Shop ’til you drop? Well, last week at the Jervis shopping centre, it looked more like a scene from a gladiator arena than a retail space. First-round offers were flying in faster than you can say “30% markdown.” Up to 13 bids were thrown on the table for this Dublin gem, and no, it wasn’t the latest iPhone release. It turns out the current owners, Paddy McKillen and Padraig Drayne, decided to quietly market this treasure without sending out a press release. How charmingly old-school!
For those keeping score, this is the first time the Jervis Centre has traded hands since the ’90s—when our biggest worry was whether our dial-up Internet would connect before the end of the world. It’s one of the final shopping centres still owned by its original developers. Blink and you’ll miss the chance of a lifetime, folks!
Among the eager bidders were some heavyweights: the Comer Group, US property guru Hines, Peter Horgan’s Lugus Capital, and Patron Capital were all attempting to swoop in like it’s Black Friday. It’s a veritable international smorgasbord of investment, and I don’t mean the food court. Just last week, Marlet’s retail parks were also in hot demand. Apparently, retail is the new gold rush, unless you were glued to the office market, which is still waiting for someone to sprinkle magic dust on it.
It’s not rocket science that retail has become the sparkling diamond in the property investment market—attracting capital like moths to a flame. While offices are crying into their spreadsheets, retail is staging a comeback worthy of a blockbuster movie. Estate agents reported that in the first quarter of this year, retail deals accounted for half of all transactions. That’s right; the retail revival is here to save us from boredom.
And if you thought the death of brick-and-mortar stores was the next great horror film, think again. A recent retail report from AIB showed in-store spending rising by 2 percent compared to last year. That’s right, people are actually leaving their homes! Even the EY Future Consumer index revealed that 70% of shoppers prefer the tactile pleasure of physical stores over the clinical world of e-commerce. Who knew? Apparently, we love a good shopping bag more than a shipping confirmation.
But wait, let’s not get too crazy. Jean McCabe, CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland, noted that customers want, you guessed it, an experience. Yes, folks, shopping has morphed into the social event we never knew we needed, complete with more stores opening for “economies of scale.” So, if you think you were saving money by binge-shopping online in your PJs, sorry, the “experience” train has left the station!
Brendan McDowell of BPerfect Cosmetics darts in with a success story, having opened 13 physical stores after starting online. He found opportunity amidst the wasteland of empty retail units, making lemonade from lemons. “When we first opened, there were empty units everywhere,” he said, sounding like a retail success guru. “It was a great time for negotiation.” So, if you’re feeling brave, perhaps a walk through your local shopping mall will have you forging epic deals too—just don’t forget to dodge any escaping former retailers.
