Release dated: 17 June 2008
EXPERIAN PUBLISHES THE 2008 RETAIL RANKINGS FOR IRELAND:
The city of Dublin is one of the busiest retail markets in Europe and the most dominant shopping location in Ireland. Dublin attracts a retail spend of €2.4 billion, according to the first comprehensive analysis of Irish shopping locations by Experian®, the global information services company and leading retail consultancy (see table below – top Irish retail locations).
Looking ahead to 2018, Dublin city centre will continue to be the leading retail location in Ireland, and is forecast to grow its retail spend by 14 per cent to €2.7 billion, mainly as a result of new retail developments and extensions to existing schemes. On the downside, several smaller centres and retail parks surrounding Dublin will be impacted due the combination of the improving retail offer within Dublin city centre and improvements to the larger malls in the Dublin area.
Dundrum Town Centre; currently ranked at number four in Experian’s rankings is the top placed shopping mall. Dundrum will hold on to its 4th place in the rankings in 2018. However, it will see a reduction of 4 per cent in consumer expenditure due to improvements to Dublin and Bray, despite the opening of phase 2 of the scheme (see table below – most impacted centres).
Belfast is the most dominant centre in the North and ranked number two in the overall Irish rankings, currently attracting over €1.2 billion in retail spend. With the Victoria Square and Royal Exchange developments in Belfast, the city will continue to be the dominant centre in the north in 2018, with a 25 per cent uplift in expenditure as a result of these new developments.
Several smaller towns will benefit from the Irish Government’s decentralisation plans. Carrickmacross currently has very little retail provision, so will therefore see a significant growth in retail spend due to the development of the Carrickmacross Centre. The combination of the opening of The Pizzaro scheme and Florentine Centre in Bray will see significant growth in retail spend being attracted to the town. Major centres such as Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork will all see growth due to the improving retail offer in these centres. (See tables below for top growth areas).
On the downside, several retail locations will suffer as a result of the new developments and extensions going on around them. In 2018, Arklow will experience the greatest impact, seeing a 50 per cent decline in retail spend, due mainly to the significant developments in Bray.
The findings follow the publication of the first Irish retail centre rankings by Experian, the leading global provider of retail property information on high streets and shopping centres. The new report provides comprehensive analysis and comment on the best performing retail centres in Ireland and unveils the future landscape of Ireland’s retail centres by providing a detailed forecast for the top 100 retail locations in 2018.
The Ireland 2008 retail ranking and forecasts for 2018 are based on Experian’s gravity model which calculates the amount of comparison goods expenditure a centre is likely to attract given the strength of its retail offer and the levels of competition around it. The gravity model draws on Experian’s unrivalled position as one of the UK’s leading providers of retail data, analysis, economic forecasting and consultancy and is built using proprietary information from Experian FootFall,[1] Goad[2] and Mosaic Ireland[3].
Ronan Faherty, Commercial Director, Land Securities, commented: “For the first time we now have an accurate and very powerful measure of retail expenditure for every significant retail location in Ireland. Experian’s research provides unique insight into the current and future face of the retail landscape in Ireland and will prove invaluable to retailers, developers and investors looking to determine their future retail location strategies and investment priorities over the next decade. With so much new retail development planned over the next decade, it is vital that retailers, investors and developers conduct detailed and careful research before investing in a location.”
Jonathan de Mello, Experian’s director of retail consultancy, added “The retail ranking analysis has been made possible through Experian’s unique position as the UK’s leading provider of retail data, analysis and consultancy. This follows a series of strategic acquisitions over the past few years, including FootFall, the UK’s largest provider of retail pedestrian flow data, Chas E Goad, the only provider of scaled and digitised high street and retail centre plans, the Future Foundation, a global retail brand consultancy and think-tank, and Business Strategies, one of the UK’s leading economic forecasting groups.
“The combination of these businesses places Experian in the driving seat as the UK’s leading retail property consultancy.”
Experian’s Retail Ranking is not only the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information on retail centres in the Ireland, but also the sole source of information on all changes to tenant mix, centre size and shopping centre developments. Major retail centres in Ireland have been assessed on a number of key performance indicators, such as the size of the centre by floorspace, the number of major multiples, comparison stores and quality independent retailers. Negative factors, such as the amount vacant floorspace are also taken into account.
Top fifteen Irish retail locations in 2008 and 2018:
Top growth centres between 2008 and 2018 (winners):
Most impacted retail locations between 2008 and 2018 (losers):
Top RETAIL LOCATIONS BY IRISH REGION, 2008 – 2018.
Ends…
For more information please contact:
BRUNO ROST, Experian Press Office, Business Strategies division, Embankment House, Electric Avenue, Nottingham, NG80 1EH. Tel 0115 968 5009 or mobile 07967 567012. Email: bruno.rost@uk.experian.com.
About Experian
Experian® is a global leader in providing information, analytical and marketing services to organisations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions.
Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organisations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage.
For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organisations from financial services, retail and catalogue, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.
Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, California and Nottingham, UK. Experian employs approximately 15,500 people in 38 countries worldwide, supporting clients in over 65 countries around the world. Continuing sales for the year ended 31 March 2008 were $4,059m (£2,020m / €2,858m)
For more information, visit the Group’s website on www.experiangroup.com.
The word ‘Experian’ is a registered trademark in the EU and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd. and/or its associated companies.
[1] Experian FootFall is Europe’s leading provider of pedestrian footflow data and measures footfall in all major European retail locations. The information significantly enhances Experian’s ability to model shopping centre performance at retail pitch level.
[2] Goad data, owned by Experian, provides floorspace data and plans for over 900,000 retail locations in the UK and Eire.
[3] Mosaic Ireland is Experian’s leading consumer classification which uses over 400 data variables to understand the unique socio-demographic composition of a retail catchment area.