complex symbiotic relationship that exists
between shopping and the wider community.
Using the example of the New Square
scheme extension in West Bromwich, which
Tesco is anchoring and funding development
work on, she explains:“The centre will effectively
create a new leisure quarter in West Bromwich
and will include a cinema, restaurants and
cafes, all the elements needed to increase
dwell time and encourage shoppers to return.
“New Square will also be an extension of The
Public, a community and cultural space located
beside the scheme. Developers must recognise
that feeding into the existing leisure facilities of a
town, as we have done in West Bromwich, is vital
for a retail development’s success.”
To look at the shopping centres of even 10
years ago compared with present – and future
– designs is a reminder of how far things have
come. Thomas Rose, associate for leisure and
restaurants at Cushman Wakefield, says the die
is now set in terms of how the future will look,
and a half-way house just won’t do.
“We have seen many proposed schemes where
leisure is viewed as secondary to the retail units
and going forward this just won’t work,” he says.
“Restaurants must form a key component within
schemes, not be an afterthought or add-on.
Without footfall retail tills aren’t ringing and
by adding leisure and restaurants landlords are
seeing footfall retention or even growth.”
With the need to innovate now greater than
ever, the next decade in retail property is going
to be one of the most interesting periods of
all. A new type of shopping, and a new type of
shopping space, is emerging. ■
Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), owner of
Braehead Shopping Centre in Glasgow, has
revealed its intention to submit a planning appli-
cation to build new facilities. It is the first step
of a £200m investment at the mall. There are
also plans for a new arena for ice and dry sports
events, concerts, exhibitions and conferences, as
well as a hotel, cafes, restaurants and a new civic
square. According to Mike Butterworth, chief
operating officer of CSC, “innovation is key to
providing entertainment”.
British Land’s Whiteley Shopping Centre, due
to open in Hampshire in May 2013, comprises
320,000 sq ft with Tesco and Marks Spencer
confirmed as anchors. Smaller units on the
outside will be available to independent local
retailers around a market square area.
The London Designer Outlet, next to
Wembley Stadium and Arena and being
developed by Quintain, will include a nine-screen
cinema and 15 bars and restaurants. Part of the
centre is integrated into the new four-star Hilton
hotel on the site. Phil Cottingham, managing
director of Quintain Estates Development,
believes a strong leisure offer is crucial in maxim-
ising potential capital spend at shopping centres.
Beyond food and drink
Ambitious leisure
schemes in
shopping centres
include the arena at
Braehead Shopping
Centre in Glasgow
(top) and The Circle
360 champagne
bar at Manchester’s
Trafford Centre
(left)
Restaurants must form a key
component within schemes,
not be an afterthought
Thomas Rose, Cushman Wakefield
providing regular customers with more reasons
to return.“John Lewis Bluewater has participated
in a number of events and exhibitions, which
have proved useful to our business,”he adds.
There are many examples of ambitious,
new concepts emerging in the UK, such as the
Legoland Discovery Centre at the Trafford
Centre. Wavehouse, an indoor surfing experi-
ence, has also arrived in the UK and could
open in shopping centres soon – in Durban,
South Africa, for example, shoppers can visit
Wavehouse at the Gateway shopping mall.
Hammerson portfolio director Martin Plocica
believes that every new build is going to have
leisure at its core. “The prominence of catering
and leisure within schemes will continue and
will be clearly tailored and targeted for the
individual catchments,” he says. “What works
in Brent Cross doesn’t necessarily work for a
Union Square shopper. The leisure element will
go beyond catering and will focus more on offers
that provide consumers with an experience.”
Nobody would deny that bringing people
in and keeping them in a centre is good for a
retailer’s business, but only if they actually shop.
Dwell time and centre loyalty are great, but they
are conceptual ideas.
In association with:
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it is already making its mark. Established in 2009 by café entrepreneur,
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London. There will be 32 stores by Christmas!
Its success comes from attention to detail, superb customer service and,
above all, a vibrant brand which delivers customers expectations of great
coffee and a range of quality, good value, freshly made food.
Love Coffee is in a position to expand rapidly and is keen to discuss
new sites with shopping centre operators, developers and landlords.
Love Coffee is run by a family team with over 20 years of experience
in running food focused coffee cafes in prestige centres. Growth is
not dependent on outside investors.
The brand is young, fresh and hungry for success!
Going places fast!
If you have a great location please contact Harper Dennis Hobbs on 0207 462 9100 or visit www.lovemycoffee.co.uk
42. www.foundationrecruitment.co.uk
Manchester * 0161 638 8740
London * 020 7484 5086
info@foundationrecruitment.co.uk
Follow @foundationrec Foundation Recruitment
* General Practice Surveying
* Shopping Centre Management
* Facilities Management
* Retail Leisure Estates
* Property Retail Marketing
THE onE SToP
SHoP FoR
RETaiL ESTaTES
RECRuiTMEnT
How well does your retail
property management
software measure up?
Meet us at the BCSC, Stand H8, to find out
how our integrated technology can be tailored
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From site selection, to projects, to lease
admin turnover rent, to maintenance,
to sales analysis, the Manhattan suite has the
entire retail property lifecycle covered.
Arrange a meeting
To pre-arrange a meeting with our team,
please contact us on +44 (0)20 7269 8500
or info-uk@manhattansoftware.com
BCSC | Stand H8
BCSC Diploma in Shopping
Centre management
Designed in partnership with the British Council of Shopping
Centres and widely recognised by leading employers in the UK and
internationally, this newly updated course has been specifically
designed for those ready to take the next step in their career
development within the retail industry.
Why study this course?
• improve the management of shopping centres for the benefit
of customers, retailers and owners
• Develop business skills and gain a wider understanding of
shopping centre management
• Build on personal and practical experience in the workplace
• Benefit from on-site presentations and tours of leading UK
shopping centres and a broad range of innovative online
learning activities
To further your career call 0800 019 9697, email
courses@cem.ac.uk or visit our website.
Follow us on Twitter @CEM1919
43. retail-week.com | September 2012 | RWP 43
Events and highlights from this year’s BCSC conference and exhibition at ACC Liverpool
Embracing retail
property at BCSC
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10
09.00 - 16.00 Golf competition
10.30 - 14.45 Study tour to Liverpool One and Forever 21 retail unit
12.00 - 20.00 Registration and exhibition open, Liverpool ACC
14.30 - 15.30 Concurrent seminars, Liverpool ACC
Demolition – the new leasing strategy?
With vacancy rates rising and retailers more demanding about the space
they acquire, this session explores whether some locations will have to be
demolished to facilitate provision of the modern formats to allow occupancy.
Utilisation of retail floor space
Proactive use of floor space does not stop at shop fronts and involves
a lot more than ‘routine’ commercialisation. The panel discusses the
most effective and creative ideas for the best use of space.
Fit out or switch off? Low carbon futures – behaviours
or technologies?
It is estimated that there are 820 shopping centres with 140 million sq ft
of lettable area in the UK, with 500,000 car spaces. The seminar looks
at ways to reduce energy consumption through sensible shop fit-outs and
better local behaviour.
16.00 - 17.00 Concurrent seminars, Liverpool ACC
All is not lost – retail-led regeneration is alive
This year sees the lowest level of new retail development being delivered for
decades. Using Guildford as an illustrative example of positive development,
the session shares a public sector, investor and retail perspective on what
the future holds for retail-led regeneration.
Multichannel retailing – where are we heading?
The panellists explore the challenges multichannel retailing presents and
their implications for future demand for floor space.
Debt, deleveraging and new lending – the biggest threat we now face?
The session examines the lending intentions of some of the major banks and
lenders to the retail property market, and what those mean for the sector.
Supermarkets – the must-have anchor tenant
Supermarkets have always played an important role in the success of a
shopping centre. The panel explores whether they are in fact indispensable
18.00 - 20.00 Opening show party, Liverpool ACC
In association with:
ACC Liverpool adjoins
the Echo Arena
making it suitable
for large events
