Liffey Valley taking time to rediscover its opening buzz

The Liffey Valley shopping centre is just eight months old and already there are question marks over the retail mix. When the centre opened in October, 1998, the developers talked about weekly footfall figures around the 250,000 mark. After the initial fanfare of its first week of trading, the figures dropped dramatically - and now, according to Donal McAlister, the centre's marketing manager, they come in at 120,000. This, he points out, is a 30 per cent increase since January.

So, clearly, the early months of the year were tough for the retailers, who are paying rents of £130 per sq. ft for Zone A -some of the highest out-of-town rates in the country. By comparison, nearby Blanchardstown and Tallaght regularly top the quarter-million mark and even more modest-sized centres, such as Navan and Wilton, in Cork, frequently attract a weekly footfall of 85,000 and 90,000 respectively.

According to Aidan O'Hogan, of Hamilton Osborne King, the centre's letting agents, the absence of a supermarket has affected the centre in terms of a regular flow of shoppers. "The lack of a supermarket definitely does impact, especially on mid-week business," says Mr O'Hogan, "However, eight months is a very short time in retail terms, it will take 12 to 18 months before things start to settle down."

Marks & Spencer has a large food hall in the centre but it would not be perceived as a destination supermarket for the average family's weekly shop. In Blanchardstown, shoppers can choose between Roches Stores and Dunnes. Retailers are having to review their expectations of the centre. Even disregarding the lack of a supermarket, some retailers suggest that the problems started early with the centre opening to the public with several empty units and the food hall not up and running.

One of the Irish retailers remarked that "you only get one chance in retail and in the first two weeks a lot of people travelled a long way to the centre and, frankly, were disappointed. We're not going to get them back again."

Some retailers, while willing to be interviewed about the centre are reluctant to be named. One reports that its Grafton Street shop is a quarter the size of its Liffey Valley shop yet it does three-times the business.

Sasha, the fashion retailer, reports that its shop in Liffey Valley trades at 60 per cent of its store in Blanchardstown. "We're taking the long view with Liffey Valley," says Eugene McGilloway, area manager for Sasha, "Our initial expectations were certainly high but it is unfair to directly compare Liffey Valley to Blanchardstown because that centre has been open three years and has had time to build up a clientele." In any case, Liffey Valley has from the start sold itself as being quite different from the competition, suggesting that its anchor tenant, M & S, would encourage a more upmarket shopper and that fashion would be its strongest draw.

According to Aidan O'Hogan the footfall is not the clearest indicator as to how the centre is doing. He points to the high spend per shopper, which in a recent exit poll averaged out at £121 per person - comparatively high when you consider groceries are not part of the spend.

Significantly, 65 per cent of those surveyed were in the ABC1 category, way above the national average.

However, the ironic thing about the retail mix is that so much of the formula is right. Aside from the lack of a supermarket, the rest of the mix is very strong with a range of high-quality, instantly recognisable retailers, from C & A to Pamela Scott, Boots to Bests. With few exceptions, all the units are fitted-out in a very stylish upmarket way, which all adds up to a positive shopping experience.

The fashion outlets in the centre have a strong youth appeal but there is a problem with the centre's location, which is perceived as being difficult for young, non-car drivers to get to. Research conducted by the centre suggested that people simply don't know how to get to it and that Liffey Valley's advertising, with the slogan "What do you get when you cross the M50 with the N4", hinders rather than helps.

The research showed Irish people still tend not to call roads by their numbers, preferring to describe them as, for example, the Lucan road or the Galway road.

For retailers that are taking the long view there is hope. Tesco has applied for planning permission for a large, stand-alone supermarket on the Liffey Valley site, which might solve the supermarket problem.

A planning application has been lodged that will almost double the size of the centre. This will make room for 35 extra stores and possibly a large department store. The developers, Barkhill Ltd, are also seeking planning for a further 104,000 sq. ft of buildings to include a restaurant and a library - all of which should allow a broader mix of shops and increase the drawing power of the centre as a whole.

The retail park is under construction and the cinema complex is set to open in mid-July. It is estimated that its 14 screens will attract 25,000 people a week.