Post Office move….
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Posts
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That was very interesting indeed Carol, but the main point about this move is the PO has entered into a commercial agreement with WH Smiths to house their closed shop / no choice franchise, so no amount of posturing and gnashing of teeth from MP’s or AM’s will make any difference, so don’t please don’t bother, its wearing thin. There is still a main PO in the town – use it or shut up!
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All of the major nationals who would want the bigger units in Henblas Street have masses if data on footfall, socio economic information etc on which to base their shop developments. Using this type of data they are generally able to predict what 80% of the turnover of any shop should be across a 12 month period. They have decamped because the computer statistic show it is cheaper to bail out of the area than to run a loss making business.
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People need to stop using the Council as a battering ram for the down turn in retailing in Wrexham – the rates are only one element of the total problem. Rates will not have sufficient impact to get retailers to change sufficient to meet the social changes that are occurring in society.
[/quote]Agree generally but would add a comment that major national retailers are not always business paragons – they often make enormous errors of judgement, fail to grasp trends or are plain clueless. They often leave worthwhile niches unfilled and lack local knowledge – which is where savvy independents can make a very good living or at least be masters of their own destiny – to a point.
One example could perhaps be Virgin Travel not having a desk in Debenhams Wrexham because commercial gurus judge Wrexham people to be unlikely to travel to USA/Caribbean in sufficient numbers to achieve target – unlike Chester, Manchester and Liverpool.
Possibly Delmar World Travel will disagree with them seeing as they have been trading since 1964.When major nationals up sticks it may not be a reflection on the town – could just be their own demise – eg Phones4u.
Few of us that saw Alunh speaking very well on BBC Wales News the other week making the point that lowering his cost to do business can only help will disagree with him.
Wrexham like many other small market towns is simply still charging too much to do business – regardless of how the money is collected and distributed. The council itself must change their view that town centre retailing is a cash cow.
Wrexham like many other small market towns is simply still charging too much to do business – regardless of how the money is collected and distributed. The council itself must change their view that town centre retailing is a cash cow.Exactly…. Moving slightly off subject, how does Mold continue to attract good stall holders and therefore plenty of people visiting their Wednesday and Saturday markets which benefit the whole town ? compared to Wrexham’s Monday market now, which is shrinking before your eyes.
Is it the car parking 50p in Mold £2 in Wrexham, is it how much Mold charge the stall holders compared to Wrexham something must be wrong in Wrexham somewhere, if there were still a decent Monday market in Wrexham people would still flock to it and would benefit the whole town.
[quote quote=112251]The down turn of Henblas Street rests with two groups — the customers in Wrexham not frequenting the shops and two the retailers not providing what the footfall wanted- if these were aligned the tills would have been ringing and profits made.
All of the major nationals who would want the bigger units in Henblas Street have masses if data on footfall, socio economic information etc on which to base their shop developments. Using this type of data they are generally able to predict what 80% of the turnover of any shop should be across a 12 month period. They have decamped because the computer statistic show it is cheaper to bail out of the area than to run a loss making business.
It is only likely to be independent shops that take over any of these outlets as they work on gut and emotional feeling for an area as they cant afford all of the marketing data the large nationals use.
The next two groupings of shops to close are – phone shops with the industry predicting 30-50% reduction in retail outlets by 2020 and estate agents with 30% reduction due to the increasing use of internet sales and marketing.
New accommodation is necessary and change of foot outlets to ‘meals’ rather than fast food sandwich outlets.
People need to stop using the Council as a battering ram for the down turn in retailing in Wrexham – the rates are only one element of the total problem. Rates will not have sufficient impact to get retailers to change sufficient to meet the social changes that are occurring in society.[/quote]
I don’t agree with this at all Carol. You are talking about shops which chose to move after the introduction of Eagles Meadow and often chose to trade in another part of town. The idea that customers were not frequenting the shops misses the point that when you facilitate a new development in an alternative part of the town, and fill it with attractive multiples, footflow will be reorientated to that area. Because of the post-Eagles Meadow customer flow and because of the inordinately high Rates/Rent costs in this area, shops found it too expensive to trade. You then go on to state that “it is only likely to be independent shops that take over any of these outlets” yet then dismiss the rates element of cost in your explanation of empty shops. Really!! My shop is currently on Bank Street. It is not on the main street because of Rates and only Rates. Have you checked out how much the Rates are on town centre shops? They are crazy. Lastly, no one is blaming the Council for the Rates (which are levied by central governments) or for the macro-trends that are going on UK wide. You are correct that whole categories of shop are disappearing from the main-street. Equally, because of this, it is vital that the Welsh Assembly and local councils do not COMPOUND underlying problems by adding fuel to the flames…….by, for example, encouraging new peripheral developments, by high Car Parking charges, by closing local Markets…
Good
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Wrexham like many other small market towns is simply still charging too much to do business – regardless of how the money is collected and distributed. The council itself must change their view that town centre retailing is a cash cow.Exactly…. Moving slightly off subject, how does Mold continue to attract good stall holders and therefore plenty of people visiting their Wednesday and Saturday markets which benefit the whole town ? compared to Wrexham’s Monday market now, which is shrinking before your eyes.
Is it the car parking 50p in Mold £2 in Wrexham, is it how much Mold charge the stall holders compared to Wrexham something must be wrong in Wrexham somewhere, if there were still a decent Monday market in Wrexham people would still flock to it and would benefit the whole town.
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Precisely
One of the potential elements that contribute to Mold having a thriving market is that the number/choice of retail outlets are smaller than the likes of Wrexham which then leaves a gap in consumer choice that are being filled by the market traders. The layout of Mold with only one central shopping street means the concentration of footfall in one area. This is opposed to Wrexham which is offering retailing in far too big an area for the town footfall leaving very little concentration of potential customers.
Although clearly not feasible due to multiple ownership of retail units in Wrexham but if all shops moved to one/two areas of the town then these could boom– ie Regent Street, Queens Street, Henblas Street and High Street as the main area with the old Hippodrome site becoming a green area for activities and attractions.
It needs to be accepted that the whole town will never be revitalised and the focus needs to be on a smaller retail zone and a move to residential in other parts to boost the potential footfall.Interesting observations Carol…..and you may have a point, if they could be proven.
It is difficult to evaluate why Mold is a thriving Market town and being compact clearly helps. You are also correct that Wrexham is very spaced out for retail…..though I note even more peripheral developments coming on stream. That said, you put forward two very dubious ideas. Firstly, you mention several streets where shops might move to (and the possibility of boom). You also argue that the whole town will “never be revitalized”. The latter argument is not the theme that the Manchester Met came to Wrexham with and neither is it the belief of the Business community. Of course, towns will shed certain types of shop and it may be that multiples will never re-enter the main streets. That said, with the right cost-base and the right type of vision, a town can be reconfigured quite quickly and see local Entrepreneurs in the Arts, Crafts and Niche areas flood back to the main areas of town. The Manchester Met mentioned several US examples where this has occurred and, given that Wrexham is due to demographically grow, there is no reason why our town cannot be positive about change. I also think that it is too easy to bandy around this idea about converting shops to Residential (as a magic wand). My very small shop (on Bank Street) pays over £7000 worth of Rates per annum and is rated at a value of over £14,000. Is it prudent for government to (say) allow the conversion of this to Residential and end up with a Rates charge of about £1000 pa? Why not experiment first and merely drop the Rates so that small businesses can trade at Rates levels that more accurately reflect services provided (that is around residential levels)?
On your observation about shop movement, Carol, can I just say this
Shops will follow their interests. They will open and close by interest. They will not be directed. They will pack. Multiples follow Multiples (which in turn follow foot-flow). Modern Multiples like Car Parking facilities (for customer convenience). They will go peripheral if they can snag a Car park. They will often offer free parking. Independents like to be as near to Multiples as they can. They depend on foot-flow to Multiples. This is the oxygen of the Independent. Independents will also pack. Independents like Markets….good Markets that is. Some Independents (which occupy a certain Niche) are not so dependent and will locate anywhere. They are not the norm. Independents like there to be a Car Park nearby. In all cases the Consumer is King. The Independents in Wrexham have found it hard to be near the Multiples of Wrexham because they have been encouraged to relocate. The Independents of Wrexham have found their Markets run down. The Independents of Wrexham have noted a long period of Car Parking being used as a Cash Cow for the community coffers. The Independents have been left with high Rates and a declining foot-flow.
Wrexham has shed Independents and needs to reinvigorate the Independent sector. This objective should be at the heart of Destination Wrexham and at the heart of any Masterplan. Reinvigoration will not occur by nice words and aspiration……it will all be down to brass-tacks, vision and positivity
[quote quote=112263]On your observation about shop movement, Carol, can I just say this
Shops will follow their interests. They will open and close by interest. They will not be directed. They will pack. Multiples follow Multiples (which in turn follow foot-flow). Modern Multiples like Car Parking facilities (for customer convenience). They will go peripheral if they can snag a Car park. They will often offer free parking. Independents like to be as near to Multiples as they can. They depend on foot-flow to Multiples. This is the oxygen of the Independent. Independents will also pack. Independents like Markets….good Markets that is. Some Independents (which occupy a certain Niche) are not so dependent and will locate anywhere. They are not the norm. Independents like there to be a Car Park nearby. In all cases the Consumer is King. The Independents in Wrexham have found it hard to be near the Multiples of Wrexham because they have been encouraged to relocate. The Independents of Wrexham have found their Markets run down. The Independents of Wrexham have noted a long period of Car Parking being used as a Cash Cow for the community coffers. The Independents have been left with high Rates and a declining foot-flow.
Wrexham has shed Independents and needs to reinvigorate the Independent sector. This objective should be at the heart of Destination Wrexham and at the heart of any Masterplan. Reinvigoration will not occur by nice words and aspiration……it will all be down to brass-tacks, vision and positivity
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And I still say car parking (although recently reduced) in Wrexham needs re-looking at, if it were not for free parking in Tesco there would be even less people in the town and also Eagles Meadow, Broughton Park must be taking thousands of pounds from Wrexham with its free parking.
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