bill boler director, investment & physical regeneration business in the community scottish...
TRANSCRIPT
Bill Boler
Director, Investment & Physical Regeneration
Business in the Community
Scottish Centre for RegenerationTown Centres and Local High Streets Learning Network
“Securing Private Sector Investment”
12th November 2009
Harlem Strategy
“The City poured money into the housing refurbishment, which
has drawn people there. That in turn helped big business
and local stores take root.”
“No People”
“What we need are more customers!”
Local Business View
“What we need are more customers!”
Harlem’s “High Street”
Crime rate
Buying power
Middle class presence
•lower than midtown
•40% shop outsideHarlem
•20% HH > $50,000
Case Study:Address Perceptions
New market information
Cash Economy
‘Street’ Retailers
‘Cheques Cashed’ shops
% 1st generation immigrants
Income/Spend ratios
20% additional Household Income
Case Study
Cash Economy
Leakage
Population
• child care, home maintenance,auto repair, etc. ($1B of $6.2B)
• $2.6B in local purchasing power, $1B spent outside
• 413,000 vs. 338,000 (census figure)
BEFORE
AFTER
Retail as a Catalyst
Cathall
Chapel End
Chingford Green
Endlebury
Cann Hall
Forest
Grove Green
Hale End and Highams Park
Hatch Lane
High Street
Higham Hill
Hoe Street
Larkswood
Lea Bridge
Leyton
Leytonstone
Markhouse
Valley
William Morris
Wood Street
Redbridge
Enfield
Haringey
Hackney
Epping Forest
Newham
Courtesy of Experian
Existing Supply
Retail Expenditure
Projected Grow
Deprived Wards
Retail Leakage
Data Analysis
65%of LA spending £
occurs outside
Creative and cultural focus
• clusters music, media, ICT
• mirrors London’s growth sectors
24 hour activity
• equally significant day and night economy
Large cash-based economy
• over 50% of transactions in cash higher than national average
• informal economy is considerable
Andrew Carter, The Smart Co.
Unrecorded activity
• consumer spending
• Non-VAT registered businesses and community organisations and groups
• unable to capture value to economy of sole-traders and CBOs
Strong ‘multiplier effect’
• nature of economy (local living employees - small shops) suggests money is circulating several times in the local area
Large lost ‘float’
• people are going out of the area to spend money on products - high-end goods and clothing retail
Bespoke ResearchBrixton
Source: Experian GOAD Maps
Available Sites
Local Government Priorities
Example: Waltham Forest
Council Owned
Knowledge of need/
opportunityTime
Public sectorjargon
Culture clash
Ineffective networks
Relevance GeographyDevolved decision making
Previous bad experiences
Partnership overload
Business diversity
Usual suspects
Barriers to business engagement
Finding a Match
• “First-in” Retailers vs followers
• Which type of retailer
• Which retailer
Source: Retailer and Developer interviews
= =
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Learn how Retail thinks
• Competitive Offer: “If we have a choice between an untried market or area and a good site in say Oxfordshire, we would bias the latter”
Investment in challenged areas is viewed relative to other investment options
• Overall retailers focus on areas where they have no outlets or existing outlets are small, competitors are few and the level of affluence is adequate
Time and lack of certainty of planning process discourages investors from looking at deprived areas
Source: Retailer and Developer interviews
Learnings: Private Sector
Preference to be part of larger transformation project
Key business considerations include:
• ability to implement required business/format model (i.e. site availability, accessibility, parking);
• ability to achieve needed operating performance (i.e. crime, employee availability);
Local Government
Local Authorities vary in their level of understanding and ability to engage retailers on these issues;
Many have retail in a “silo” and struggle to link or include a retail strategy with other initiatives
For deprived areas in non-town centre locations, many local authorities struggle to balance the need to promote investment and the intentions of national planning policy;
Many still question whether brand retail can bring real benefits, and not destroy the existing fabric
Under-served Markets Model
Retail Investment
Employment
LocalBusiness Support
Increase footfall Attract
additional investment
Multiplier effect