Occupancy rates continue to improve and retail sales reach an inflection point.
To view the full report, please click here.
Bannon’s latest monthly Retail Pulse has now gone live. In this publication Neil Bannon shares some insights into the ongoing decline of online fast fashion retailers and Darren Peavoy focuses on the rebound in footfall levels which has been seen in Dublin City Centre.
To view the full report, please click here.
It is our pleasure to welcome Penneys to The Square Tallaght today. The addition of Penneys is a milestone moment in the history of the Centre.
In the past number of months, we have welcomed a number of new occupiers to the Centre, including a new state of the art cinema. The Penneys opening is another significant investment into the Centre and we wish them every success.
Congratulations to our Bannon team, asset managers Sigma Retail Partners, facilities consultants Evia – Sustainable Facility Services, the centre management team at The Square Tallaght and all who have contributed towards the project.
What is a Community Shopping Centre?
Community Shopping Centres are characterised by a large supermarket anchor usually occupying over 50% of the scheme’s floor area. The balance of occupiers is typically complimentary or ancillary to the grocery offer, providing daily and weekly convenience needs to serve the local catchment such as butcher, pharmacy, coffee shop etc. These offers typically include local services, food & beverage, and high-frequency of purchase, low-cost retail products. While fashion offers may be included, these will generally be dependent on the catchment and competitive environment. Community Shopping Centres do not have the quantum of space compared to larger schemes to support a destination comparison or fashion led retail experience.
How did COVID impact on these centres?
The impact of COVID retail trading restrictions had different effects on footfall levels between shopping centre categories. The prevalence of essential retail uses within Community Shopping Centres meant the impact was relatively minor. Footfall levels stayed at 80% of pre COVID levels in 2019 and turnover, in many cases, increased as physical retail spend was funnelled into essential services and products only. Comparison led schemes by contrast saw a drop of 40% of footfall during the same period. While the dominance of essential retail in Community Shopping Centres served to preserve footfall during trading restrictions, there has been a significant recovery of footfall over the last twelve months. Footfall levels in Community Shopping Centres are now back to 93% of 2019 levels.
How will the increase in the cost-of-living impact these centres?
During periods of recession and high rates of inflation, households still require essential goods and services. An increase in the cost of goods or a decrease in available income will see a larger portion of household expenditure directed towards the purchases of these goods. The net effect is that there is less available spend for want and luxury type goods. As the retail offer in Community Shopping Centres is generally need-focused, these centres are well positioned to perform relatively well and maintain occupier sustainability in difficult market conditions. The reliance on local catchments with short journey times also bodes well for these centres as the increased cost of fuel feeds into decision making for shoppers.
The need-focused nature of many typical Community Shopping Centre occupiers positions this category of centre to hedge against inflationary or recessionary shifts in the retail property market.
Author: George Colyer, Surveyor, Bannon
Date: 14th September 2022
Bannon’s latest monthly Retail Pulse has now gone live. Our focus in this publication is on New Developments, where we identify a number of new retail schemes due for completion in the next 24 months. On our footfall monitor more positive trends feature with High Street footfall, by example, showing a 25% increase year on year.
To view the full report, please click here.
As market leaders, Irish- owned Bannon manages over 75 commercial assets including shopping centres, retail parks and offices with a combined footfall of over 100 million visitors per annum. Given the level of footfall through the assets under our management, we prioritise the safety and efficiency of all plant and equipment. One area that we give significant attention to is vertical transportation equipment.
Vertical transportation refers to different types of equipment used to move building users between different levels of a building. Examples from our portfolio include passenger lifts, goods lifts, escalators, passenger conveyors and disabled access platforms in both retail and office settings.
Due to the essential nature and complexity of vertical transportation systems, Bannon engages TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman as specialist consultants. TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman is Europe’s leading independent lift & escalator consultancy, and they currently support over 18,000 lift units across Europe. Our partnership and collaboration with the firm dates back several years.
The Bannon management portfolio includes over 205 individual vertical transportation units. We utilise 10 different lift contractors to maintain and repair the units on our clients’ behalf. TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman helps us ensure that we are getting best performance and efficiencies from our assets which are serviced by our lift maintenance contractors, thus providing value for money.
TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman offer a full range of services including design, asset management, maintenance management support, condition reporting, project management, witness testing and expert witness.
Within the maintenance management services Tuv Sud review and process statutory inspection reports ensuring completion of all items under the terms of the maintenance contract and obtain quotations for any works that are deemed out of the contact scope.
One of the main roles performed by TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman is completing competitive tenders for maintenance contracts and modernisation or complete replacement of this equipment. In addition to tendering and putting contracts in place, they also manage our maintenance contracts. This includes sign off and review quotations for repair works to the equipment which fall outside the scope of the maintenance contract, process statutory inspection reports ensuring completion of all items under the terms of the maintenance contract.
At Bannon our culture is to provide best-in-class service to our clients and users across our portfolio. We achieve this by collaborating with industry leaders and partners such as TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman to provide service delivery levels that will ensure quality, compliance, cost awareness and safety to our lift users.
Author: William Lambe, Divisional Director, Bannon
Date: 23rd August 2022
Congratulations to Techstar in Castlewest Shopping Centre, Ballincollig, Cork on making the list of the top 100 friendliest stores to visit in 2022 awarded by Retail Excellence Ireland and now move on to the National Awards to be held in the Galmont Hotel Galway on the 12th November.
Great to have one of our new occupiers achieve this.
To view the list, please click here.
Bannon is delighted to welcome Babydoll Vintage Clothing to Stephens Green Shopping Centre.
We wish the team the very best of luck with the opening.
Another fantastic addition to the Tenant mix at Marshes Shopping Centre diversifying and complementing the existing offer.
Best of luck Thérapie Clinic.
