But gone are the days of the market trestle tables that were often set up in the mall. Today shopping centres are making a feature of RMUs with design being an important issue, so that the traders have become an integral part of the centre.

TL Horton has been developing RMUs for years, starting out in the US and now with a base in the UK, from where it also serves Europe and the Middle East. Its designs can be seen in shopping centres up and down the UK, with The Mall Corporation, Jones Lang LaSalle, Westfield and Lend Lease the main clients.

Rachel Walton, UK sales executive of TL Horton, says: "Speciality leasing is still quite new in the UK and we're strategically placed. TL Horton have been the market leaders for a long time. We're not the cheapest and wouldn't want to be, but our units are of a high quality and stand the test of time."

The company has four basic designs - the Baby Oval, the Urban, the Vitrine and the Triangle - that it uses in each centre, but each one can be personalised so that it blends into the surroundings. The company also designs bespoke units for centres and will look for architectural features of the mall such as curved ceilings or specific materials and colours that it can reflect in the unit. If the centre is on more than one level, it is also important to ensure that the top of the unit looks nice from above. TL Horton will also design units to fit into awkward spaces such as around posts, or under escalators.

But with experience across the globe, TL Horton insists there is a clear difference between what the UK market wants, compared to the US. Andy Williams, account manager, says: "It differs from country to country. The UK likes clean lines and tidy units with an 'Ikea feel' of less is more."

But what about the future for RMUs?

"Developers and centre managers are starting to look at RMUs as an asset now rather than a hindrance," Walton says. "Previously they were put in and the centre managers saw them as a headache, but if they're managed and looked after correctly they make a lot of money.

"We're being asked by developers to look at at making an RMU unit for sweets and things. There's a lot of money being put into the development of these centres and they're becoming lifestyle centres; they want to make it a one-stop shop.

"We can offer sweetie RMUs and also have a kiddie corner. It's about making sure everything is tidy and keeping the malls clean. We're also looking at ATMs and lotteries - the infopods and customer services desks don't bring in revenue so we're bringing it under one line really."

TL Horton's designers are now looking at next generation RMUs - drawing inspiration from Europe because RMU design on the Continent is more sophisticated than in the UK.

"The design has an impact on shoppers," says Walton. "But it's not just the design but the merchandise. We do a lot of training for merchandising. We work with the centres and if there are bad operators we get to know about them because we work very closely with the centre managers and the developers. We always make sure the units are properly maintained."

RMUs are definitely becoming an essential part of shopping centres. Walton says that centres being developed are starting to look at creating space for RMUs while TL Horton is also looking at developing more exterior units - something that Walton says hasn't been explored as much as in the US and Europe, because of the UK weather.

"We're becoming more European in the way we do our shopping," says Walton. "The unfortunate thing is we just don't have the weather.

"We're being asked more and more now, when looking at retail parks, to develop exterior RMUs for coffee shops and food outlets. As the shopping centres have places where people can buy food and drink, they want to as well. It's dead space at the moment and retail parks are aware of this and want to make profitable use of it if they can."

Unibox

United Aluminium understands the importance of designing RMUs to stand out from retail outlets, which have fancy windows and displays.

The company's Unibox modular range of aluminium and glass display products can be specifically designed to cater for differing needs, whether you're after a mobile kiosk, an RMU that fits with the centre's colour scheme or corporate identity or a unit that is scaled to fit into a certain space.

The Metro designer display kit can be scaled to fit, is easy to assemble and its curved or flat interlocking panels are suitable for a variety of materials - magnetic panels, fabric banners or ridged boards - offering limitless combinations to successfully show off your brand.

Contacts

TL Horton: 0114 2686040

Unibox: 0161 2776000 http://www.unibox.co.uk

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