Retail park in the context of "Hypermarket"

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⭐ Core Definition: Retail park

A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Retail parks form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standalone stores like hypermarkets and more traditional high streets. They are a similar retail model to the North American power centers, neighborhood shopping centers and strip malls.

Cushman & Wakefield define a retail park as any shopping centre with mostly retail warehouse units, of a size 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) or larger.

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Retail park in the context of Strip mall

A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza, shopping village or simply plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. Many of them face major traffic arterials and tend to be self-contained, with few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Smaller strip malls may be called mini-malls, while larger ones may be called power centers or big box centers. In 2013, The New York Times reported that the United States had 65,840 strip malls. In 2020, The Wall Street Journal wrote that in the United States, despite the continuing retail apocalypse that started in around 2010, investments and visitor numbers were increasing to strip malls. In 2024, the number of strip malls in the United States had grown to more than 68,000 nationwide.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, such malls are called retail parks or retail outlets. They are usually located on the outskirts of towns and cities, and serve as an alternative to the high street in the UK or main street in Ireland. Retail parks have become popular due to the widespread use of cars and the ability to park close to the shops as opposed to restricted parking on high streets, many of which are pedestrianised.

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Retail park in the context of Merry Hill Shopping Centre

Merry Hill (formerly Intu Merry Hill, Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects. The centre is anchored by Harvey Norman, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Asda, Next and Hollywood Bowl.

The centre has more than 200 shops, a retail park, cinema, food court, arcade and more than 10,000 parking spaces. Adjacent to the main shopping mall is a marina called The Waterfront accommodating a number of bars, restaurants, the studios of Black Country Radio, and the Headquarters and Control Room of West Midlands Ambulance Service. The Dudley No.1 Canal passes through The Waterfront and along the edge of the shopping centre before descending to Delph Locks.

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Retail park in the context of Dennistoun

Dennistoun (/ˈdɛnɪstən/) is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about 1+14 miles (2 kilometres) east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, having previously been a component of the East Centre ward.

Aside from the smaller Haghill neighbourhood further east, Dennistoun's built environment does not adjoin any others directly, with the M8 motorway dividing it from Royston to the north, while the buildings of Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Wellpark Brewery plus the Glasgow Necropolis cemetery lie to the west (separating it from adjacent Townhead), and railway lines form the southern boundary with the Calton/Gallowgate neighbourhoods, and Camlachie (a historic district which is now largely a retail park) on the opposite side.

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Retail park in the context of Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, an out-of-town shopping centre is an enclosed shopping centre located outside of a town centre. The impact of out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom is studied in the context of urban planning, town centre redevelopment, the retail industry and even public health and gender divides. Due to its significance for these issues, it has been included in the school exam curriculum in geography. There are only about sixteen out-of-town enclosed shopping centres (including outlet centres) in the United Kingdom (as opposed to open air retail parks, which do not count as shopping centres in British English, even though they do in American English). Under current policy, no more will be built. All other British shopping centres are in town and city centres.

In the 1960s and '70s, most town and city centres had seen the development of a major shopping precinct. Redditch, in Worcestershire, had the Kingfisher Shopping Centre; Birmingham had the Bull Ring Centre; Manchester, the Arndale Centre; Newcastle, the Eldon Square Shopping Centre and Leeds, the Merrion Centre.

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