On 22 May 1987, retail history was made in Rotherham. Parkgate Retail World, thought at the time to be the UK’s largest open-air shopping centre, welcomed shoppers for some one-stop retail therapy. The official opening was marked in swanky(时髦的，气派的) fashion with a “breathtaking” display from Marlboro’s red-and-white branded biplanes(双翼飞机), followed by a “spectacular” laser show, the first in South Yorkshire. Helen Worth – Coronation Street(英国 longest-running 肥皂剧《加冕街》)’s Gail Platt – cut the ribbon before jovial local people jostled(推挤，争抢) to fill their car boots with goods from Comet, Jolly Giant and Poundstretcher.
1987年5月22日，罗瑟勒姆创造了零售业的历史。当时被认为是英国最大露天购物中心的Parkgate Retail World开门迎客，为顾客提供一站式购物体验。开业典礼办得十分气派：万宝路红白涂装的雙翼飞机进行了“令人惊叹”的飞行表演，随后是南约克郡首场“壮观”的激光秀。《加冕街》中盖尔·普拉特的扮演者海伦·沃斯剪彩后，兴高采烈的当地人争先恐后地把Comet、Jolly Giant和Poundstretcher的商品塞满汽车后备箱。
Almost 40 years on, the razzle(热闹，狂欢) is a bit less dazzling. Parkgate, as the retail park is called now, looks like any large big-box(大型仓储式的) outdoor shopping centre you might find on urban fringes(边缘，外围). There’s a Primark, a Sports Direct and a Matalan, plus (of course) a Frankie & Benny’s. Shoppers still seem to love it. “I think it’s ideal. It’s got everything here,” says Robert Gordon. The 66-year-old retired factory production manager had popped to(匆匆去一下) Pets at Home to get a cupcake and toy for his dog Bruno’s fourth birthday.
将近40年过去，昔日的光彩已有些黯淡。如今这个零售园区就叫Parkgate，看起来和你在城市边缘能见到的任何大型仓储式露天购物中心没什么两样。这里有Primark、Sports Direct和Matalan，当然还有一家Frankie & Benny’s餐厅。顾客似乎仍然很喜欢这里。“我觉得很理想，这里什么都有，”罗伯特·戈登说。这位66岁的退休工厂生产经理刚去Pets at Home给他名叫布鲁诺的狗买了一个纸杯蛋糕和玩具，庆祝它的四岁生日。
Gordon has lived in Rotherham for 24 years. “A lot of people come to outlets like this. It’s very rare we go into the town centre and, if we did, we’d go to Sheffield,” he says. He is hardly an outlier(局外人，异类). Almost half of Britons don’t visit their high street weekly. Instead, shoppers are opting for(选择) retail parks. Business is so strong, retailers are scrambling(争抢) for spots, even paying extra to secure their place. By the end of 2025, only 4.8% of retail park lots in Britain were vacant(空置的), according to real estate consultancy(咨询公司) Knight Frank – the lowest level on record. Vacancy rates for UK high streets, on the other hand, sit at 13%, reports Savills.
戈登在罗瑟勒姆住了24年。“很多人都来这样的折扣店。我们很少去市中心，就算去，也是去谢菲尔德，”他说。他绝非个例。近一半英国人不会每周逛商业街。相反，购物者正转向零售园区。生意如此火爆，零售商们争抢铺位，甚至额外付钱以确保位置。据房地产咨询公司莱坊的数据，到2025年底，英国零售园区的空置率仅为4.8%，为有记录以来最低。而第一太平戴维斯报告称，英国商业街的空置率为13%。