Coventry Telegraph

CITY ONE OF HARDEST HIT BY SHOP CLOSURES IN THE MIDLANDS

- > ENDA MULLEN

COVENTRY city centre is one of the hardest hit from shop closures with nine shutting their doors in the first half of this year.

The West Midlands saw the second biggest number of high street/ town centre store closures across the country with a reduction of 2.2 per cent in the first six months of 2019.

In the region Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhamp­ton all saw the largest net loss of stores.

However smaller town centres like Solihull, Halesowen and Stafford have fared better weathering the retail storm and saw either net growth or no closures.

The trend was highlighte­d in the latest research compiled for PwC by the Local Data Company (LDC).

Coventry saw a net loss of nine stores with 10 openings and 19 closures.

Coventry fared better than the region’s other cities, with Wolverhamp­ton seeing a net loss of 13 shops and Birmingham seeing a net loss of 10 stores.

Despite the challenges faced by town and city centre retailing and the changing face of the high street, Coventry’s Cathedral Lanes complex, which has emerged as the city centre’s go-to dining destinatio­n, was singled out for praise.

Sarah Phillips, retail and consumer specialist for PwC in the Midlands, said: “We are seeing retailers operating in an increasing­ly challengin­g environmen­t and this is particular­ly exasperate­d in city centre locations where there is a high density of retailers.

“However, the rate of closures in the region’s cities is surprising at a time we are seeing significan­t investment and regenerati­on taking place across the region.

“For example Coventry’s Cathedral Lanes developmen­t attracting restaurant­s and bars is a magnet for eaters and drinkers on an evening.”

Ms Phillips said that both Coventry and Birmingham could feel positive about the future, with Coventry set to be the UK City of Culture in 2021 and Birmingham hosting the Commonweal­th Games in 20022.

“Birmingham is home to one of the largest young population­s in the country and is seeing significan­t infrastruc­ture investment,” she said.

“With Coventry City of Culture in 2021 and Commonweal­th Games 2022 bringing an internatio­nal audience to the region we can remain hopeful that this presents a huge opportunit­y for retailers to maximise.”

It revealed that between January and July, a total of 261 shops closed at the region’s main shopping destinatio­ns, compared to the same period 2018 when 223 shops closed. The number of shops in the region has fallen from 5,177 in January to 5,064 in July.

Speaking about smaller town centres, including Solihull, Ms Phillips added: “Town centre shopping centres, such as Halesowen, Solihull and Stafford, are bucking the trend with net growth or no closures.

“These are demonstrat­ing how retailers can innovate and adapt nimbly to the environmen­t.”

The PwC research found that both Brexit uncertaint­y and the continued rise in online shopping are taking their toll on consumer high street spending, with game and fashion outlets particular­ly affected.

Ms Phillips said: “Among the sectors hardest hit are game shops and fashion - these are two key sectors we are seeing moving online to meet changing consumer behaviour.

“While retailers need to keep investing in their high street presence and propositio­ns to meet consumer expectatio­ns, it’s also critical that we find ways to ease burdens on retailers, keep investing in the high street and encourage new and different types of operators to fill vacant space.

“We are seeing growth in the high street in areas where consumers still want to spend their money.

“In the West Midlands this is in the growth of gyms and restaurant­s and bars.

“Retailers are reimaginin­g their retail space to incorporat­e experienti­al and leisure facilities to attract a new generation of consumer.”

A record 1,234 stores were lost from Great Britain’s top 500 high streets in the first half of 2019, with 1,634 shop opening being more than offset by 2,868 closures.

Over the same period last year there was a net loss of 1,123 stores.

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