Researching trends at Mapic last week Adroit-e encountered issues in Shopping Mall and Retailer developments which could impact heavily on the UK High St. Briefly, consensus seemed to have been reached on twin areas of investment for Global brands. The first was in Flagship stores, which augurs will for all towns and cities recognised as major shopping destinations. The second was internet development, where tantalising yet user friendly, heavy trading websites were a sine qua non for all major brands.
So where does that leave the UK High St St Albans , or will they concentrate building 10 flagships in key destinations and rely on the internet to cope with the rest of sales. If the impact of that tactic is to raise the premium on properties in the choice city centres and retail Malls, equally and oppositely will it have a negative impact outside these select retail centres? This week’s gloomy news for Thomas Cook and the decreasing Lloyds branch outlets, together with the increasing numbers of competing charity shops increases the pressure. Is the change a sign of the times and inevitable? How are the Planners to respond?
