A busy shopping centre pumps more than £800 million into Swansea’s economy every year, it’s been revealed.
The news has delighted the Swansea BID partnership which was set up to boost the city’s business credentials.
According to the organisers, the Quadrant which attracts 16 million shoppers annually is a vital part of the economic lifeblood.
More than 1,500 people work at the shopping centre where the 35 shops pay out an estimated £22 million in wages.
Russell Greenslade, Chief Executive of Swansea Business Improvement District which represents over 800 buisnesses in the area, said: “This underlines the key strategic part The Quadrant Shopping Centre plays in the economy of Swansea City Centre and indeed it’s leading role in the retail offer of the City Centre.
“This coupled with the sheer number of people employed at the businesses within it who in turn spend money in the City Centre daily be it on lunch, coffee etc makes the Quadrant a key economic driver for the area.”
The British Council of Shopping Centres estimate that shoppers in enclosed, covered shopping centres like the Quadrant spend an average of £52 per person.
Based on the Quadrant’s impressive 16 million annual footfall that adds up to £824 million a year ringing up on the tills of its 35 stores.
Victoria Gould, of Jones Lang LaSalle, who market the centre for LaSalle Investment Management, said: “Swansea and the Quadrant Centre are a success story with the football team flying high in the Premier League and that sweet smell of success is helping to boost retail as well.
“The Quadrant Centre really is vibrant and that’s shown by the fact that it plays such a major part in the local economy and in attracting people to the city.
“The fact that the Quadrant Centre rarely has empty units and has no problem filling any vacancies shows that we are bucking the trend in retail.
“The opening of the new Superdry and Card Factory stores and the major refit of Vision Express show a real confidence in the outlook for the Quadrant Centre and for Swansea generally.
“Since the new bus station reopened last year there has been a marked improvement in footfall, particularly in that area of the centre.
“The Quadrant also provides employment for over 1500 people and they take home wages of more than £22 million – there is an accepted formula that says that each pound is spent five times locally and that adds up to over £100 million being spent in the Swansea economy.”
Superdry took over the former Oasis and Fusion stores at the Centre to give themselves a 2,700 sqft ground floor sales area, with upstairs for storage and staff facilities – in all the Centre boasts 440,000 square feet of retail space and retailers include Debenhams, WHSmith, Boots, HMV, Clarks, The Body Shop, Schuh and Animal.
A recent Skill Smart Retail survey carried out for Swansea City BID – Business Improvement District – which has over 850 businesses affiliated to it, found that 84 per cent of shoppers questioned thought the Quadrant had a good variety of national retail chains.
The survey assessor said: “My visit has made me want to come back to Swansea city centre because of its clean streets and its various shops. The indoor market offered an opportunity to shop the traditional way, while the Quadrant Shopping Centre and its various big outlets were also available, offering a great retail mix.”
Julian Dunkerton, CEO of Superdry owners Supergroup Plc said: “This is an exciting time for us. Swansea is a cool city and The Quadrant a busy and attractive retail centre.
“A lot of hard work and creativity have gone into the store’s design and fitting out and I hope that it will be as successful as our others.”
Superdry manager Lucy Littlejohns said: “It has gone exceptionally well since the opening and we’re really pleased with the way it’s taken off here in Swansea.
“We’ve created 12 new jobs and these are jobs offering real prospects for people to progress within the organisation.
“The other shops are also saying they’re pleased we’re here because it’s meant they’re getting more shoppers in as well.”
Chris Thomas, joint leasing agent at Quadrant, of Bristol-based independent retail property consultants Macarthur Wilson, said: “The Quadrant has been pretty resilient. It’s got good footfall and a good mix of tenants.
“The £13 million spent on refurbishing the bus station has helped dramatically and the Centre is well-established, it’s got major retailers, good parking and it’s covered.”
Quadrant Centre manager Ian Kirkpatrick said: “The Quadrant is a successful centre because it’s so well situated and has such a good range of shops. I estimate 80 to 90 per cent of the people who go shopping in the city pass through the Quadrant and a lot of those who don’t intend to go shopping walk through as well to the bus station or car park and they look at the window displays and see things they like. The tenants recognise this which makes my job easier but we never have units empty for long – if one leaves the space is soon filled.”
