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Retail Parks Revisited: A Growing Competitive Threat to Traditional Shopping Centres?

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  • Colin J Thomas
  • Rosemary D F Bromley
  • Andrew R Tallon

Abstract

Since the late 1970s retail parks have developed in the United Kingdom to become a substantial element of the process of retail decentralisation. From an early focus on ‘bulky-goods' retailing, they have grown and evolved into a variety of unplanned and planned forms, the largest of which can be characterised as ‘hybrid regional centres’. The more recent addition of typical ‘high-street’ retailers to their functions has earned the epithet ‘fashion parks’. Intermittent concern has been expressed at the likely negative effects that these phenomena are having on the traditional system of city, town, and district shopping centres in British cities. In these circumstances it is surprising that little of the recent retail impact research has focused on the larger retail parks. Partially to redress this deficiency, the authors investigate the impact of a large unplanned retail park on the retail system of the Greater Swansea area. The evidence suggests that the greatest impact continues to be focused on the middle-order district and local town centres. The relationship is now ‘strongly competitive’ rather than ‘benignly complementary’. At the same time, the growth in scale and functional diversity of the retail park suggests a strong ‘competitive erosion’ of the status of the city centre. Thus, local authorities concerned for the future of their city, town, and district shopping centres should view processes operating within the shopping centre development industry in association with the location and marketing strategies of the principal ‘high-street’ multiple retailers with considerable caution.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin J Thomas & Rosemary D F Bromley & Andrew R Tallon, 2004. "Retail Parks Revisited: A Growing Competitive Threat to Traditional Shopping Centres?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(4), pages 647-666, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:36:y:2004:i:4:p:647-666
    DOI: 10.1068/a3683
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. L Sparks, 1996. "Space Wars: Wm Low and the ‘Auld Enemy’," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 28(8), pages 1465-1484, August.
    2. N Wrigley, 1998. "Understanding Store Development Programmes in Post-Property-Crisis UK Food Retailing," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(1), pages 15-35, January.
    3. C M Guy, 1997. "Fixed Assets or Sunk Costs? An Examination of Retailers' Land and Property Investment in the United Kingdom," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 29(8), pages 1449-1464, August.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Mihaescu, Oana & Öner, Özge & Rudholm, Niklas, 2019. "Retail and place attractiveness: The effects of big-box entry on property values," HFI Working Papers 1, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    3. Klaesson, Johan & Nilsson, Helena, 2020. "Entry of malls and exit of stores - The role of distance and economic geography," HFI Working Papers 12, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    4. Colin A. Jones, 2009. "Remaking the Monopoly Board: Urban Economic Change and Property Investment," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(11), pages 2363-2380, October.
    5. Andreas Heinrich Hengstermann & Mathias Jehling, 2023. "Understanding Private Preferences in Urban Development—Analysing Spatial Patterns of Food Discount Stores Locations in Switzerland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, March.

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