Retail market set for bumper 2005, says report
The Irish retail market is set for another bumper year during 2005 as a result of the strength of growth in the stock of shopping centre space, a new report from DTZ Sherry FitzGerald said today.
Commenting on the launch of the Dundrum Centre, Fintan Tierney, managing director of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald said: "The addition of Dundrum Town Centre to the existing retail floor space in Dublin has created an ideal opportunity for new entrants to the Irish retail market.
"In the short term it is almost inevitable that consumer interest will be distracted away from established retail trading locations but it is the longer term competitive response from these existing locations in terms of consumer offering which will raise the standard of retailing in Ireland."
The Dundrum centre's opening will mean the Dublin region has almost 550 square metres of retail space per thousand of the population.
According to DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, Cork continues to lag the other regional centres with less than 250 square metres of accommodation per thousand of the population, despite the recent opening of the showpiece Mahon Point Centre.
In Limerick the stock of space per thousand is 367 square metres while that in Galway is 333 square metres.
The report goes on to indicate that these densities are set to rise during the remainder of the year with almost 350,000 square metres of space currently being developed, approximately 70% of which is due for completion by year end.
Approximately 48,000 square metres of this space will be located in Dublin, including the second phase of the Dundrum Shopping Centre.
In the Limerick market, just over 23,000 square metres of shopping centre accommodation is due to commence trading during the remainder of the year while density levels in Cork are also anticipated to rise further with 39,000 square metres of accommodation due to complete construction before year end.
The report noted new planning guidelines introduced in January suggests large scale regional shopping centres in out-of-town locations are not sustainable, a factor which may impede the growth of regional centres in the future.
