Smash hit

Economists attribute the spending spree to a young population with high disposable incomes buoyed by low rates of taxation, good employment prospects and low interest rates. They also point out that the maturation of special savings incentive accounts over the next couple of years is likely to spark more spending rather than less.

Given these factors, Bannon is bullish on Dundrum’s future, but says future growth will occur in the city centre and outside of the capital rather than in the suburbs.
“I don’t know how many more schemes Dublin can take,” Bannon said. “Retail for retail’s sake is not going to work. It is no longer a case of ‘if we build it, they will come’.”

Although developers are attracting high-profile tenants to centres around the country, about 50% of the nation’s retail space is in the capital.

Older suburban malls such as Crumlin, Northside in Coolock and the Omni Park in Santry are being given makeovers to ensure they don’t lose out.

Permission has also been granted for expansion to Swords, Blanchardstown and Liffey Valley and new centres are planned for Sandyford and Carrickmines.

Suburban shopping malls had been expected to seduce customers away from the city centre but this has not happened.

In retail spending terms, it is healthier than ever.

“The completion of various infrastructural projects in the past 12 months has improved accessibility and the overall attractiveness of the city centre as a destination for Irish shoppers,” said Cormac Kennedy, director of retail at CB Richard Ellis Gunne.

“[Although] major new out-of-town retail destinations such as Dundrum have come on stream since last year, shoppers still have an affinity with the city centre, which is borne out by our latest footfall counts.”

Pedestrian footfall on Grafton Street in the second quarter of this year remained similar to last year, with an average of 11,200 pedestrians an hour recorded, according to CB Richard Ellis Gunne.

Tom Coffey, the chief executive of the Dublin City Centre Business Association, says he is not surprised by the city centre’s resilience. “For a really vibrant shopping experience you need the kind of access afforded by city centres, where public transport complements the car,” he said. “Shopping is also about people-watching and city centres provide an interesting mix rather than the battery hen experience of suburbia.”

He says shoppers can also expect to see a variety of new retailers opening up away from the traditional shopping thoroughfares as high rents and small unit sizes, on Grafton Street in particular, drive retailers to the side streets.

Paddy McKillen, a developer, plans to snare stand-alone Gucci and Prada stores for a project on South Anne Street.

O’Reilly’s Castlethorn Developments is right in the thick of things in this area, with a five-storey, office and retail scheme on South King Street. He is plainly still betting the cash registers will keep on ringing.

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