ECONOMIC PROFILE RETAIL BUSINESS

Economic Profile: Retail Business



Economic Profile: Retail Business

Introduction

This report focuses upon background factors of a political, economic, social or technological nature, which strategically affect the growth of retail developments, and forecasts likely market outcomes over the coming years. This paper also discusses how the economy affects the retail business.

The report draws strongly from original sources. Firstly, unique field research has been commissioned through a customised NOP survey which highlights specific consumer shopping trends in the type of outlets under review. Secondly, a separate questionnaire was sent to shopping centre managers or owners of retail parks and the results of this survey have been contrasted with those of the consumer poll to note similarities and differences in response.

Definitions

This report concentrates upon town centres and out-of-town developments. These can be categorised as follows:

Town Centres

shopping centres

other shops (not covered within the scope of this report).

Out-Of-Town Developments

shopping centres

retail warehouse parks

factory outlets.

The following definitions (predominantly from retail analysts CB Hillier Parker) of the scale and size of shopping centres have been used to provide consistency throughout the report.

Shifts and Price Elasticity

Containing at least 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres) gross lettable retail area (the area for which tenants pay rent), built, let and managed as a single entity, comprising three or more retail units and including a purpose-built pedestrian area outside or (joint) car parking facilities.

Many developments are built in stages over a period of years, and should the stages be parts of a scheme designed as an entity, then they are incorporated into the total floor area.

Examples of shopping centres are the Oracle in Reading and Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow.

Out-Of-Town

If a development does not form part of an existing shopping facility in a town centre or a traditional suburban shopping area, it is classified as out-of-town. Examples of this type of outlet are the Metro Centre in Gateshead and the Bluewater Centre in Kent. Within the out-of-town sector, there are a number of size criteria to be aware of:

District Centres

A district centre is a separate shopping area within major existing shopping areas, with a total gross retail sales area of between 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres) and 300,000 square feet (27,871 square metres), with at least one supermarket of some 20,000 square feet (1,858 square metres) gross sales area.

Regional Centres

A regional centre is a separate shopping area with a total gross retail sales area of more than 500,000 square feet, with a covered mall and a broad range of clothing and comparison goods.

Retail Warehouse Park

The retail park will comprise at least 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres) of gross lettable retail area, sited outside the town centre, built as an entity and with at least three single-storey units of not less than 10,000 square feet gross, with common parking. The typical retail park would contain DIY stores, electrical and furniture outlets, carpet retailers and grocery supermarkets.

Factory Outlets

These outlets sell manufacturers' branded merchandise at significant discounts and are widely spread throughout the country. Many sites may indeed be over 50,000 square feet ...