Out-of-town shopping is set to boom over the next five years, according to retail analyst Verdict.
The Verdict on out-of-town retailing 2002 report says that while retail sales growth in the high street and shopping centre market will be 13.2% over the next five years, out-of-town growth will be more than twice as high at 32.2%.
Landlords who can make a case for developing schemes on brownfield sites will be able to take advantage of the growing market, said Verdict, but they will have to cater for changing consumer needs.
Analyst Sally Bain said: “This dramatic level of outperformance illustrates a market developing beyond the primitive shed selling bulky items in very functional environments to one in which genuine added value is an increasing prerequisite of success.
“In order to compete successfully with the latest town centre developments, landlords will need to pay increasing attention to the mix of tenants on retail parks.”
Bain added that this applied particularly to fashion parks. “Fashion park managers will have to be mindful of segmenting out-of-town parks by setting rents on fashion parks at a level which drives out lower-margin, bulky goods operators to other locations,” Bain added.
Verdict estimates that there is 2.9m sq ft (269,410 sq m) new-built space on the market, and 6.1m sq ft (566,690 sq m) of second-hand retail warehouse space.
EGi News 08/01/02
