What’s in store for town centre?
Concern over trade as main tenant faces shop closure
BOSSES at Carmarthen’s St Catherine’s Walk shopping centre have confirmed that they are already looking at possible new tenants, following news that Debenhams is facing closure, meaning the town could be set to lose its anchor store.
Tens years after opening its doors, the news has left St Catherine’s Walk facing a challenge to ensure it retains its retail offering.
IT was meant to be the dawn of a new age for Carmarthen. A decade ago, what represented a dream for many became a reality as a new and modern shopping centre opened and promised to catapult the town into the 21st century.
St Catherine’s Walk opened its doors on April 30, 2010.
At its heart was a huge, sprawling, Debenhams store that would make Carmarthen the ‘go-to’ shopping area west of Swansea, one with the pulling power to draw thousands of people from Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion in the west and Llanelli to the east.
Even people in Swansea and beyond were heading there for a change of scene. And it achieved its aims. But since it was announced on Tuesday that Debenhams would go into liquidation after rescue talks collapsed, it seems likely that all 124 stores across the UK will close.
With other retail giants having announced closures in Carmarthen in the past 12 months, the main question on shoppers’ lips has been one concerning Debenhams, because they realise the potential impact of its closure.
Rumours have circulated for a few years that it was in danger of closing, but they were always strongly batted away by company bosses. At the end of August, when asked about the Carmarthen store specifically, the company said: “Debenhams is trading strongly, with 124 stores reopened (post lockdown) and a healthy cash position.”
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that things change, and change quickly.
River Island, Fat Face, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Accessorize, Monsoon, Burger King - all gone from Carmarthen since March. The majority of those were located in St Catherine’s Walk, which may soon see its biggest asset being ripped away.
In the wake of this week’s potentially catastrophic news, bosses at the shopping centre have confirmed that they are already looking at possible new tenants.
However, in these most difficult times, there are surely only a handful of retail giants that could pull off slipping into the Debenhams shadow and filling such a vast space. In spite of this, the manager of the shopping centre is philosophical about the future and the impact that Debenhams’ impending closure could have.
“We are very sad to hear that Debenhams is going into liquidation and that its staff face such an uncertain future,” said John Nash, centre manager at St Catherine’s Walk.
“Debenhams has for so long been a much-loved department store on so many high streets around the nation, including here.
“We will all miss it and hope that its workers at Carmarthen and across the group are supported during such a difficult time.
“Our landlord is working on plans for the space and in the meantime Debenhams will be open for shoppers. As we learn more about the administrator’s intentions for the store we will let our shoppers know.”
Despite the gloom brought about by the outbreak of coronavirus and the devastation it continues to wreak, there have been signs that the shopping centre is making a good fist of bouncing back thanks to new and independent businesses taking up residence there in recent weeks.
One of those has taken over the two-storey unit that was formerly home to River Island. The site now houses men’s and women’s clothing businesses in the shape of Jackie James and Me and Luce.
They were until recently located opposite each other in the middle of King Street, before they relocated to St Catherine’s Walk last month. King Street was part-pedestrianised in the summer in a response to Covid-19, and that, together with the chance to trade next to Debenhams, ironically, and other big retail chains, convinced them to make the move.
Lucy Evans, co-owner of Me and Luce, said the news about Debenhams didn’t make them regret relocating, however.
“In the summer (after the pedestrianisation came in) it was OK, but with the weather the way it is now, the footfall in King Street was definitely down,” said Lucy.
“A lot of our customers were a bit older and they would ring us to say that they would not be coming down. Whether it was down to Covid-19 or the pedestrianisation, it’s hard to tell. But the changes definitely didn’t help.
“So we got offered the opportunity to move into St Catherine’s Walk and we jumped at the chance. It’s classed as a pop-up store at the moment, but we decided to take the bull by the horns and we would love to be a part of the shopping centre longterm.
“There’s been talk of Debenhams closing for years, but we weren’t aware of the imminent trouble they were in when we moved. Having said that, it definitely would not have affected our decision.
“It’s not great news obviously because we do piggyback off the big chains sometimes as people come to Carmarthen and park up specifically to go to these stores. They might not have heard of us before and then come into the shop, so that’s very important to us as a business.
“But we do have people who also come from miles around because they like to go to independent shops, which Carmarthen has a lot of.”
As for the future of the huge space across the shopping centre from Me and Luce and Jackie James, Lucy is unsure of what can or will be able to fill the void.
“The unit we’ve taken over, where River Island was, is a dream space for us - it’s amazing,” she said.
“But the Debenhams unit is a whole other level. But I think the future of the shopping centre can be a bright one because it’s full of purpose-built buildings. They work properly, and car parking and everything else you need is right here.
“I hope that, with us and some other independent businesses moving into units here, we have perhaps shown that it can be
done, so in general I don’t think it would be difficult to fill empty units.
“We missed out on months and months of trade due to Covid-19 so we’ve just jumped at the chance to grow the business and make it work.”
With this week’s news about Debenhams, it can of course be difficult to view the situation as anything other than bleak, 10 years on from the promise of a shopping centre that would rejuvenate Wales’ oldest town. Some would say it hasn’t - only bottlenecking shoppers to the ‘new part of town’ - while others have been more optimistic.
Councillor Gareth John became Mayor of Carmarthen just weeks into the pandemic. He has played a key role in trying to help traders across the town as they try to fight against a tide that doesn’t show signs of losing its force.
Speaking after the Debenhams announcement earlier this week, he admitted that the news was “devastating”.
“This is the announcement that we all hoped wouldn’t be made but feared given the wellknown and long-standing difficulties of the company and the impact of online shopping, which accelerated during the pandemic,” said Mr John.
“It’s a huge loss to the town and devastating to the employees. It’s a very sad day for Carmarthen and for everyone associated with Debenhams.
“The world has changed and the challenge now is for Carmarthen to change with it and adapt as quickly as possible. By building on the town’s strengths, I’m confident that it will.”
The Carmarthen Chamber of Trade and Commerce has also cited how online shopping, even before the outbreak of coronavirus, has played its part in the part-demise of high street shopping.
The chamber’s chair, Christine Davies-lamble, has spoken of her sadness at Debenhams’ demise.
“This news should come as a big shock to local traders, and whilst the news is very sad, many feel that this may have been coming for a long while,” said Mrs DaviesLamble.
“High streets have been going through a dramatic change for a while now. Internet shopping can be asserted as the impetus for such closures of longstanding high-street shops, but we are also seeing a resurgence of support for independent, local traders.
“Customers are looking more these days for the personal connection when shopping. Larger department stores, such as Debenhams, whilst they have been vitally important in the past, could now be the victims of a renaissance where shoppers seek to buy from shops run by families and individuals they know.
“However, I imagine our high streets require a healthy balance between local and national businesses in order to ensure Carmarthen is a competitive destination.”
As for the future, Mrs Davies-lamble said only time would tell with regards to the size of the impact caused by the closure of Debenhams. Is it possible that a seemingly huge negative for the town could actually transpire to be a positive?
“It’s difficult to know how Debenhams’ closure will impact Carmarthen’s business ecosystem,” she said. “Was this big fish in our small pond surviving off other traders’ footfall? Or could Debenhams’ closure negatively impact the vitality of all smaller businesses locally?
“It’s been interesting to see how other national closures at St Catherine’s Walk has provided such wonderful opportunities for independent local businesses. House by Betty, Y Sied, Jackie James and Me and Luce are newcomers to St Catherine’s Walk. We hope the opportunity will provide incredible growth to these local traders and give shoppers who want to support local an experience they enjoy.
“What happens next at the Debenhams building is going to be interesting. Will the space be filled by another national chain? Or could this trend for local, independent traders be an option for the space in some way?
“The closure is very sad, and we are sad for the end of the long history this company has had in the UK, the loss of jobs for local people and the loss of this flagship store which helped Carmarthen modernise its customer experience a decade ago.”
It is unclear for certain if, and when, Debenhams will shut up shop in Carmarthen for the last time, but what started as a dream in 2010 has seemingly turned into something of a nightmare for those that hoped the department store would guarantee prosperity for generations.
Administrators said this week that “all reasonable steps were taken to complete a transaction that would secure the future of Debenhams”. That fell through, they explained, because “the economic landscape is extremely challenging” and due to “the uncertainty facing the UK retail industry”.
For now, the Carmarthen store remains open, if only to clear its current and contracted stocks. But if a new rescue deal cannot be reached, then it, along with the other 123 stores across the UK, will cease trading, resulting in thousands of job losses and creating gaping holes in towns and city centres up and down the land.
Given that it pinned an entire shopping centre’s hopes on Debenhams ten years ago, Carmarthen might feel the pinch more than others.
“This news should come as a big shock to local traders, and whilst the news is very sad, many feel that this may have been coming for a long while
Christine Davies-lamble, chair of Carmarthen Chamber of Trade and Commerce