Retail hunger sees trebling in space for supermarket, stores in the north

The area occupied by supermarkets and convenience stores in northern Malta has trebled over the past two decades.

A retail impact assessment carried out by construction firm Gatt Brothers for a new 1,600 square metre Mosta supermarket they will build, predicts the greatest effect of customer displacement will be felt by GS Supermarket in Naxxar and Ta’ Natu supermarket in Mosta.

The new outlet is being proposed in the outskirts of Mosta in the vicinity of the MCAST complex, and will replace an existing concrete batching plant owned by Fort Blocks Limited, a subsidiary of Gatt Brothers.

Retail impact studies are an obligatory requirement for large-scale retail developments to assess their impact on trade in their catchments area.

The study shows that the area occupied by convenience stores located outside the town centres of Gharghur, Mellieha, Mgarr, Mosta, Mtarfa, Naxxar, St Paul’s Bay and Rabat increased by 11,944 square metres in 1999 to 31,182 square metres in 2012. 

An increase of 8,626 square metres took place between 2000 and 2006. A further increase of 10,562 square metres took place between 2007 and 2012. 

Within the town centres the area occupied by convenience stores also increased from 1,927 square metres to 7,689 square metres.

The RIA states that the new supermarket’s catchments area will include Mosta, Mgarr, Bidnija, Naxxar, Rabat and Mtarfa, whose residents will be the most likey to visit the supermarket for their weekly, fortnightly or monthly shopping. 

Customers from Mellieha and St Paul’s Bay who commute southwards to their place of work are also expected to buy from the new supermarket. 

The study excludes that the new supermarket will in any way divert shopping from the Mosta city centre. Moreover, according to the study the owner intends to introduce a minivan service between the supermarket and the centre of Mosta to encourage a spill-over of trade into the city centre.

The study claims there is no serious long-term threat to existing stores and that existing retailers will be able to respond to the higher competition “with aggressive marketing and sales campaigns”.

The study concludes that the new supermarket will mostly attract customers from the Santa Margarita, Ta’ Zokrija, Tal-Blata l-Gholja and Tal-Wej areas in Mosta.

At the moment these areas form part of the GS Supermarket’s catchment.

In the long run the new supermarket and GS supermarket would actively compete for business generated by these neighbourhoods, but the study notes that GS Supermarket’s catchment area also includes Iklin, San Gwann and parts of Birkirkara, which will not be affected by the opening of the new supermarket.

The next greatest impact will be felt by Ta’ Natu supermarket which, according to the study, is very popular with people living in the Ta’ Zokrija area in Mosta. Despite its popularity, the study notes that an on-site inspection showed shoppers checking out with smaller quantities than one would expect from a large supermarket.