- This topic has 14 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 8 months ago by
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@shakeel wrote:
@mark. How long you have lived in Spain ???? A Spanish Landlord will keep the properties empty for years but will not budge from the rent that they have in mind.
This is very much part of Spanish mentality. Just have to look at the property prices with the banks.
We see British chains closing down all the time eg HMV, Jessops and the like. Ok, so the rise of eCommerce has a lot to do with it, but rents on British high streets have been a concern for many years now (look for various threads on HPC ). It’s not a specific “Spanish mentality” but greed by landlords everywhere.
Besides which, we’re being constantly told that Catalonia isn’t Spain! 😉 -
DBmarcos:
Catalonians are known for being tight. Catalans want to be Spanish when it suits them and I dont have an issue with this.HMV, Comet & Jessops had not moved with the time & their business model had not evolved. The high street is dying due to not improvising and not to mention the the over zelous parking attendents onto a good number.
I have many friends in retail as tenants &/or landlords. The problem starts when one of the big Amercian franchises moves in and they must have a particular premises in a particular street. They will pay whatever having very deep pockets. This than set the price escalation/price increases for the particular high street.
A very good example is Sloane street & Bond street in London, no self respecting designor can be without being there.
I am not aware of the street that Mark has posted the photo of, a non franchise shop just cannot sustain the cost. Besides British retailing is very different to Spanish retailing. An Average Brit has a higher disposable income & London attracts more tourist than Spain.
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The problem starts when one of the big Amercian franchises moves in and they must have a particular premises in a particular street.
Well yes – we’re talking about Starbucks aren’t we? See also Zara!
I was up in Glasgow this last week. City centre looks fine and bustling, but some of the neighbourhood high streets look like they’ve been ravaged by war. Worse than some of the London inner city high streets, where at least chicken and kebab shops function next to the nail bars and charity shops. Unless your retail concern can pay the high rents of in-demand areas (and shopping centres seem to be still growing) then they are in a very difficult spot.btw. It’s also a chain, but Tiger stores are doing very well (they’re a Danish outfit). First saw them in Madrid, now I’ve seen them in Hammersmith and in Glasgow. A great gift shop.
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Starbucks is just one of them. I had been argueing this with my friends that I do not see that why any business that is not selling products that need to be consumed on the premises needs to have their presence on the high street.
The charity shops have short leases, so there is a high turnover & I see them constantly moving few doors every so often. We are left with Kebab shop, Indian, Chinses, Sheehsa bars, pubs ( not many in high street ) Pizza etc. They can just about survive with cost of food going up in the inrtnational commodity market. Big cities like London, where there are a lot of single people & many people may not have time and as such extend their customs.
I blame Nepolian whose commented that the English were a nation of shop keepers. His commens were made before the Asian corner shops were opened.
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Mark, that is a pity; i know the area very well. This is now typical all over Spain; Madrid, Valencia even on the major high streets. Apart from the recession it’s mainly that these shops have become surplus to requirements and are not relevant anymore. commercial rents need to half at least and even then there won’t be demand from shopkeepers!!!…….
it must be nearly time to buy a flat in Eixample though??
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To be honest, from the long shadows that photo looks like it was taken quite early in the morning, and I can’t see any “Se vende” or “Se alquila” signs on those shops. At least three of the shops appear to have their blinds half open, and a man appears to be looking into one of them. To me it looks like the shops are simply closed rather than closed down. Interesting to see the Catalan flags though.
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This is happening a lot all over, many high streets in the UK are looking the same, I think I heard somewhere towards the end of last year that 25% of retail shops in the UK are empty, the recession is one reason but people’s shopping habits are also changing so expect to see far more retail outlets boarded up, rents are high but rates, ibi ect are also high so you need to make good money before you start putting food on the table
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@mark wrote:
This picture taken today by a friend of mine. All the shops have closed down on Calle Urgell between Aragon and Consejo de Ciento, in the centre of Barcelona. It’s a similar story all over the Eixample. 🙁
I guess at some points rents have to fall so low that business can afford them……
Well yes.
When you are talking about such small shops as well, the rent tends to be disproportionate to the rent.
doing a quick search on google gives you an idea of what shops there were in 2008 (not looking that healthy back then!).
I can see a tiny butchers, tiny party shop (ballons, etc…), a closed shop that says it does rehabilitacion de edificios, and a bike (moped) repair shop.Also I would have thought that these sorts of businesses are not suited to being on a busy highstreet. They are all businesses (except for the reform company) that would benefit from larger premises off the high street (maybe) to take advantage of economies of scale, etc…
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@Mark,
actually out of curiosity, would you have any photos of the other side of the street, or the same side further down. On hte other side there are several bars/restaurante, tel. shops, and further to the right of the photo there is a bank & pastiserria. More the sort of businesses I expect on a spanish highstreet.
Do you know if they are still open Mark? -
@Fuengi wrote:
@Mark,
actually out of curiosity, would you have any photos of the other side of the street, or the same side further down. On hte other side there are several bars/restaurante, tel. shops, and further to the right of the photo there is a bank & pastiserria. More the sort of businesses I expect on a spanish highstreet.
Do you know if they are still open Mark?Sorry, don’t know about that particular block. Pic was taken by a friend.
But the point is about 30pc of commercial space is empty in this part of central Barcelona. Partly because the urban model means there is a structural oversupply of commercial space given the size of the residential population, but mainly because of the economic crisis and the fact that 1 in 3 unemployed people in Europe are Spanish 😯
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