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After the festivities, what about the future?
Date Posted: 17/11/2011
The Christmas lights switch on events and preparation for the festive sales rush have been occupying the time of most Shopping Centre Managers and their teams for the last few months. Following last years difficulty with snow and the impact it had upon the industry, Foundation Recruitment hopes that this year, Christmas 2011 will be a positive and profitable time for all retailers and shopping centre landlords. Once the New Year arrives, everyone will inevitably look to the future. With all major retail-led new schemes now open, until the launch of Land Securities’ Trinity scheme in Leeds during 2013, the shopping centre industry faces a black hole within the development pipeline.
So, is this the end of an era or a period of adjustment and what does this mean for recruitment within the Shopping Centre industry?
The Shopping Centre industry may have slowed in its development pipeline, but it has certainly not been without news and excitement throughout 2011. The high profile and anticipated launch of Westfield Stratford has been a particular highlight, as well as the opening of Standard Life’s Parkway Shopping Centre, Newbury. Although both schemes opened in the midst of a difficult economy, to date they seem to have been a great success reporting strong footfalls and sales. The outcome from the industry activities this year has seen a general acknowledgement that there is currently a lack of new retail space in the market; however this has not changed the retailers demand for quality of space. Following this line of thought, the Head of UK Retail for a leading Fund recently openly described how he felt about the sub-regional shopping centres now taking the main focus. His theory details how the lack of development will force landlords to become more creative with their regional schemes by reconfiguration and extension in order to create and improve the retail offering.
During 2011, Foundation Recruitment has already been involved in several briefs that fit this description when recruiting for new Centre Managers; and fully expect this to continue throughout 2012. Centre Managers and their senior teams are expected to be more creative with their ideas, commercialisation, marketing and budget. Many schemes have been considering the strategy for their tenant mix and each Centre Manager is expected to have strong relationships with the retailer, so they can assist in driving the sales in their stores. A much more collaborative approach between Centre Manager and Store Manager has been the key all year, which is looking likely to be the precedent for the foreseeable future.
Despite the lack of developments that launched this year, the recruitment market within the industry remained relatively active. There have been some high profile moves, including senior departures from Bluewater, Manchester Arndale, Cabot Circus, Buchanan Galleries and Covent Garden, which inevitably led to new exciting appointments within these schemes. There is also the newly appointed Centre Director for Leeds Trinity and some new faces within the senior management team within Westfield and CSC. Given that there have only been two new major shopping centre openings this year, these appointments, amongst others, exemplify the continued activity in the shopping centre market. Foundation Recruitment is hopeful that the new career opportunities for the market will continue, even with the development black hole in 2012.
If you would like to have a discussion with one of our dedicated shopping centre team members, regarding career opportunities or perhaps to discuss how we may assist with recruitment for your team, please call 0161 638 8740