The Mall Madness: Where Shoppers Are Not What They Seem
Last week, Jervis shopping centre was positively overrun—by bidders, not actual shoppers. Imagine a scene where money, not manicures, drives the excitement. Thirteen first-round offers landed on the table for the Dublin city centre mall, which quietly slipped onto the market like a ninja in the night, courtesy of its owners, Paddy McKillen and Padraig Drayne.
It’s quite remarkable that this is the first time the shopping centre has been up for grabs since the 1990s—a fact that would make its developers feel like vintage wine. After all, it’s one of the final shopping centres built during the last three decades still held in the clutches of its original creators, almost a mythic artifact in a world where malls marry investment firms.
Among the suitors were a veritable cocktail of bidders, including the Comer Group, the US property outfit Hines, Peter Horgan’s Lugus Capital, Patron Capital, and even David Goddard’s Lanthorn. If successful bids were Olympic sports, we’d have a medal tally that would put even the most dedicated of attendees to shame.
And it doesn’t stop there. Hot on the heels of this auction was Marlet’s series of retail parks, which drew ten initial bids. Apparently, retail parks are the new black, while office spaces and private rental schemes are languishing in the dusty corners of “not so hot right now.”
Retail has emerged as the phoenix of the property investment market, despite dire predictions during the pandemic. Statistics show that in-store spending has been climbing, with a delightful 2% increase reported in AIB’s latest retail report. And lo and behold, seven out of ten consumers apparently think bricks-and-mortar is still worth their while—shock and dismay for the cyber enthusiasts.
Jean McCabe, chief executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, shared that people are “returning for the customer experience.” Of course, ‘experience’ could mean anything from a food court gorging session to a deeper, philosophical journey involving the meaning of life while shopping. But hey, if it sells, it sells.
Establishment names, once forgotten in the void of retail oblivion, are coming back like a bad penny—BPerfect Cosmetics went from online obscurity to launching 13 physical stores in just five years. Karl Stewart, retail head at Cushman & Wakefield, chimed in, citing the retail sector’s resilience. Because if enough people believe they need that third pair of sneakers, then who are we to stand in their way?
In Jervis, the potential buyers included everyone from local heroes teaming up with international moguls to shake up the market to playful billionaires considering the lane change. The market buzzed with life, akin to trying to land on a perfectly parked spot at a crowded mall. Good luck with that.
Yet in the chaotic, buy-sell-rinse-repeat world of retail, it appears that not all is sunshine and rainbows. Yes, some outlets are vanishing like socks in a laundry cycle, but closures pave the way for fresher concepts and brands yearning for their shot at the consumer dollar. Welcome to retail—a place where survival of the fittest no longer includes traditional department stores, but rather the thrill of acquiring an abandoned retail footprint to stamp a new name on.
