SUPPORTING A VIBRANT RETAIL ECONOMY A m a i n t h eme e me rg i ng fro m the C AC I rep o r t a nd fro m the Tow n C e n t re A u d i t i s tha t Pe two r th Town C e n t re h a s ma ny a ttra cti ve , spe cialist re t a i l er s a n d a pa r ticula rly stro ng an t i q u e s se cto r wi th a n e xtre me ly af f l u e n t s h o ppe r pro fil e . H oweve r, th e sh o p p e r pro fil e i s po la ri se d, wit h a s i g n i f i c a n t numbe r fa ll ing i nto th e c a t e go r y o f striving fa mi li e s a cco unt ing fo r 1 4 % o f ho use ho lds w hich is a bove th e reg i o n a l ave ra g e . In ter m s of r e tailin g, th e town h as a m i x of i ndepen d en t sh o ps. Th e bu sin e ss com muni ty are well o r gan ised an d ac t i ve , s o the m aj or i ty o f sh o p s are well pre se n t e d and i nter esti n g, with a lean in g towards t h e d e cor ati ve ar ts an d in p ar tic u lar an tiqu e s. Wi th m or e than 24 an tiq u e sh o p s, th is cl uster attr acts c o llec to r s f ro m th ro ug h o u t the U K , Eur ope an d f u r th er afield . Wh a t coul d be desc r ibed as gen er al retail is ther efor e l ess well ser ved .
10 | SU PPO RT IN G A V IB RAN T RE TA IL E C O NO MY
T h e re t a i l o f fe r i s do m i n a t e d by n o n e s s e n t i a l re t a i l wh i c h do e s n o t n e c e s s a r i ly m e e t t h e n e e ds o f l o c a l re si de n t s. T h e pe rc e i ve d l a c k o f a f fo rda bl e sh o ppi n g h a s be e n r a i s e d i n t h e re s i de n t s’ su r ve y s . T h i s a l l pre s e n t s a c h a l l e n g e ; i t i s c l e a r t h a t Pe t wo r t h Town C e n t re i s a t t r a c t i ve t o v i s i t o r s a n d wh i l s t i t h a s a s t ro n g re pu t a t i o n fo r a n t i qu e s , t h i s i s n o t t h e o n ly sector to target. Pe t wo r t h H o u se & Pa r k dr aws i n h u n dr e d s o f t h o u s a n ds o f v i s i t o r s , m a ny o f wh o m a r e po t e n t i a l v i si t o r s t o t h e t own .
Petworth Town Centre has ma ny, specialist reta ilers a nd a strong a ntiques sector with a n a f fluent shopper profile .
