Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
with two types of retail locations that are providing the key for survival of High Street," said James Brown, head of European retail research at Jones Lang LaSalle. "One type provides a really convenient location — it competes with online because it's truly convenient, has the products you need [and] is safe and easily accessible. The other type is the one that provides a 'wow' experience: It goes beyond the traditional shopping experience and provides something a bit more fulfilling. And those are both options which the High Street can fulfill." It is true that out-of-town retail has mushroomed in Britain, removing the need for some consumers to battle traffic to go to the city center. And a strengthening e-commerce sector has hardly helped. But not even this has doomed the High Street. "There have been lots of well-reported business failures in the last few years which have had a lasting impact on High Streets across 174 SCT / m a y 2 0 1 3 the U.K.," said Peter Gold, executive director of cross-border retail at CBRE. "But it's a global phenomenon, and there's still a core demand for the High Streets of the U.K. If you walk up and down Oxford Street or the key cities of the U.K., you won't see a lot of vacancies. But if you get into the secondary and tertiary markets, that situation can be quite different." Some U.K. bodies are attempting to return the High Street to an even keel. The British government commissioned retail guru Mary Portas in 2011 to provide proposals to revitalize the High Street. Along with such recommendations as free parking, reduced taxes for small shops and revisions to rental structures, Portas lowered expectations by stating that in the future, the U.K. would need fewer shops. Prime Minister David Cameron authorized a $15 million High Street Innovation Fund last year to test Portas' ideas in pilot towns where the High Streets were most severely affected. Some cities are taking on the battle themselves. In the northern city of Leeds, Land Securities in March opened Trinity Leeds, a 120-store shopping center, right in the middle of the city. With its futuristic glass roof, public artworks, a cinema and upscale restaurants, it is one of Europe's biggest shopping centers and the only one slated to open in the U.K. this year. Other municipalities are focusing on leisure and catering to attract consumers after hours, according to Martin Blackwell, CEO of the Association of Town Center Management, which represents some 700 U.K. localities, and which he says was formed to "stave off the erosion of High Streets" with innovative thinking and planning. "Nighttime economy is a key," Blackwell said. "We recognize that while shopping is important, it was never the whole story about town cen-