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St. Davids Shopping Centre

if it's about Cardiff.. Sport, Entertainment, Transportation, Business, Development Projects, Leisure, Eating, Drinking, Nightlife, Shopping, Train Spotting! etc.. then we want it here!
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Brian62

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostSat Nov 16, 2019 1:49 pm

Cardiff wrote:Coke Cola is a media giant, they have been living off the 'Holidays are Coming' advert with the trucks for years and the traditional Santa as we know him is from Cocal Cola, i think that explains the truck.

This isn't correct. The modern santa clause came about in 19th c US. The poem night before Christmas, can't remember original title, and the cartoonist Thomas Nast (not sure of first name) both used what we would now use. Frank l Baum added a bit at turn of 20th C.
Coke Cola weren't the first company to use the modern santa in advertising either.

I don't get the obsession with a big red truck either.

Sorry for being a pendant....
(Thats a Polly Toynbee reference)
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Thewasp

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostSat Nov 16, 2019 8:18 pm

Hate the word 'Santa', always been Father Christmas in my house..
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Ash

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostSat Nov 16, 2019 10:19 pm

Brian62 wrote:
Cardiff wrote:Coke Cola is a media giant, they have been living off the 'Holidays are Coming' advert with the trucks for years and the traditional Santa as we know him is from Cocal Cola, i think that explains the truck.

This isn't correct. The modern santa clause came about in 19th c US. The poem night before Christmas, can't remember original title, and the cartoonist Thomas Nast (not sure of first name) both used what we would now use. Frank l Baum added a bit at turn of 20th C.
Coke Cola weren't the first company to use the modern santa in advertising either.

I don't get the obsession with a big red truck either.

Sorry for being a pendant....
(Thats a Polly Toynbee reference)


I think the Coke connection is the red colour of his costume. He was often in blue or green pre-coke advertisments. Not that I care particularly! Sion Corn can wear what ever he wants in our house!
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Cardiff

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostSun Nov 17, 2019 2:01 am

Brian62 wrote:
Cardiff wrote:Coke Cola is a media giant, they have been living off the 'Holidays are Coming' advert with the trucks for years and the traditional Santa as we know him is from Cocal Cola, i think that explains the truck.

This isn't correct. The modern santa clause came about in 19th c US. The poem night before Christmas, can't remember original title, and the cartoonist Thomas Nast (not sure of first name) both used what we would now use. Frank l Baum added a bit at turn of 20th C.
Coke Cola weren't the first company to use the modern santa in advertising either.

I don't get the obsession with a big red truck either.

Sorry for being a pendant....
(Thats a Polly Toynbee reference)


Your pedantic nature corrected above by Ash :) , like said the advert is seen by many to be the start of the holiday season and the trucks coming around covered in lights is another sign. People arnt excited by the truck or Coca Cola, but more by the excitement of the start of the holiday season and a physical reminder of it that comes once a year to the city center, where there is also the Christmas stalls and winter wonderland to enjoy as well; the truck isnt the thing to get, its the excitement of Christmas.
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Brian62

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostSun Nov 17, 2019 8:21 am

Santa was in red before Coke used him. Adverts dating back to the 1910s have him just the same as he is in Coke adverts. The New York times published a piece in the 20s about how he had become standardized in a red suit. The different colours had gone by then. White rock (I think) used the fat red suited Santa in adverts before Coke did. Didn't seem to work for them though.

It's just handy for Coke that by the time they settled on him in the 30s he had become standardized in their colours.

I like the Christmas markets we get in towns now. The German one in Brum is very good. Only question is, why did Germany become the go to Christmas market for town centres??
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Cwlcymro

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostMon Nov 18, 2019 2:07 am

Just to back up Brian - he's right. The Coke made the modern Santa look is a myth. Father Christmas was orginally dressed in green but had converted to red long before Coke adopted him.

Other than that though, Cardiff is right. The truck is just one ingredient in the 'Christmas is here' feeling, alongside the switch on of the lights, Winter wonderland, a tree outside the castle etc. Like it or not, the Coke truck is now part of the tradition for a lot of people.
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Cardiff

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostMon Nov 18, 2019 7:32 pm

Germany is the go to because the Uk had a revolution and then Cromwell basically banned all traditional UK Christmas traditions, so we look to a country that most likely celebrated the same as us. I love the Birmingham market as well and wish the Cardiff one was more integrated with winter wonderland, feels like a craft fair more than a Christmas market. Bath does the best one local to us, though is on for a short period only.
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RandomComment

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostTue Nov 19, 2019 4:43 pm

Cardiff wrote:Germany is the go to because the Uk had a revolution and then Cromwell basically banned all traditional UK Christmas traditions, so we look to a country that most likely celebrated the same as us. I love the Birmingham market as well and wish the Cardiff one was more integrated with winter wonderland, feels like a craft fair more than a Christmas market. Bath does the best one local to us, though is on for a short period only.


May also reflect the fact that "traditional" Christmas things in the UK are often really Victorian innovations. And Prince Albert was of course German. I'm pretty sure Christmas trees became popular after he and Victoria were pictured with one (it was a German tradition before us), and maybe a few other things like mulled wine, etc., date to this period? And once you have that Germanic influence, it might mean that the German-style Xmas markets just "feel" Christmassy given that much of our traditional Christmas is in fact German in origin.
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Glenn

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostFri Nov 22, 2019 9:48 pm

Lewisbeecham wrote:
That's the thing, it doesn't necessarily look empty. The big bulk of the empty units are all in a single area, towards the entrance of John Lewis. They are all cleverly hidden with art and other marketing material. As you said with John Lewis not being as much of a draw as hoped, people just are not venturing down that end of St David's 2. The other big stores down that end such as Lakeland and Monsoon, frequently look dead. Traffic seems to stop at Apple and Hollister. Likewise underneath with Superdry. They need to find a way to get customers down that end of the centre.


That end of the arcade has never reached expectations, and the way the retail market is going I think they should start thinking about changing their strategy when it comes to finding big retail tenants for those units. People are increasingly looking for "experiences" rather than just retail, one thing Saint Davids sorely lacks. They've got all those huge units sat empty, if I were them I'd relocate Monsoon and Lakeland and start rebranding the Upper Arcade as more of an entertainment area. Bowling, trampolining, rock climbing etc. Some more casual restaurants, maybe even a few bars? If they wanted to take it a step further, maybe if it's possible, bridge across from the old Gilly Hicks unit to Cineworld and have an direct entrance to the cinema. Perhaps one-up it again, working with Cineworld and giving direct access through to Mary Ann St and the Motorpoint Arena from the arcade. Creating an entertainment avenue from the Motorpoint, the casino and cinema, through to the arcade with casual dining and entertainment experiences on the upper floor.
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Lewisbeecham

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Re: St. Davids Shopping Centre

PostFri Nov 22, 2019 9:55 pm

Glenn wrote:
Lewisbeecham wrote:
That's the thing, it doesn't necessarily look empty. The big bulk of the empty units are all in a single area, towards the entrance of John Lewis. They are all cleverly hidden with art and other marketing material. As you said with John Lewis not being as much of a draw as hoped, people just are not venturing down that end of St David's 2. The other big stores down that end such as Lakeland and Monsoon, frequently look dead. Traffic seems to stop at Apple and Hollister. Likewise underneath with Superdry. They need to find a way to get customers down that end of the centre.


That end of the arcade has never reached expectations, and the way the retail market is going I think they should start thinking about changing their strategy when it comes to finding big retail tenants for those units. People are increasingly looking for "experiences" rather than just retail, one thing Saint Davids sorely lacks. They've got all those huge units sat empty, if I were them I'd relocate Monsoon and Lakeland and start rebranding the Upper Arcade as more of an entertainment area. Bowling, trampolining, rock climbing etc. Some more casual restaurants, maybe even a few bars? If they wanted to take it a step further, maybe if it's possible, bridge across from the old Gilly Hicks unit to Cineworld and have an direct entrance to the cinema. Perhaps one-up it again, working with Cineworld and giving direct access through to Mary Ann St and the Motorpoint Arena from the arcade. Creating an entertainment avenue from the Motorpoint, the casino and cinema, through to the arcade with casual dining and entertainment experiences on the upper floor.


The Avengers experience downstairs has been hugely popular. Extended twice. Brought people into the city and into the centre. I think you're absolutely right that they need to consider a change of use for that end of St David's. Perhaps Techniquest could open up a mini space?

The mini golf is also popular, people do love these experiences, myself included. I would perhaps avoid bowling and escape rooms as we've just seen another one added with Cardiff Pins.

I hope the space used for the avengers can be passed off to a Lakeland or Monsoon. That experiences placed at the end of St David's would had greatly improved the footfall. There's some big empty units down there to house it.
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