Consumer Editor Emma McKinney discovers how a shopping mall is turning to art in a bid to beat dwindling footfalls and stop stores lying empty.
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TIMES are undoubtedly tough for Birmingham retailers.
It was bad enough when they were just facing an economy still battling back from recession, which has left consumers strapped for cash thanks to wages staying low, high levels of unemployment and rising utility, fuel and food bills.
Then last month’s riots added insult to injury, with shops left with hefty clean-up costs, fears of higher insurance premiums and a loss in trade while shoppers avoided the city through worry of more lawlessness.
According to new data released by the British Retail Consortium, shops in the West Midlands saw footfall drop by just over six per cent between May and July 2011 compared with the same period last year.
The region is one of the worst affected in the UK, with the national drop in footfall being one per cent. And to make it worse, the number of shops lying empty after businesses have floundered is now 10.5 per cent in the West Midlands.
The new data comes as traders across the city face uncertainty as public sector funding set aside to support local high streets faces the axe.
Last month it was announced that at least six of Birmingham City Council-funded 11 town centre managers, who were recruited to transform high streets and turn around ailing shopping centres, will lose their jobs from next month.
But while the future looks gloomy, one Birmingham city centre shopping mall refuses to give up hope and has been thinking outside the box in a bid to beat the retail industry’s demise. Ten
of Great Western Arcade’s 42 units are currently empty and bosses of the arcade, which dates back to 1875, are coming up with innovative ways to make the most out of a bad situation.
They have turned one of those empty units into a temporary “shop” for artist Elizabeth Whitehouse.
Complete with eye-catching window displays showing off her latest work, it is hoped that the initiative will attract customers to the arcade off Colmore Row.
A spokeswoman for the arcade says: “We thought that it would be a good idea to have an artist in residence so that although the unit is empty, it still looks open for business.
“That way shoppers aren’t put off by empty units and it also shows people thinking about setting up a business how the space can be used, so potentially attracts new retailers in.”
Elizabeth gets to use the space free of charge, and uses it not only to exhibit work she has already created, but also as a place to produce new art.
It opens on Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 10am until 5pm, when shoppers can either buy what’s on offer, or commission Elizabeth to create a bespoke item.
For Elizabeth, who has never previously had her own exhibition, it provides an exciting opportunity to establish her name as an artist.