if
it's about Cardiff..
Sport, Entertainment, Transportation, Business,
Development Projects, Leisure, Eating, Drinking,
Nightlife, Shopping, Train Spotting! etc.. then we want it here!
I looked at renting a unit on Barrack lane when it first opened and was quoted £17k to £21k p.a. Needless to say I didn't bother. However once Admiral opens these units should house profitable businesses. I walked past yesterday and the cafes were all full at 1:30 pm.
There is an application in for the former Peacocks unit on the corner of Queen St/Parl Place. The proposal is to split the unit between Greggs (entrance on Park Place) and Costa Coffee (entrance on Queen St). Better than an empty unit I suppose but just how many Greggs and Costa Coffee's can one city centre support?
There is also an application for a bagel place in St Davids - the unit between Build a Bear and Cex I think.
Greggs back it its old unit? or is that now the entrance to vitality? either way i remember it being there years ago on park place (probably whilst River Island was there)
Greggs back it its old unit? or is that now the entrance to vitality? either way i remember it being there years ago on park place (probably whilst River Island was there)
It's always been a sad little space. When I was a kid that unit, along with the current WH Smith shop and Henry's Cafe Bar was Seccombe's - the lowest of the low of Cardiff's department stores.
If I remember the pecking order right, it was -
James Howell
David Morgan
Makcross
Evan Roberts
Marment's
Seccombe's
Any news on whats happening with the Habitat unit? Are Miller & Carter taking up a segment of the unit? Has anyone seen the unit split plans?
If it is being split up into restaurant units, I would love to see the return of Hard Rock taking up some space. I went to the Manchester restaurant yesterday and there was a 2 hour + wait for tables and a packed bar. Hard rock certainly hasn't lost its touch, I just think its Cardiff premises were not right for them. Cardiff has grown so much since the closure of Hard Rock on Mary Street. I dont think their Brewery Quarter unit was the right unit for the restaurant as it was so out of the way from the shopping hustle and bustle, however I think Hard Rock Cafe would do extremely well on The Hayes! The footfall is much greater in and around St Davids and I think they could create a stand out unit if they took the front/largest unit!
Hard Rock have just opened a cafe in Glasgow on the cities busiest shopping street - Surely a Hard Rock Cafe on The Hayes wouldn't be too impossible...
With F&B and TGI's doing so well in Cardiff right now, surely this would be the right time for Hard Rock to return? What do you guy's think?
Personally, Hard Rock Cafes strike me as being incredibly naff. But if they're popular still, why not. Better than an empty unit / half-unit, I suppose.
Didn't realise there were so few Hard Rock Cafe's in the UK with only restaurants in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow currently. The Hard Rock Cafe's in Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and the one in our Brewery Quarter all closing in the past couple of years.
Yeah I remember when there used to be more, their heyday seemed to be in the 90s. Like you said lots of them shut down not that long ago. Never been in one, so dunno if that was due to them being crap.
Celli's - which appears to be a hairdressers - is due to open in the old Rohan unit next to the Cottage
Wok to Walk has made an application for 42 St Mary St which is next to Subways and used to be a Bargain Booze or something similar. It's a rather nice four storey building which if looked after and painted could be very attractive but currently has the appearance of being abandoned by it's owner.
Pieminister - looks like an upmarket pie and mash shop - have made an application for the old Toni and Guy unit near the entrance to Morgan Arcade. Apparently they are making this their flagship outlet and spending 150k.
Sorry - it may be Wok to Go, Wok and Woll, Wok's Going On, Wok's Love Got to Do With It - or something with Wok in the title. The application doesn't mention them already having existing premises so I'm assuming that it's a new outfit.
Other retail news - William Hills are kitting out their exciting new outlet next to the Owain Glyndwr. Previously customers would have had to walk past two Bet Fred's, two Ladbrokes, a Paddy Power and a Coral to access their other outlet in St Mary Street, so this has come not a minute too soon.
Also there was an application for change of use to A3 for the unit previously occupied by the Works in Church Street. Looks like this street will be dominated by eateries soon, with only Poundstretcher carrying the retail flag.
Also there was an application for change of use to A3 for the unit previously occupied by the Works in Church Street. Looks like this street will be dominated by eateries soon, with only Poundstretcher carrying the retail flag.
I think a switch to A3 use in Church Street is probably a good thing. The Mill Lane "cafe quarter" seems to appeal to a younger demgraphic. A more sedate cafe district is a plus in my view.
Other retail news - William Hills are kitting out their exciting new outlet next to the Owain Glyndwr. Previously customers would have had to walk past two Bet Fred's, two Ladbrokes, a Paddy Power and a Coral to access their other outlet in St Mary Street, so this has come not a minute too soon.
I feel like I'm missing out on a major underground social movement of our age by never going in these places. They must be financial goldmines if their physical proliferation is anything to go by.
Other retail news - William Hills are kitting out their exciting new outlet next to the Owain Glyndwr. Previously customers would have had to walk past two Bet Fred's, two Ladbrokes, a Paddy Power and a Coral to access their other outlet in St Mary Street, so this has come not a minute too soon.
I feel like I'm missing out on a major underground social movement of our age by never going in these places. They must be financial goldmines if their physical proliferation is anything to go by.
William Hill= a hill of bills
Ladbrokes = Broke lads
Paddy Power = Paddy will have power over your assets
There is an application for change of use to A3 for 11 High st. This used to be the Antics model shop close to the entrance to the High St arcade.
The application is on behalf of Vinitalia which is the company behind Casanova restaurant. It seems like the application is for a wine bar/restaurant with (I think) off sales of Italian produce. I'm not sure if this will mean that the Casanova restaurant in Quay Street will close or not.
If this does go ahead then it will cement the High St/Quay St/Church St axis as a dining destination, with some pretty decent independent eateries plus the national chains. High St retail is now of the specialist variety - High and Mighty, Cranes, Kitchens, the Uni bookshop, fancy dress store, tattoo parlour, Games Workshop, jeweller etc - which is probably for the best as the retail offering is not in competition with most of whats on offer in St Davids and Queen Street.
Other retail news - William Hills are kitting out their exciting new outlet next to the Owain Glyndwr. Previously customers would have had to walk past two Bet Fred's, two Ladbrokes, a Paddy Power and a Coral to access their other outlet in St Mary Street, so this has come not a minute too soon.
I feel like I'm missing out on a major underground social movement of our age by never going in these places. They must be financial goldmines if their physical proliferation is anything to go by.
Read somehwere that they make very little money in terms of "betting" in these outlets - most of their actual sales are now online, apps and mobile etc.
But each of these betting outlets has 2 or 3 fruit machines in them which are an absolute gold mine! But gambling regulations state that they are only allowed 2 or 3 (I forget the number) in each one, but there are no rules against you having 8 William Hill's all next to each other on a high street each with a pair of fruit machines in them.
Bristol Cabot Circus have just scored one over St Davids Cardiff! Pull & Bear are opening their second store outside of London at Cabot Circus! I had high hopes that Cardiff would have been high on the agenda, but I cant imagine them opening a third out of london Pull and Bear store so close to their second :/
Disappointing - would have been a coup for Cardiff!
I think sales in the centre are around the £430 million mark... so around £1 million a day during most of the year, and £2 million around Christmas. To be honest, its rather low given the size of the centre and the centre catchment. The John Lewis is outsold by smaller stores in Kingston, Cribbs, Reading, Cambridge and even High Wycombe!!
In other news... Helical Bar's half year statement contains the following update on Morgan Quarter, which seems quite positive. Rent levels up about 1/3 on 2008 (probably reflecting it now being a stronger pitch), and some office conversions on upper floors at some pretty good rental levels.
The Morgan Quarter, Cardiff
We are close to agreeing the outstanding rent reviews on The Hayes with Molton Brown and White Stuff at figures consistent with the Jack Wills letting and previous rent reviews. These will show an increase of circa £80,000pa in aggregate and rental growth of 34% between 2008 and 2013. Two lettings on the recently pedestrianised St Mary's Street have set encouraging new rental levels, circa 33% above previous levels, and letting activity continues in the two listed Arcades. We are also progressing the Creative Quarter, a project to bring approximately 18,000 sq ft of redundant upper parts back into office use. We have already agreed terms to let phase one of this at rents above appraisal levels (circa £17.50 psf).
Bristol Cabot Circus have just scored one over St Davids Cardiff! Pull & Bear are opening their second store outside of London at Cabot Circus! I had high hopes that Cardiff would have been high on the agenda, but I cant imagine them opening a third out of london Pull and Bear store so close to their second :/
Disappointing - would have been a coup for Cardiff!
Let's get a bit of life perspective here old chap. Pull and Bear is only a shop selling the same kind of stuff as H&M, C&A, etc etc.Trust me, all is not lost, life will continue without said presence in this city.
what you are missing is that Pull & Bear would be filling a unit... doubt it will take a Cardiff store with it being so close to Bristol, so therefore units are remaining empty.
Bristol Cabot Circus have just scored one over St Davids Cardiff! Pull & Bear are opening their second store outside of London at Cabot Circus! I had high hopes that Cardiff would have been high on the agenda, but I cant imagine them opening a third out of london Pull and Bear store so close to their second :/
Disappointing - would have been a coup for Cardiff!
Let's get a bit of life perspective here old chap. Pull and Bear is only a shop selling the same kind of stuff as H&M, C&A, etc etc.Trust me, all is not lost, life will continue without said presence in this city.
I was just about to say this. Pull and Bear is not a coup by any stretch of the imagination. Its fare is pretty similar to most other fashion retailers within the centre.
Just because an international chain has few outlets in the UK, doesn't mean it's anything special. Don't forget, many territories don't have high street fashion in the same way we do.
Pieminister is more of a coup really. They have become very trendy with a lot of high profile celebrity fans including David Beckham, Kate Moss and John Cleese. I believe they're Bristol based too so to put their flagship in Cardiff is quite something.
Pull and Bear is just a relatively low cost clothes retailer. Similarly the likes of Bershka and Aeropostale. It would be good if any of them were here as it would fill up empty units, a few extra jobs and add more choice for shoppers and that's the obviously the same for any potential new store. There's certainly no reason price wise that they wouldn't do well. We have plenty of other brands where people are happy to buy their clothes from that are far more expensive.
I've always been curious why such brands don't come to the city when their products are easily affordable and aren't that different to what's already here.
Maybe we haven't got a good reputation for trying new brands ? Does anyone know why ?
Thinking about it,and admittedly I know next to nothing about clothes shops, but I won't let that stop me.... Springfield opened (and closed) in the centre. Springfield is also a Spanish clothing operation (I think) so possibly their experience has put off Pull&Bear? Maybe they have the same parent co?
I've always been curious why such brands don't come to the city when their products are easily affordable and aren't that different to what's already here.
Maybe we haven't got a good reputation for trying new brands ? Does anyone know why ?
I don't think "City that has a good reputation for trying new brands" is one of the criteria when a new brand is looking to open a store.
Pull and Bear & Bershka are part of the same company as Zara, and probably don't have the funds/inclination to expand too much outside of London. Any Aeropostale stores outside of the US are franchised so I'd imagine funds are limited there too.
When it comes to High Street fashion, the UK does it better than any other territory, so it's not surprising many international brands are so reluctant to roll out stores.
Thinking about it,and admittedly I know next to nothing about clothes shops, but I won't let that stop me.... Springfield opened (and closed) in the centre. Springfield is also a Spanish clothing operation (I think) so possibly their experience has put off Pull&Bear? Maybe they have the same parent co?
Wasn't there some sort of commercial deal with the owner of St.Davids to roll the brand out across their UK stores ? Or was that someone else ? I'm sure I read that it hadn't worked out and they pulled out of the country altogether.
I thought the shop was okay, but I hardly ever saw anyone in there buying anything. They have a couple of stores in Dubai as well and both those stores seemed the same.
There is an application for change of use to A3 for 11 High st. This used to be the Antics model shop close to the entrance to the High St arcade.
The application is on behalf of Vinitalia which is the company behind Casanova restaurant. It seems like the application is for a wine bar/restaurant with (I think) off sales of Italian produce. I'm not sure if this will mean that the Casanova restaurant in Quay Street will close or not.
Wouldn't have thoughts the old Antics site was any bigger than the current Casanova (which is a superb restaurant). So unless there is reason to move would imagine this is an addition. Just hope standards don't slip by being distracted from the original business.
Pieminister is more of a coup really. They have become very trendy with a lot of high profile celebrity fans including David Beckham, Kate Moss and John Cleese. I believe they're Bristol based too so to put their flagship in Cardiff is quite something.
I used to work in Bristol a few years back and there was a mini uproar when Pieminster announced they were moving their factory to South Wales. Their HQ is still there but all the pies are made up the road so I suppose a Cardiff store was on the cards.
I used to work in Bristol a few years back and there was a mini uproar when Pieminster announced they were moving their factory to South Wales. Their HQ is still there but all the pies are made up the road so I suppose a Cardiff store was on the cards.
Apparently they abandoned the plan to move to Llantrisant and purchased their existing bakery near Bristol instead.
I used to work in Bristol a few years back and there was a mini uproar when Pieminster announced they were moving their factory to South Wales. Their HQ is still there but all the pies are made up the road so I suppose a Cardiff store was on the cards.
Apparently they abandoned the plan to move to Llantrisant and purchased their existing bakery near Bristol instead.
My ignorance of my ex place of work obviously kicked back in as soon as I left. LOL.
We have a lot of Pull & Bear shops here in London, at first you think wow amazing clothes at good prices, then u get them home and realise the fit is shit, the belts fall apart, the shirts buttons fall of and the worst is the chino's, the arse wears on the back of the knees! i would never recomend that shop again!
We have a lot of Pull & Bear shops here in London, at first you think wow amazing clothes at good prices, then u get them home and realise the fit is shit, the belts fall apart, the shirts buttons fall of and the worst is the chino's, the arse wears on the back of the knees! i would never recomend that shop again!
There's a reason why their stuff is so cheap. I had a similar experience with a couple of their t-shirts that I purchased from one of their Dubai stores, but others have been fine that I've purchased while in Spain and have lasted years. They are a bit hit and miss I think.
It'd be nice to see an American Apparel in Cardiff.
I spoke to the manager of American Apparel in Bristol. They are from Tonyrefail and have tried to champion Cardiff as a new location, they want to run it.
However, via teleconferencing with their American owners, they have a lack of knowledge of anywhere in Wales. I have told them to continue pressing even if it's just to stop me having to drive my daughter all the way to Cabot Circus.
I don't think anyone has mentioned this before on the forum - Morrisons are opening in the former 'sports unit' on the St Mary St corner of Caroline St.
Forgot to mention that the 'M Local' signs have all long since disappeared, so maybe they are not moving in after all.
On other arcade realated news, they have taken down the window coverings from Barker's Tea Shoppe in High St Arcade. This project was supposed to be ready in Autumn 2012. It appears as if a hell of a lot of effort has been expended on the fit-out. It is very reminiscent of Barker's Coffee Shoppe so probably cost quite a mint to kit out.
On other arcade realated news, they have taken down the window coverings from Barker's Tea Shoppe in High St Arcade. This project was supposed to be ready in Autumn 2012. It appears as if a hell of a lot of effort has been expended on the fit-out. It is very reminiscent of Barker's Coffee Shoppe so probably cost quite a mint to kit out.
Fit-out must be running late - they're missing out on the bumper Christmas trade. Looking forward to trying it though.
Matalan is considering a wider launch onto the high street as it ramps up its fashion credentials to take on more aspirational rivals.
Drapers understands the value retailer has signed a lease to take a property in Cardiff city centre, and is thought to be eyeing Northern cities such as Manchester or Leeds. The Cardiff store, at 43 Queen Street, is expected to open towards the end of the year.
Other retailers on the street include Primark, New Look, Topshop and Marks & Spencer.
Matalan, which has 217 UK stores, is also thought to be scouting for a prime London location, with sources suggesting it was keen to get onto Oxford Street, but it is not believed to have found a suitable site.
The Cardiff move follows Matalan’s successful high street debut last autumn, when model and footballer’s wife Abbey Clancy opened a store in Liverpool’s Williamson Square and put her name to a collection.
The news comes as the retailer continues a turnaround in its womenswear division. Matalan buying director Mitchell Hughes told Drapers last November that the division was getting “back on track”, with a new team in place and greater emphasis on trends and statement pieces.
It is believed Matalan is hoping a higher profile in high street locations, coupled with more trend-led collections, could pit it against the likes of Primark and River Island.
Matalan managing director Jason Hargreaves, son of founder John Hargreaves, said: “We opened a store in Liverpool town centre in October last year and we have been pleased with the results to date.
“We intend to open another pilot store in Cardiff towards the end of this year that will be a larger concept. We will continue to review the results of these city centre stores so that we can better understand the opportunities they provide for us. Presently, there are no plans in place to open any further stores.”
The strategy comes after a year in which both retail parks and high streets experienced drops in footfall, although out-of-town locations fared slightly better with a decline of 0.94% compared with a drop of 1.19% on the high street throughout the UK.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard Research, said high streets were more “volatile and unpredictable”, often as a result of the weather, but that Matalan could benefit from “huge spikes in footfall at certain times – buoyed by the evening economy”.
43 Queen Street would be the existing Primark store on Queen Street, so that now seems to confirm Primark will not trade from two stores in Cardiff once the new St David's store opens.
That's interesting to hear, I always thought that it would be BHS taking over Primark's unit in a swap though. I wonder if BHS have plans to locate back to the city centre soon at all and if so where could they go?!
Primark were not in the Capitol Centre. Before moving to their current store on Queen Street they were on Frederick Street in the area now occupied by St. David's 2.
That MSU is being split in two with the proposed Wahaca restaurant replacing LK Bennett trading over 2 levels. The MSU will shrink to about 15000 feet I think, which is probably a bit too small.
Does anyone know when/why Harley's cafe in Royal Arcade closed down?
I went in there a few times when I used to work in town, I thought it was quite popular.
It closed a few months ago. I think it struggled when Fresh baguette store opened up and then Wally's delicatessan opened a cafe upstairs - all in the same arcade.