Central Business Districts
Central Business Districts are the shopping, dining, event and commercial centre of each State. CBDs accommodate thousands of retail and hospitality businesses complemented by significant numbers of business offices and professional services. The CBD will usually have a flagship Mall or shopping centre that houses the most popular stores in the country including department stores and discount department stores. In addition, a myriad of unique arcades, business clusters and mainstreet precincts will attract millions of customers each year. Cities also host a many major events all year round including festivals and light shows. The evening economy is also a valuable attraction with bars, pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants and outdoor dining areas throughout the city centre. The concentration of hotel accommodation in the CBD provides additional spending from visiting tourists want to experience the city and State attractions.
Our director David West has a very unique CV having developed retail strategies for Adelaide CBD, Christchurch Central City, Fremantle, Queanbeyan CBD, Parramatta and Fed Square in the Melbourne CBD. In addition David’s experience with large shopping complexes provided the skills to develop many competitive strategies for Rundle Mall as a major shopping destination.
The strength of the CBD
Each city centre is made up of unique precincts, mainstreets and clusters of retail and hospitality businesses each with their own character and identity. David understands the fine grain detail in each mainstreet that contributes to the CBD. PRM has been engaged by Councils, Trader Associations and businesses in Australia and overseas to assess their city centre dynamics with the goal to improve the performance of businesses, reduce vacancies and guide the city centre to achieve sustainable outcomes.
In 2015 David developed the Experience Adelaide Retail Strategy 2015-2020 for the CBD and he implemented the actions detailed in the strategy for 5000 retail and hospitality businesses across the city for three years. David gained significant experience in management and marketing at Westfield shopping centres for ten years and Rundle Mall for six years.
Retail Strategy Case Studies for
Central Business Districts
CBD #1
City of Adelaide -South Australia
Premier Retail Marketing Director David West worked as the Senior Adviser in the City of Adelaide to create the CBD Experience Adelaide City Retail Strategy 2015 – 2020. The Strategy included four key outcomes: A Remarkable Experience, A Compelling Offer, A Destination of Choice and A Prosperous Retail Sector.
A detailed Action Plan was developed to measure progress and all businesses were provided with a summary of the actions and outcomes each year. The Strategy was well supported by the business community.
CBD #2
City of Christchurch – New Zealand
Premier Retail Marketing completed a Central City Retail Review to provide insights into the current retail position of the Central City following the post-earthquake rebuild of the city centre. In addition a Toolkit for Improving Business was developed as a resource for Council and businesses moving forward.
The Central City Review focused on four areas: Customer Experience, Customer Attraction, Customer Offer and Partnerships. The Toolkit provided a compact report of actions for the Central City Business Association (CCBA), ChristchurchNZ (Tourism), Council and businesses.
CBD #3
Queanbeyan – New South Wales
Premier Retail Marketing was engaged by Queanbeylerang Council to develop a Retail Growth Strategy and Action Plan with key recommendations for commercial revitalisation. PRM worked with Geoff Coghlin of Foresight Partners to create detailed statistical tables to highlight business mix gap analysis and opportunities for growth.
Research included trade area analysis, expenditure analysis and forecasts in addition to competitor analysis and a full tenancy mix analysis by street and centre. The Report included key issues to be addressed, retail development opportunities, customer survey results and a SWOT derived from an assessment of key success factors such as governance and marketing.
Some of our Favourite
Central Business Districts
David has travelled the world looking at mainstreets and city centres. He has visited the UK almost 10 times and the USA 5 times to research mainstreets, high streets, pedestrian malls and city centres. Each city has its own strengths and weaknesses and many strategies for building growth. Business Improvement Districts are having a positive effect on city centres even during Covid. David uses these visits to add value to your retail and hospitality project.
Favourites include: London, Paris, New York, Philadelphia, Sydney, Bristol, Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Melbourne, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Seattle, Auckland and Portland just to name a few.
Photo Credits – Marylebone – Howard D Walden Estate
Auckland – iShootPhotosLLC
