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MAKING HIS MARK ON WALSALL TOWN CENTRE AS A RETAIL CHAMPION - 17 March 2008
Mark Loveday is passionate about retail. He’s not one to shop ‘til he drops though, his interest is in delivering vibrant shopping centres, encouraging enterprise and developing skills in the sector.
Towards the end of 2005 his company was appointed as asset managers of Walsall’s Saddlers Shopping Centre on behalf of its owners. He knew that for the complex to maximise its potential, the whole town centre needed to regain its market share and be better prepared to take on competition from the likes of Merry Hill and Birmingham’s Bullring.
So it was not surprising that this entrepreneurial chartered surveyor, with more than 20 years experience, has embraced and championed the vision of Walsall Regeneration Company (WRC) to revitalise the town centre as the powerhouse of the borough.
Mark said: “There is a strong belief that Walsall has a promising future and will regain and increase its market share. I support measures to build on that local pride and confidence and ensure we have a well trained pool of labour so we can capitalise on the opportunities as Walsall’s prosperity grows.”
Walsall town centre may have fallen behind its competitors, but it still commands a loyalty from local people. Although most of the major national retailers are represented and independent retailers figure strongly, there is a recognised need to improve the quality and range of its retail offer. The Saddlers Centre, which opened in 1980 and has 48 shops, boasts such tenants as Marks & Spencer and Argos. ASDA opened a 24-hour superstore in the town centre’s St Matthew’s Quarter last year and Tesco is to build a store as part of a land-swap deal which will see the creation of a new Walsall College.
Mark is a key player in the WRC-driven Retail Academy, a partnership of public and private sector organisations which came together to aid the recruitment for the new ASDA which brought 500 jobs. Those involved identified what was needed – such as training and advice sessions for jobseekers - how the partners could provide it, and how the borough’s more disadvantaged and hard to reach communities could benefit.
He is excited by the multi-million pound regeneration initiatives underway in the town, the new £65 million Walsall College taking shape and the establishment of its Enterprise Academy and he is a big believer in the need to develop people’s skills and to foster enterprise.
Mark said: “If you want to set up in business it requires capital, time, effort and more and there are barriers. But as a route into training people and giving people the ability to set up in business I think retail has a huge role to play. There are real career opportunities too and we have to get away from the negative perception that it is about stacking shelves and unsocial hours. It includes buying merchandise, staff management, financial expertise - a whole range of skills. Of particular importance to many leading retailers of all sizes are those skills that relate to marketing, sales and dealing with customers.
“I know about maximising the returns of investors in retail property. It is not just about the environment and about the right shape and size of units and the mix of tenants, it is about the people who make it work, the strength of the management team and the skills and motivation of people on the shop floor.”
Mark has undertaken courses to support his own career development through the renowned Dale Carnegie Training organisation and he became a vocational trainer to pass on what he had learned. The Dale Carnegie approach looks at how individuals and teams become enthused and motivated in what they do and how people can build on their strengths.
The global training business has set out its stall to develop its business consultancy work as the ‘original and still the best resource for developing the people side of the business’. Retailing is a sector it is targeting to develop its established customer base. Mark has proposals to work closely with them in this sector and the key role retailing plays in regeneration. Indeed Mark has expressed a willingness to act as a mentor or coach to students at Walsall College.
He certainly has a wealth of experience to draw on. He has worked on behalf of some of the UK’s leading developers and investors to improve the fortunes of shopping centres from Glasgow to Cardiff and gained an international perspective on study tours to the USA, Europe and more recently in Kuala Lumpur.
He left the security of a major property institution to strike out on his own and established Asset Management Matters in 1998 and later co-founded another company Concordia Development and Regeneration.
His interest in regeneration has also seen him develop ideas on behalf of WRC for a ‘covered streets’ initiative, where large freestanding canopies could be installed to protect shoppers from the worst of the weather and add to the town’s vibrancy with cafes and stalls. It would also tie in with a focus on a quality public realm and how improved public spaces, footpaths, lighting and signs add to the environment.
Mark added: “I enjoy seeing opportunities for development and working on plans to make them a reality and when people say it can’t be done that just spurs me on. If you can make a change that makes an impact and is a commercial success it is very rewarding.”
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For further information please contact Lorna Bishop or Nigel Pipkin at Seal Communications on 0121 200 0780 or email lornabishop@sealcommunications.co.uk