• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Daily Business Magazine

A magazine complement to the Daily Business website

  • Life, Arts & Leisure
    • Creative
    • Festival
      • Festival Reviews
    • Film
    • Food & Drink
    • Stage Shows
    • Life
    • Leisure
      • Rio Recommends – dog walks and cafes
    • Homes
    • Style
    • Travel
  • Opinion
    • Bill Magee
    • Craig Alexander Rattray
    • Karen Harvie
    • Keith Anderson
    • Russell Dalgleish
    • Terry Murden
  • Interviews
  • Notebook
  • Working Life
    • Careers & Management
    • Finance and legal
    • Technology
      • Tech Talk
    • Well Being
  • Daily Business News
    • All Content

High streets will adapt to squeeze on retailers

July 25, 2018 by Paul Jennings Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that high street occupiers have not had their troubles to seek over the last few years, resulting in both shops and leisure operators closing, and in some cases being replaced by units in shopping malls and retails parks.

It’s also reasonable to conclude that the increase in online operations, both from established retailers and newcomers, and the low cost environment this brings, have played a part in this displacement.

However, we are now beginning to see those very same chains, in those very same retail parks and shopping malls beginning to feel the squeeze.

Earlier this year we saw the announcement from restaurant chain Prezzo that they would be closing around 100 restaurants, many of which are in shopping centres, with some also located in key city locations. The decision to close these outlets, including those at Glasgow Fort, Silverburn and Pier Place in Edinburgh, was part of a financial restructuring after securing the backing of creditors for a Company Voluntary Arrangement.

Prezzo’s announcement was preceded by similar announcements from Carpetright, the Byron burger chain and Maplin.

The issues on the high street haven’t stopped there unfortunately with the last couple of weeks seeing Gaucho filing for administration and discount operation Poundworld closing its remaining 190 stores with the loss of over 2,000 jobs.

The one thing all of these stories have in common is bricks and mortar, with much of it leased. And given the high profile locations, in most cases the Grade A space taken will not have been cheap, the capex on fit-out not inconsiderable and the length of the lease not short. We need to remember that leases, along with all of the additional costs such as rates and energy bills need to be paid for before any profit can be realised.

The challenges faced by high street occupiers are numerous, with difficult trading conditions caused by the drift away from traditional town centres, the economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and, of course, those low cost online operators. It’s often said on the retail front that you need “bricks to get clicks” but for how long will that remain the case?

In the main, we only tend to see stories about those big failures, the recognisable “high street” names. But it’s not only large corporates who are fighting on numerous fronts. Smaller, independent firms can also find themselves exposed to the same economic headwinds and in many cases they won’t have financial resources to save themselves.

It’s not all doom and gloom thankfully. Major towns and city centres will, as they have always done, adapt and regenerate.

It seems as though for every high street retailer or bank that closes there is a new restaurant or café operator willing to fill the void. That may not always be the case, but for the moment it helps to maintain the sense of place and vibrancy that is essential for any high street.

Paul Jennings, is Head of Commercial Real Estate at Aberdein Considine

This column appears under the terms of the DB Direct service

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Opinion, Working Life Tagged With: Aberdein Considine, high street retail, Paul Jennings

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar



Editor’s Pick

Bill Magee

Bidding in a world of virtual liquid assets

Bill Magee

… [More...] about Bidding in a world of virtual liquid assets

Sir Paul McCartney

Master of pop shows them how it’s done

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Master of pop shows them how it’s done

Wagamama's kitchen

Hospitality still needs a helping hand

Katie Corrigan

… [More...] about Hospitality still needs a helping hand

Neil Clark

Fixing problems with the human touch

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Fixing problems with the human touch

Advertising



Footer

  • All Content
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • WordPress

Copyright © 2022 · Design by jPAD Consulting · Magazine Pro · Genesis Framework

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...