This January we held our 3rd Welsh Retail and Leisure Trends Summit on the beautiful Cardiff University campus. We were lucky enough to be joined by panellists who are heavily involved in the world of Welsh retail and regeneration. These experts provided an overview of their vision for the future for Wales’ local businesses and economy.

Yesterday in a rather rainy and grey (but still beautiful) Cardiff we held our 3rd annual Welsh Retail and Leisure Trends Summit in the gorgeous Glamorgan building on the Cardiff University campus.

The latest report by the Wales Institute of Economic and Social Research Data and Methods (WISERD) and LDC looks at the general health and emerging trends in retail across Welsh towns and cities in 2017. The report is presented in four sections focusing in turn on retail premises (and associated leisure sector), retail vacancy, retail structure and the relationship with socio-economic characteristics and geographical typology.

Just a four and a half hour drive West from London will take you right into the heart of Wales, a country known for it's distinctive accent and own (quite tricky) language, rugged coastlines and beautiful sweeping countryside. In terms of locations, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are the main cities in Wales which are likely to attract the country's consumers. Aside from Wales' similarities to English Retail (the rise of independent retailers and leisure occupiers), their retail landscape does look different. In  H1 of 2016, Wales had the highest vacancy rate in town centres of England, Scotland and Wales, but the lowest shopping centre vacancy rate. They continue to struggle with persistent vacancy levels (units vacant for more than one year), however, overall, the decrease of vacancy was the fastest of all three countries. 

On Tuesday 24th January, LDC joined together with the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) to present the findings from their latest report on retailing in Wales. 

The latest report by the Wales Institute of Economic and Social Research Data and Methods (WISERD) and LDC looks at the general health and emerging trends in retail across Welsh towns and cities in 2016. The report is presented in three sections focusing in turn on retail premises (and associated leisure sector), retail vacancy and retail structure.

In just over a week, LDC, in conjunction with Cardiff Univeristy will be hosting the 2nd Welsh Retail and Leisure Summit. The event will be held on the 24th January from 10am - 1.30pm and will take place in the beautiful Glamorgan Building at Cardiff University.