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.