Is Wicklow Street destined to become the new centre of retail in Dublin? How far does the advantageous geographical association with Grafton Street spread? And are streets to the west or east side of Ireland's premier shopping thoroughfare more desirable?
Now that Grafton Street has become almost inaccessible to new players trying to enter the market, all adjacent routes have seen their values rise. The most obvious and substantial beneficiary during the past decade has been Wicklow Street.
Once simply a connecting road between Grafton and South Great George's Streets, as the latter's worth declined, that of Wicklow improved. "Wicklow Street is the next step on the retailers' Monopoly board," confirms Larry Brennan of Hamilton Osborne King.
He notes that the street has gradually acquired a strong fashion character, thanks in part to its proximity to the recently-refurbished Powerscourt Townhouse Centre where a number of major English chains such as French Connection and Karen Millen have opened outlets.
For shoppers Wicklow Street has become a natural link between the Powerscourt Centre and Grafton Street. "Wicklow Street has really taken off," Fergus Cross of College Properties agrees. He argues that the quality of the street is apparent from the start, since at the top it is flanked by Brown Thomas on one side and Weir's jewellers on the other. The presence of Tower Records in the old Wicklow Hotel building helps attract a youthful consumer on to the street and other names such as Morgan and Kookai have accordingly moved in. Then there are even newer arrivals such as childrenswear retailer Kid Kool.
But older shoppers are also catered for thanks to the presence on the street of such companies as menswear retailer Louis Copeland. The result is a strong mixture of names catering for almost every sector of the market. For this reason, Ben Pearson of Douglas Newman Good explains, key money in excess of £200,000 can now be paid for shops on Wicklow Street.
Obviously the value of sites on all streets off Wicklow Street have in turn risen. Hamilton Osborne King's Larry Brennan believes the spread has reached as far as George's Street where he points to almost 100 per cent occupancy rates. This street is now better known for its bars and restaurants than for shopping opportunities and these tend to cluster as close to Grafton Street as possible, not least because the latter is pedestrianised and therefore consumers will walk into outlets in the immediate vicinity.
Clarendon, South William and Drury Streets have all improved immensely in appearance and character over the past 10 years, as have even quite minor linking laneways. South William Street is typical of the changes which have occurred; until the early 1990s, it was almost entirely given over to clothing wholesale outlets but now has as many retailers as well as a number of cafes and restaurants.
On the other side of Grafton Street, the story may be somewhat different. On Duke Street, a number of strongly established premises have limited opportunities for retailers hoping to gain a presence. Marks & Spencer takes up a certain amount of space, as do three pubs, the Bailey, the Duke and Davy Byrnes. A section of the street is also awaiting redevelopment, which is also true of South Anne Street, where many buildings between Dawson Street and Anne's Lane remain unoccupied.
Furthermore, Ben Pearson points out that South Anne Street hosts a preponderance of food and drink outlets in the areas closest to Grafton Street, which limits retail opportunities. But Wicklow Street appears to be the preferred site for retailers unable to locate on Grafton Street itself. "More opportunities have arisen there than elsewhere," comments College Properties's Fergus Cross. "At least 10 properties have changed hands on Wicklow Street in the past three or four years and any coming on to the market now will have two or three people interested."
