St. Davids Shopping Centre

I was pottering around a Manchester retail forum and discovered an Intu document which highlighted the success of St. David's.

- St. David's ranks as No.6 in the UK's top Shopping Centres (on the basis of the 2014 PMA Retail score)

- The centre's market value is £710 million (355 million - Intu Share)

Intu's share of it is worth £355 million; the total value is £710 million. (Land Securities own the other half). Sounds like a lot but I think they actually spent even more on building it. They had hoped for higher rents than they have been achieving - something like the £330 top rent you'd get for the best units in Queen St in 2007/08, but in the end they only managed something like £220-230 initially, and even now only about £265. So a couple of hundred mil knocked off the value there!

I was shopping in Hugo Boss this afternoon and spoke thoroughly with the store manager! She said the Cardiff store is the second highest earning in the region and as a result is being transformed into a Flagship store. The current Boss store will close next week for a total of 7 weeks and will receive the latest European flagship store fit which is costing £1.1 million to complete. The new store design will mirror that of Hugo Boss on Regent Street. During that 7 weeks, Boss will be moving into the Armani Exchange unit to avoid loss of business. The manager informed me that St. Davids offered Hugo Boss a lucrative offer to permanently relocate into the A|X unit due to high demand for units on The Hayes, however Boss didn't want to risk the lower footfall upstairs and therefore declined the offer. She said this discussion only took place two weeks ago. Hugo Boss will be temporarily moving into Armani Exchange next week and have a £3,000 budget to make the unit more suitable.

This poses the question of whether Zizzi is actually moving into the A|X unit?

Nevertheless, interesting conversation with the manager at Hugo Boss and pleasing to hear they are trading successfully.

I would of thought Boss was exactly the right kind of store for the Hayes - if there is one to move inside to my very untrained mind Fat Face would be a candidate?

I would of thought Boss was exactly the right kind of store for the Hayes - if there is one to move inside to my very untrained mind Fat Face would be a candidate?

Boss were discussing the temporary relocation at the time and I guess St. David's thought they'd try their luck to free up some space on The Hayes whilst holding on to the retailers.

& I agree Rhodri. Fat Face and Crew Clothing would be the most suitable stores to move inside. I could imagine them fitting in quite nicely between Soletrader and Oasis on the Lower Grand Arcade. Can't see this happening mind.

Any news on what's replacing Leia?

I believe the Peacocks unit in St Davids is the company's highest earning store.

The current Boss store will close next week for a total of 7 weeks and will receive the latest European flagship store fit which is costing £1.1 million to complete.

Good news it is trading successfully - I have always wondered. Thats a rather expensive refit too - and in the service sector they'd be looking at a rate of return of 15%+, so must be hoping for an uplift in profits (on top of existing profits) of around 160,000 a year. Wonder what the turnover is?

In terms of the refit, I worry that if they make it look too exclusive, it could put people off. Going into a fancy store with few products and customers and lots of staff can already be intimidating for some - not the core clientele, but for those who may purchase accessories or more casualwear say.

Interesting re: Armani Exchange unit. I thought SD partnership wanted this to become a catering unit. And I agree regarding Fat Face, and to a lesser extent Crew.

She said the majority of their business is suits. A lot of their clientele are business men who are only in the city for the day, which is why they offer same day alternations. Suits begin at £550 so I can see how they're ticking over quite nicely.

I told her that the A|X unit was lined up for a restaurant like the Shake Shack unit opposite and she seemed surprised because only two weeks ago St. Davids were trying to convince them to permanently relocate. She seemed very involved in the business and knew a lot of details...

She also told me that Burberry were once interested in opening an accessories store on The Hayes (like their New Cathedral Street store in Manchester) but couldn't find appropriate space at the time. She seemed to think they were interested in the BOSS unit, which may explain why St. Davids wanted BOSS to move inside.

Zizzi's is going to replace Bellini's Express. Not surprised to be honest. The place seems to be pretty quiet, and it is a little on the pricey side in my view. Rents probably went up at rent review given the improving pitch (Admiral HQ opposite) and the general demand for A3 space in and around Cardiff city centre, and especially in and around St Davids. It was probably just a matter of time for them to find someone to take the lease on, perhaps at a bit of a premium.

http://planning.cardiff.gov.uk/online-a ... APR_115263