Out Of Town: Mallorca's retailing

When I entered the world of proper work, the location was Wembley; an office right opposite the stadium. For twelve years, before relocating the business to Yorkshire, I witnessed the decline of Wembley as a commercial centre and especially Wembley High Road. The year before I had started work, something very significant had happened - Britain's first standalone, out-of-town shopping centre had opened. Brent Cross.

Some few miles away, Brent Cross had advantages that the High Road didn't. Apart from its new shops, it was sited by the junction of the A41 and the A406 North Circular Road. It was easily accessible, despite the heavy traffic, and parking was simple. The High Road was constantly logjammed and there was nowhere to park. Never exactly attractive anyway, it took little time for the High Road to become even more of a sorry sight as shops closed and trade dwindled. The High Road clung onto its Marks & Spencer, despite rumours that it was going to close almost as soon as Brent Cross had opened, but finally lost it in 2005.

There have been other Wembley High Roads, as town centres in Britain have been affected by the growth of out-of-town shopping malls. The arguments in Britain - economic, environmental, impact on local communities - are now being had in Mallorca. Relaxation of planning by the regional government paves the way for more out-of-town complexes and for the concentration of retail power in the hands of large companies, some of them multinationals.

Comparisons with Wembley High Road and other British town centres are possible only up to a point. Density of population is a reason why direct comparisons can't be made, another is the layout of town centres - in Britain, this is typically much more open than in Mallorca's old towns. A further reason is that local communities in Mallorca tend to be much closer than in Britain. This does ignore more rural British towns where the communities may be close, but as a general rule, it is probably fair to say that Mallorca's town communities are much tighter.

This closeness does, however, have its drawbacks. Retail parochialism in Mallorca's towns breeds a lack of competitiveness, a not always high regard for service and often a lack of variety, the latter a peculiarity given the sheer number of "locales". Planning requirements mean that where new builds have been undertaken there have to be ground floors for units of some form or another. They have led to an over-supply of shops and bars. Moreover, the layout of many Mallorcan towns brings with it a disadvantage as far as access and parking are concerned. 

The consequence of this is that the total economic benefit to Mallorca's towns is spread thinly. The turnover in "locales" is evidence of the over-supply, low levels of demand and more often than not ill-conceived business ideas. Towns in tourist areas, and Alcúdia town is a good example, can support a number of "bangle-and-bauble" type shop, but even then one has to wonder why there are as many as there are.

The associations representing small retail businesses are right to warn of closures that would come from an expansion of out-of-town facilities and a growth in the number of hypermarkets. In bringing the association for petrol service stations on board to fight the regional government's new commercial laws, Afedeco and Pimeco are highlighting the degree to which market liberalisation on the Balearics is about to follow that of Britain many years ago; the service stations are worried about supermarkets selling petrol.

Rationalisation of the retail sector would inevitably follow, and it is hard to envisage town centres not becoming like mini-Wembley High Roads. It is a development that many would bemoan, and not just small shop owners. But for all the sorrow that would be expressed regarding the breakdown of local communities and their shops, most of those expressing their sorrow would probably also be shopping out of town, as they would already have been. It's not as if the trend would be that new, given the existence of centres such as Al Campo's. 

The fear of retailing dominance by the large supermarkets, multiples and multinationals in out-of-town parks echoes that of the increased concentration of power of the hotels if they go ahead and include secondary activities within their grounds. These secondary activities strike me as unfair competition, but I don't feel the same about liberalisation of the retail sector. It needs modernising and it needs to be more competitive. If out-of-town hypermarkets mean both of these, then so be it.  


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.


Index for October 2012

Actors, celebrity tourists and pets - 19 October 2012
Albion Classic Motorcycle Tours - 29 October 2012
Alcúdia town hall e-government - 12 October 2012
All-inclusives and complementary sector opposition - 10 October 2012
Autumn in Mallorca - 8 October 2012
Balearics public sector investment - 3 October 2012
Bauzá and Balearics tourism - 13 October 2012
Cats in Mallorca - 26 October 2012
Cemeteries and dark tourism - 28 October 2012
Christian theme park in Inca - 9 October 2012
Complementary sector and tourism law - 5 October 2012
Council of Mallorca - 22 October 2012
Coup attempt of October 1982 - 21 October 2012
Cruise ships and expectations too high - 20 October 2012
Cultural tourism - 17 October 2012
Expatriates and Spain's troubles - 1 October 2012
Galicia/Basque elections - 23 October 2012
Health minister resignation - 25 October 2012
Hotel leasing by tour operators - 29 October 2012
Human towers - 15 October 2012
Important and influential Mallorcans - 4 October 2012
Juan Manuel and the university bomb plot - 7 October 2012
Out-of-town retailing - 31 October 2012
Playa de Muro cycling and seasonality - 14 October 2012
Pollensa secretarial appointment - 6 October 2012
Pop songs about Mallorca - 30 October 2012
Puerto Alcúdia market - 27 October 2012
Ryder Cup and Britishness - 2 October 2012
Social media, technology and tourism marketing - 18 October 2012
Spain national day - 11 October 2012
Tourism in the 1930s - 16 October 2012
Tourist statistics - 24 October 2012