Business is not good on the high-street shops of Marbella’s Old Town. They had hoped for a boom Christmas and New Year period, but results that might have alleviated the poor results of the rest of the year have falled well below expectations. A study carried out by the PSOE political party in Marbella, in which different small-to-medium-sized company associations took part, shows that one in five establishments in the Old Town in Marbella have closed or are attempting to sell their leases. The study also shows that this is only the tip of the iceberg, in that average returns for businesses in Marbella’s Old Town and San Pedro, as well as on Avenida Ricardo Soriano, have fallen by 40 per cent over the past two years, at the rate of 20 per cent per annum. Small-to-medium-sized companies in the same areas have suffered the same losses, the study concludes.
The PSOE report shows, nevertheless, that Puerto Banús has been the exception to this dramatic and unsustainable loss of business, as the report puts it. These traditional businesses cannot continue to trade, we are told, unless the situation changes dramatically, while many businesses in Marbella’s Old Town have suffered losses in sales of up to 50 per cent over the past two years. One in five have been forced to close, and many of the remaining businesses have hung ‘Lease for sale’ signs in their shop windows.
Worrying figures
The PSOE group study also draws attention to a survey showing that eight out of every ten establishments in the Old Town claim 2005 to have been worse than the previous year in volume of business. “Only some, especially those selling international brand names, have recuperated their losses over the Christmas period,” says óscar Fernández, the man in charge of the Business and Company Initiative Board of the PSOE political party, which carried out the recent study.
High street shops are not the only businesses to have suffered losses over recent years in the municipality of Marbella, we are told in the report. José Bernal, vice-secretary general of the PSOE in Marbella, tells us that the taxi and municipal market supply sectors have suffered considerable sales losses in recent years as well, amounting to 40 per cent over the Christmas period with respect to the same period last year.
The Socialist political party blames these losses on what they describe as poor management by the current municipal administration. “The Municipal Delegation in charge of such matters has done absolutely nothing to alleviate the situation,” say the Socialists, claiming that public services with regard to cleanliness, public safety and infrastructure have been notable by their absence. They also point to other reasons for this disastrous situation, such as the construction of huge shopping malls outside the town centre and above all, the drop in quality tourism in the entire area.
To alleviate the situation, the PSOE report demands that the forthcoming Town Master Plan include the implementation of “sustainable growth, respectful of the environment and with improved access and mobility in the town.” The necessary funds must be made available, the report adds, and an effective promotional campaign must be undertaken to improve matters all round.
Article Courtesy of Sur in English
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