4 BusinessArgus Out&About


Rugby star opensnew cityopticians store


NEWPORTGwent DragonsstarDarren Wa- ters hashis eye on the ball when he officially unveiled the newVisionExpress storeat Newport Retail Park.With cuttingedge facili- ties and equipment,the storewill help deliver state-of-the-artvisionservices to the commu- nity, from anew location on the retail park. Darren Waters cutthe ribbonatthe store and metVisionExpress Newport manager Jodi Johanssonand her storeteam.


Tuesday, September 17,2013


Newport Gwent Dragonsplayer Darren Waters, right,ispictured with optometrist Adam Flynn and storemanager Jodi Johansson


Emptyshops in Newport and, below, Haydn Thomas,ofHutchings andThomasChartered Surveyors,Newport


Perfectstorm hit city, butforecast’s better


Optical assistant Julie Jones,right,with customer Lynn Wilks


RECENT figures showthat the city of Newporthas one the highest empty shops rates in the UK. The figure of 29.65 of vacant shops places the city in the top 10 regions in the country for empty shops, Despite these worry-


ing statistics,experts believe there is areason for the slump and that the future fortunes for the city nowhang on the suc- cessful startofthe £88m Friars Walk Scheme. The project,which is proposed to


startinthe new few months,will deliversome 390,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space for Newport, opening up the riverbank area in the process. The city’sindoor markethas


Newport Gwent Dragonsplayer Darren Waters, centreright,performs the ribboncuttingwith,left to right,optometrist Adam Flynn,Newport Gwent Dragons communityofficer Janice Chappell,store manager Jodi Johanssonand pre-registration optometrist InesaSdobnikovs


been revamped andanew bus sta- tion is being created. But howhas the city of Newport got into the parlous state in the


first place andwhat are its prospects? HaydnThomas,of Newportcity centre based Hutchings& Thomas Chartered Surveyors believesa great deal of the cause is downto the continuing uncertainty over the major private sector retail scheme for the city.


MrThomas said: “The problem


for the city of Newport, with its high per centage of empty shops, has been compounded byanum- ber of keyfactorswhich have all combined to create aperfect storm in termsof shop vacancyinthe centre. “The first of these problems is


the growth of out-of-townretail centreswhich nowencircle the city centre. “NewportRetail Park, at Spytty,


with its massive new Tesco and the M&S,which recently re located there from the city centre,isprov-


ing to beamajor draw. “Harlech and also Maesglas


Retail Parks all servetoattract custom away from the centre. “The second problem for the Newportcity centre is the contin- ued uncertainty over the Queensbury Development Friars Walk retail scheme,which promis- es to bringanew retail experience to Newportcity centre and revital- ise the Usk riverfront. “The uncertainty over this serves


to halt any prospective retailers from making adecision over locat- ing to the city centre until they knowexactlywhat is going to hap- pen with this very important scheme and, indeed, if it will hap- pen at all. “There is also an issue over the


lack of parking in the city centre, which causes Newporttolose out to near neighbour Cwmbran with its offer of free parking. “The city also falls into the cate-


gory of being the poor cousin and in the shadowofsupremely suc-


cessful retail centres as Cardiff and Bristol, on either side,which are in the top echelon of retail locations. “However it’snot all bad. The imminent opening of the new Admiral Insurance office block opposite the railwaystation, bringing hundreds of jobs right into the centre of Newport, offers astrong rayofhope and opti- mism. “This optimism is particularly


relevant in the case for the service and leisure sector: pubs,bars, cafés and restaurants that will be looking to benefit from the hun- dreds of new people coming into Newporttotakeupthe jobs at Admiral. Thismayinturnspur mainstream retailers–who,asI have said seem to be holding back from making adecision on locat- ing to the centre awaiting the start of the Friar’sWalk scheme –to reconsider Newportcity as loca- tion inwhich they can prosper and do profitable business.”


Packagingfirm to celebratetransfer


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TRI-WALLLtd will next week officially open the Tri- Wall Europe plant in Monmouth, following the transfer of ownership of the former DS Smith corrugated packaging businesswhich supplies heavy-duty packag- ing across Europe. The business,which employs 130 people at the site,will host the launch and


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business transfer celebra- tions on Monday. Guests will includeAMEdwina Hart, local government represent- atives, Takaai Hanaoka, from Japanese Chamber of Commerce,Toshiyuki Onoe, from Panasonic ManufacturingUKLtd, and CEO’sfrom several packag- ing industry businesses The celebrations will


include aribbon cutting cer- emony,factory tours and lunch accompanied by the CardiffArmsParkMale Voice Choir. DS Smith was obliged to


divest the Tri-Wall Europe business to comply with an EUcompetition commission requirement, following its acquisition of theSCA Packaging business earlier


this year.The sale of the business to Tri-Wall Ltd was subject toEUclearance.Tri- Wall Ltd is based in Hong Kong. Roger McDonald,MDof Tri-Wall Europe,said: “This celebration launch event will give us opportunity to show- case the Monmouth facilities and our unique production process.”


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