Posted by: FSPRetail , 20 May 2013
Last week Estates Gazette, in association with BCSC, held the 2013 Retail Summit.
The main focus of the conference was: read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, E-TAILING, FUTURE OF RETAILING, EMPTY SHOPS, THE HIGH STREET, OUT OF TOWN
Posted by: FSPRetail , 02 May 2013
On Tuesday FSP attended the second Completely Retail Marketplace in Spitalfields, East London - an event that is quickly establishing itself as one of the key dates in the retail and property calendar. With attendees including a mix of landlords, agents and retailers, it provided an excellent opportunity for FSP to share its independent insight and discuss its range of support and services. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, EVENTS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 26 February 2013
A member of the FSP team recently visited Poland and noted that the Polish market for retail space is still booming, with new premises being built and existing ones being expanded and modernised.
Global Brands Entering Poland
Poland is still an attractive market for international shopping chains. Strong purchasing power attracts retailers for expansion: several new chains have recently entered Poland, including; read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, EUROPE, SHOPPING CENTRES
Posted by: FSPRetail , 20 December 2012
SnapShop members follow their favourite retailers. In 2012 the most clicked news items from our SnapShop Alerts were: read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, CHRISTMAS SALES REPORT
Posted by: FSPRetail , 19 July 2012
Retail is detail. This well-established principal is as true as ever in the new retailing landscape. Technology, competition and changing consumer preferences have changed the market but the impact varies from place to place. This does not lend itself to good newspaper copy, so we get scare stories that are poor guides to policy and action. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, EMPTY SHOPS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 06 July 2012
Last month saw the 10th international ECE Retail Meeting in Hamburg where retailers of the year were honoured with the “Retailer Award 2012”. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 05 July 2012
At the recent BRC International Retailing Conference in London, Esprit Vice President Alex Cara announced the re-opening of their flagship store on London’s Regent Street. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 28 June 2012
I've just read the latest 'gloomy news' on the state of Swansea City Centre, from the BBC and promoted by Local Data Company. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 21 June 2012
“How do people choose where to shop?” Knowing the answer is particularly relevant to the Portas Pilot towns, as they start to think how best to spend their £100,000. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 07 June 2012
Oxford attracts nearly 9 million annual tourist visitors. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 24 May 2012
The recent bearish Retail Outlook published by stockbroker Seymour Pierce identifies short term and on-going factors that, in their view, are shaping the current retail outlook. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 May 2012
Can M&S be both a global and a UK domestic retailer? Their recent results suggest that once again M&S is trying to make the transition but even with the growth of multi-channel retailing, it is a daunting challenge. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 14 May 2012
I might do a little bit of flag waving when the England team plays, and maybe a little bit of jumping up and down (at least metaphorically, if not physically) when the England team score a goal, but beyond that my interest in football is negligible on any scale. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, SNAPSHOP
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 April 2012
Has the role of shops and the way they are run been fundamentally changed by internet shopping, smart phones and social media? The answer determines the appropriate retail asset management response to historically high vacancy rates. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 27 March 2012
The BNP Paribas Real Estate retailer risk index for 2012 has used the BIS Wealth Creation Index to calculate retailer financial health. The retailer risk for individual fascia was then aggregated to give a risk score for locations. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 08 March 2012
What’s New?
Retail Pulse now contains information on the month’s Retailer Births and Deaths. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, RETAIL PULSE, ADMINISTRATIONS
Posted by: Hpratley , 13 February 2012
The Local Data Company (LDC) has said the number of empty shops on UK High Streets is set to rise in 2012. The increase is expected to happen due to weak consumer confidence, rising unemployment and growing online sales. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING, EMPTY SHOPS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 26 January 2012
The economic outlook is not encouraging. Don Williams, BDO Head of Retail and Wholesale, was far from pessimistic at the Predicting 2012 seminar but suggested 2012 retail sales growth would only be 2.5% by value and 0.7% by volume. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 06 January 2012
Once again FSP brings you an early insight into the UK Retail industry over the Christmas period. The first Christmas Sales Report is available here. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, CHRISTMAS SALES REPORT
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 December 2011
It's that time of year again! read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING, CHRISTMAS SALES REPORT
Posted by: FSPRetail , 15 December 2011
Christmas reminds us of the human need for hope. In the depths of winter, our ancestors needed to know that new life would come. We are not fundamentally different. As evidence, the current ads from Coca Cola, “Holidays are Coming”, and John Lewis have been singled out in research as powerfully and positively evoking traditional values of hope. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, FACTORY OUTLET CENTRES
Posted by: Hpratley , 07 December 2011
It is gloomy news for retail and the high street at the moment, with news that customers are not and will not be spending as much as last year. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING, CHRISTMAS SALES REPORT
Posted by: FSPRetail , 25 November 2011
In the wake of a 38% fall in annual profits and a 4.4% drop in like-for-like sales in the most recent 12 weeks, Arcadia has announced that it is closing more than half the 450 stores due for lease renewal in the next few years. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 17 November 2011
2011 is the centenary of the publication of The Principles of Scientific Management. The author, Frederick Winslow Taylor, was the first to recognise that measurement is the key to improving the efficiency of repetitive tasks. That insight is still being developed. For example, it is now possible to measure the number of new and repeat customers in a shop, their dwell times and the window conversion rate – all for £125 a month. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 09 November 2011
The demand to understand the future course of UK retailing has grown sharply. A joint FSP and twentyretail research project published in Estates Gazette in 2010 continues to be up-dated and is proving prescient.
The need to know what lies round the corner is driven by unease within the UK retail property market. The fall of DTZ, articles such as Property Week’s “Retail’s Exiled Agents”, unprecedented levels of shop vacancies in some locations and record rents in others, are a few indicators of the dislocation of the UK retail property market. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING, RETAIL PULSE
Posted by: FSPRetail , 28 September 2011
UK retailing is undergoing changes that are structural rather than recession driven. Change creates opportunities as well as threats. Out-dated valuations make it more difficult for existing players than for new entrants to seize the UK retailing opportunities. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, E-TAILING, FUTURE OF RETAILING, BCSC
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 August 2011
Last week Retail Week reported that Waterstone’s new managing director James Daunt will conduct a review of Waterstone’s, after Alexander Mamut took over the book store. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 22 August 2011
FSP Director Jo Hewson, called into HoF today to see the new Mary Portas shop. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 12 August 2011
Following the collapse of TJ Hughes; we bring to you update on store closures and
highli
ghts of the administration read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, EMPTY SHOPS, SNAPSHOP, ADMINISTRATIONS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 28 July 2011
According to recent report by PwC, the number of UK Company insolvencies fell in the second quarter but warned that corporate failures could rise in some sectors as consumer spending remains weak. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, SNAPSHOP
Posted by: FSPRetail , 21 July 2011
The news from Jane Norman, Focus, and the on-going battle for survival at HMV and JJB Sports are reminders that retail administrations are a continuing feature of the UK retail market.
read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 24 June 2011
Surprised to hear today that Argos is to buy Habitat. First response was horror what will cheap and cheerful Argos do to sleek and stylish Habitat?
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 24 June 2011
Is today the day for strange new hook ups? After Argos and Habitat which gave me pause for thought have just read Edinburgh Woollen Mill potential white knight for Jane Norman. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 16 June 2011
Humans are social animals. We thrive only within a web of relationships with other people. This unchanging reality is key to the future of town centres. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 16 June 2011
Tuesday’s edition of the Times carried an article suggesting that town centres which are disproportionately reliant on the ‘squeezed middle’ of consumer lifestyles are ‘trading at the precipice’. Vacancy rates are high in towns which have strong concentrations of Secure Families (home owning families), Settled Suburbia (retired couples and empty nesters) and Post Industrial Families (low grade service workers). Spending growth is expected to lag behind towns with strong concentrations of Prosperous Professionals, Educated Urbanites, Aspiring Singles and Starting Out lifestyles.
Towns such as Bexleyheath, Blackpool and Wigan are identified amongst the places where future performance is under threat, whilst towns such as Edinburgh, Brighton and London’s King’s Road are suggested as places with a more positive future.
Of course, real life is not quite as simple as the article suggests. In recent years for example, ‘low growth’ Wigan has actually risen 14 places in CBRE’s national ranking of shopping destinations. An FSP shopper survey conducted in April 2011 showed that the town is expanding its retail catchment and attracting increasing numbers of wealthier shoppers. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 26 May 2011
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 20 May 2011
As discussed in a previous SnapShop Blog Waterstone’s Vs. Amazon, HMV has sold its Waterstone’s book store to Russian investor Alexander Mamut for a reported £53 million. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 25 March 2011
FSP Director, Jo Hewson visited Gilly Hicks last week - the latest Abercrombie & Fitch fascia to reach the UK.
Below is a review of Abercrombie & Fitches 'Cheeky Cousin'. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 21 March 2011
This week Retail Week reported that Asda chief executive Andy Clarke believes “the future of retail is local, and supermarkets need to be clear about the role they play in local communities.” read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 17 March 2011
The outlook for town centre retailing is much worse, and the required action is more urgent, than is suggested in the BCSC and Lunson Mitchenall report on the Shopping Centre development pipeline. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: Hpratley , 10 March 2011
Positive sales seen at the beginning on 2011 have slowed as retailers saw their worst February sales for nearly a year, according to a report by the BRC. read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 08 March 2011
FSP looks beyond traditional indicators of retail performance to give clients the advice they require.
With government austerity measures gathering momentum, 2011 is likely to be a difficult year for areas with high levels of public sector employment. FSP is often asked by clients how these measures could affect their business. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 01 March 2011
In a recent article in Marketing Week, a report from Deloitte suggested ‘retailers must rethink the purpose of their stores as part of a multi-channel strategy’. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 23 February 2011
Response to the Financial Times article Asda warns over consumer confidence : It is one thing to reference the Gfk index of Consumer Confidence, as does SnapShop each month, or for Asda to calculate the spending power of the average family, apparently down £9 a week in January 2011 compared to 12 months previous. It is quite another to observe behavioural changes that indicate a loss of consumer confidence. Amongst the changes to which Asda has drawn attention are: read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 18 February 2011
Visiting the first Discount UK outlet, the new fascia from Poundworld, prompted some thoughts about the dynamism of UK retailing. The Discount UK proposition is to offer a wide variety of branded, mostly household, products at discounted prices. There is no great depth within each merchandise category but major brands are on offer. The store environment is bright, well laid-out and tidy. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 10 February 2011
FSP produces an annual analysis of the Christmas sales for the year. Along with Christmas sales reports there has been a lot of news reporting on the sales between Christmas and the end of January. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 18 January 2011
Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser have joined O2’s ‘You are here’ location-based marketing service.
They are both taking part in a pilot location-based ad campaign which enables the retailer to target consumers with special offers. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, E-TAILING, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: Hpratley , 14 January 2011
Comment read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, E-TAILING
Posted by: Hpratley , 13 January 2011
The first FSP Christmas Sales Report for Christmas 2010 was published on 7th January 2011 and will be updated throughout the month. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, E-TAILING
Posted by: Hpratley , 05 January 2011
VAT reached a record high this week as it was raised from 17.5% to 20%.The Government’s aim is to raise £13bn from the increase. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 23 December 2010
Retailers have been hit after the severe weather stopped many shoppers from reaching the High Street on what is usually one of the busiest weekends of the year. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 09 December 2010
When Wham's ‘Last Christmas’ plays in a shop barely half way through November, do you cringe or even leave?
Most shoppers want the calendar to reach December before festive music plays in stores. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 09 December 2010
With recent snow and icy conditions keeping shoppers at home, the freezing weather has affected high street sales with a reduction on footfall and sales.
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 01 December 2010
Did you know that…21% of Irish mothers plan to spend most of their Christmas budget in Smyth’s toy stores? This may not be too surprising, but the Eumom survey also shows that Tesco is the second highest ranked store in this regard, with 13% of Irish mothers saying that Tesco will account for the bulk of their overall seasonal spend.
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: Hpratley , 09 November 2010
The rate of retailers going into administration has slowed significantly.
As shown in the below graph, new retailers have dropped significantly since July, however companies going into administration remains low.
read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: HRoberts , 11 October 2010
Gap, the stalwart American casualwear retailer which has been around since 1969 (you might have noticed that), has upset everyone (yes, everyone) the other side of the pond. How? Well, they had the temerity to change their logo and suddenly, without telling anyone, there it was on www.gap.com. Boy, are they upset! Not just the customers (it must be like your mum having a facelift!), but the design firms (they presumably weren't asked to devote their huge talent to coming up with something "more contemporary and current [which] honors (sic) our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward"), and, of course, the bloggers and anyone with a Facebook account. After all, until Mrs Kutcher is up, there's very little to comment on. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 03 August 2010
Previous editions of Retail Pulse have dealt with identifying Corporate Risk (occupiers in poor financial health who may go into administration) and Trading Risk (occupiers who cannot afford to pay the passing rent). FSP studies identify that the combination of these issues typically puts about 35% of current rental income at risk in shopping centres adding to the threat to future income growth and asset values from historically high rates of vacancy. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 07 July 2010
With schemes in the hands of administrators, debt driven ‘fire sales’, the high cost of filling voids, continuing deterioration in the financial health of occupiers and worries about the future of the UK economy, beleaguered investors can be forgiven for feeling unenthusiastic about retail property. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 09 June 2010
With schemes in the hands of administrators, debt driven ‘fire sales’, the high cost of filling voids, continuing deterioration in the financial health of occupiers and worries about the future of the UK economy, beleaguered investors can be forgiven for feeling unenthusiastic about retail property. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 02 December 2009
We at FSP endeavour to identify the registered company behind all the lovely retailers we feature on SnapShop (our online retail intelligence service). Piece of cake you might think. One fascia, one retailer, one name, one company. If only!! read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 27 July 2009
There have been several hysteria-inducing reports released in the press over the last few weeks. About certain high streets being at risk of demise, sales feeling the pinch because of swine flu (!!) and discounting reaching dangerous levels. Most of this is old news and the rest hyperbole, so a bit of real perspective should be applied to make sense of it all. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 06 July 2009
I note today that SockShop is heading back out of the ether with a physical store in Manchester Airport. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 16 June 2009
I see David Wild has noted that “Reserve & Collect success drives 90% growth in multi-channel revenue” when announcing the Halfords preliminary results last week. What he means is that Halfords are making a killing out of people who can’t be bothered to go and look around the shop, or, more likely, are savvy enough to know that time spent in a fruitless search around the shop is time lost from more worthwhile pursuits. Halfords have tapped into the very sound idea that people can surf for their goods from the comfort of their own home, then pop in to collect when they’re out and about anyway. This saves on the delivery charge for the customer, but has the benefit that these customers are brought into the store anyway, offering Halfords the opportunity to persuade them to part with more cash whilst they’re there. Looks like a win:win to me. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS, FUTURE OF RETAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 05 June 2009
When Morrisons gobbled up Safeway, many of us southerners were a little concerned that the philosophy might not fit down here. I’m not sure how much the philosophy has changed, and how much we’ve been crunched by the lack of credit and are therefore willing to revise our shopping habits, but Morrisons is one of the few just now who are recording increases in their sales. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 20 May 2009
Lots of birthdays going on at the moment – or should I say birth-years - as many retailers seem to be celebrating the fact that they’ve been around for significantly more than the average person (even the cosseted and therefore presumably well-preserved MPs!) read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 13 May 2009
The normal categorisation of shoppers, their attitudes, behaviours and lifestages, does not easily apply to supermarket shopping. Shopping can be a social activity, a means to an end and at times, just a chore. The weekly shop falls into the last category and the supermarkets have their work cut out persuading us to frequent their premises. If we didn’t really have to eat, we surely wouldn’t bother trudging round aisles of food? read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 24 February 2009
Last month, in SnapShop Monthly, I talked about those retailers whose financial health was Very Worrying, leading to whole centres being At Risk. With a wealth of retailer information at our fingertips, much of it available to SnapShop Members, we have now looked at the converse and produced FSP's list of Hot 100 retailers. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 13 October 2008
How do you know if a retailer is going to fit into your shopping centre? Is it going to bring in the type of shopper you want? Will it fit in with your other tenants? FSP has been working to improve its retailer classification in order to answer just these type of questions. We know retailers, and the increased number of categories we now use to define their price position and their predominant customer group means that we can easily identify the right retailers for you. This can be further enhanced when added to the powerful tools we use to classify shopper populations, to ensure a match between the potential customers in your high street and the shops they most want to visit. Contact us to find out more about our research methodology, and have a look at our online database SnapShop to get a view of the type of classifications we use. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS
Posted by: FSPRetail , 18 September 2008
The performance of the UK economy has been sound throughout the first half of 2008. Why therefore has the reported performance of so many retailers been poor? If they have done badly when the economy was good, what will happen when, as expected, the economy turns down? read more…
Tags: GEOFF'S VIEW, RETAILERS, E-TAILING
Posted by: FSPRetail , 19 August 2008
FSP Managing Director Geoff Nicholson graced the airwaves yet again with another appearance on BBC Radio 4 yesterday morning. read more…
Tags: RETAILERS