Yet another retail park? and yet another 50 jobs?

[Mellijelli]

So we were recently talking about how retail is not doing too badly for itself and yes it has its pros and cons and mish mash of iffy details and statistics as far as numbers go and so on, but in the last week or so iv seen news reports of about 5 stores either building up villages, re-developing, expanding or completely erecting new retail outlets, today's story can be found here This is Lincolnshire (http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Retail-park-Little-Lambs/article-2108540-detail/article.html).

Residents seem pretty happy about this one as the older existing and a bit dilapidated building will probably be torn down and replaced with a couple new shops and retail park with nursery, this project they say will eventually create around 50 new retail jobs (http://www.careersandjobsuk.com/retail-jobs), i say "around" as m8internet will probably be able to confirm the stats for us im sure :D

[m8internet]

50 new jobs seems quite fair
Looks like the current property owners are already looking for new premises, so seems quite sensible to free the old building up

However, the article doesn't explain why the first application was refused

[Dark Phoenyx]

Seems more than fair to me, if you think of what will be replacing it. The jobs created are a bonus as well. :D wonder wot the nursery will be like......

[shopowner]

I've always found figures for ''new retail jobs created'' to be both annoying and amusing, as unemployment never gets reduced to 1% with all these new jobs. Presumably as more jobs are created in one place, the result eventually is that other jobs are lost, either due to competition or 'progress'.Many of the losses end up being small retailers I imagine-- more power to the multiples ?
How new retail parks in out of town locations can be a good thing puzzles me, when I think I would prefer to see fields and animals. Can't city centres with their existing shops be improved, and buildings kept until nearly falling down to help preserve the world's resources ?

[Mellijelli]

So totally agree with you shopowner, the world seems to be over populated with concrete jungles, nothing is left to nature anymore, maybe the world is just too over populated with people in general and they just keep creating more and more buildings to accommodate everyone's needs.

When i drive around its always a joy to see some open space and nature of which is getting less and less as people buy land and build over it all in the name of money.

Its also right when you say that for all the jobs created the percentages just dont seem to match up for those that are lost, i dont even want to think what the world will look like in the next few years.

[Dark Phoenyx]

Its true. and i dont like these concrete jungles. they make me uneasy. maube its coz i live out in the middle of nowhere lane and rock falls.

[m8internet]

Very true, there is only so much money in the economy
If the customer doesn't spend their money at retailer A they will spend it at retailer B
If there are more retailers then money, then something has to give
So you create jobs in one hand, but jobs are lost on the other

This has all come about from a complete lack of regulation or control by Local Authorities
The Local Authorities don't want to do anything about it, more businesses mean more business rates, even if that business causes another to go bust

[Dark Phoenyx]

what i dont get is why they dont seem to realise that more working businesses mean more business rates, and if they could find a balance between the companies, things would work out a whole lot better.

[Mellijelli]

They should really hold back a bit on all these new retail outlets they are building, at least till the economy comes back to life again, if companies are going down so, like they have been, they will have built them in vain and they will all eventually be standing vacant would'nt you say?

[m8internet]

That was what happened during the last recession in the 1980s / 1990s
The high street started to fill up with empty shops and "for sale" and "to let" signs
In general though retail parks don't tend to suffer this as they populatd by the large retailers who want more control over their customers
Equally, many owners of such retail parks have lists of waiting clients for units
As an example, my local retail park has a unit currently populated by Dunnes, but M&S have raised a notice of interest in the same unit
Ironically there is a vacant unit where Woolworths used to be, but they paid for that up-front and it is not available until 2012

[Mellijelli]

Thats true, iv never seen a Mall that has vacant shops in it here now that i think of it, the rent in a new establishment must be a killer though.

A new mall in East London called Hemingways Mall has been built and is still being filled up with stores as it has 5 stories and its built onto the Hemingways Casino, its massive i tell you, i get lost when i go shopping there, but it has everything you ever dreamed of inside.

Iv noticed though that its not as busy as the other existing malls like Vincent Centre the more well known center which has been around for ages, i suppose its going to take people some time to get used to going out that way to do their shopping, its actually nice to go there and not have to constantly deal with all the overcrowding like the other centers.

Here are some pics you can look at from their gallery:

Hemingways mall (http://www.hemingwaysmall.co.za/gallery.htm?galleryID=1)

[shopowner]

I used to live near Swindon, Wilts and the shopping malls there were not fully taken for several years after opening but don't know the situation now. On a visit to Glasgow in the past couple of years I noticed vacant units in city centre malls, but again not sure of current situation.
Perhaps the large newly built out of town malls have no spaces as people like to drive to go one stop shopping and use them as a form of leisure activity at weekends also ?