So, last week Jervis shopping centre was the talk of the town, but not for its trendy arrays of footwear or scented candles. Nope, this was a rather different flock of shoppers—real estate moguls. Up to 13 first-round offers were placed for this glittering gem of Dublin, which was only put on the hidden market by its entrepreneurial owners, Paddy McKillen and Padraig Drayne. Apparently, they’ve decided to swap the complexities of managing a mall for more sophisticated hobbies—like wanting to purchase their own private islands.
This is the first time since the 1990s that the shopping centre has been up for grabs. Until now, it was as secure as your grandmother’s secret cookie recipe. It’s one of the last remaining bastions still owned by its forward-thinking developers, who must have mistaken the business for an episode of “Survivor: Real Estate Edition.”
Among the interested bidders were the likes of the Comer Group, US property giant Hines, and David Goddard’s Lanthorn, which is essentially just an intimidating name for a financial group. Rumor has it, the auction for the shopping mall followed a heated bidding war for Marlet’s coveted trio of retail parks—because who doesn’t want to snatch up those pieces of land that look like Monopoly properties?
Retail has been shining brighter than your neighbor’s Christmas lights for over a year now, attracting the most investment capital. While offices and private rentals remain as popular as expired coupons, retail is back with a vengeance—proving once and for all that the whispers of its downfall during the pandemic were as exaggerated as a toddler’s tantrum over a missed ice cream.
AIB’s latest magical scroll of numbers shows that in-store spending rose by 2% in the first quarter compared to last year. So even as the chimes of doom rang during the pandemic, it turns out that shoppers still crave the thrill of actually touching fabric—who could have imagined? The EY Future Consumer index even claims that 70% of consumers prefer bricks-and-mortar stores, probably because online shopping lacks the “joy of dealing with tedious customer service.”
Jean McCabe, the chief executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, chimes in saying people are rediscovering the joys of physical shopping for the “experience.” So yes, my friend, it’s all about the cookie-scented air fresheners and Instagram-worthy selfies now. And businesses are catching on to this too. Retail parks are adjusting their tenant mixes, adding entertainment venues and expanding food offerings faster than you can say “I’ll just grab a quick snack.”
Just ask Brendan McDowell of BPerfect Cosmetics. After initially dipping his toes into online sales, he’s opened 13 sparkling physical stores in the UK and Ireland. Why? Because convincing people to swipe their credit cards in person is apparently more lucrative than a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ on the website. Before taking the plunge into conventional retail, he smartly tested the waters with pop-up stores, securing deals that made him feel like the shark in the tank. After all, who wouldn’t want shorter-term leases and rents that wouldn’t make you cry into your morning coffee?
