The Gerbil goes on

Danielle Demetriou11 April 2012
The Weekender

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The capital's major museums and galleries are thriving. New Labour's commitment to ensuring universal free access to the country's major national collections finally came good this month, and visitor numbers to the newly free galleries have rocketed.

The galleries will receive £30 million over the next three years from the Culture Department to compensate for the loss of admissions income. Five of the 10 national collections to have dropped entrance fees - the Museum of London, the Science Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Natural History Museum and the National Maritime Museum - are in London.

Like a trompe l'oeil, though, appearances can be deceptive. There is a growing concern among curators and fund-raisers that as the economic decline begins to bite, museums will face an increasingly difficult battle to raise resources.

With no guarantee of future government help it is becoming increasingly important for the nation's major collections to find ways of funding themselves and exploiting the assets they possess already: restaurants, cafes and gift shops.

To gauge the merits of these facilities in some of London's greatest cultural storehouses, and examine whether they are being used to their full money-making potential, we asked former Dome boss PY Gerbeau, the biggest showman to arrive in London for years, to accompany us on a tour. Danielle Demetriou reports.

TATE MODERN

MAIN SHOP: books, posters.

PY verdict: 4/10. "A great mix of merchandise but the layout is very boring."

CAF... SEVEN: restaurant with stunning views.

PY verdict: 8/10. "A great restaurant but hidden away. How would you know it existed unless you wandered up to the seventh floor?"

OVERALL: 8/10. "Completely on the ball and has been marketed very well. Their main problem is its free entry. It is simply not sustainable from a commercial perspective."

TATE BRITAIN

GIFT SHOP

PY verdict: 3/10. "There is nothing unique to Tate Britain. Why are Micky Mouse ties on sale? Very strange."

SELF SERVICE CAFE: TATE MODERN AND TATE BRITAIN

turquoise-walled cafeteria in basement.

PY verdict 0/10: "The ugliest thing I have ever seen. Horrible and unoriginal."

RESTAURANT, pictured

PY verdict 9/10: "A very special atmosphere and distinct style. There is nothing like this in the other galleries."

OVERALL: 4/10. "If they joined forces they would do so much better."

FINANCIAL DETAILS: (for all Tates including Liverpool and St Ives) free entry to permanent collections. Special charges for loan exhibitions. Annual income: £52million including Government contributions and grants of £26 million. Tate Modern: three shops and four catering spaces. Tate Britain: two shops and two catering spaces. All of these facilities - plus publishing arm - have an annual turnover of £18 million.

NATIONAL GALLERY

MAIN SHOP: prints, postcards, ornaments, Christmas tree decorations, books and general artefacts.

PY verdict: 4/10. "It's not working. The entrance is not enticing, the whole place should be more inviting. It is not trying to attract more people. It is just a standard museum shop."

CRIVELLI'S GARDEN, Sainsbury's wing: the waiter service restaurant offers a range of Italian food.

PY verdict: 3/10. "I am not impressed. With its plastic chairs and its drooping plants it's just not classy or sexy. Heathrow airport is nicer. The problem is that it is not attractive. It is a shame because it has a good menu with some good Italian food."

OVERALL: 4/10. "It does not seem to have made the right amount of effort. It seems to have thought, we have to make some money so here is the shop and here is the restaurant. But they're only halfway there because they are not making the most of the merchandising and food opportunities." FINANCIAL DETAILS: free entry, apart from to special exhibitions (at the moment the Pissaro exhibition, £6, or £4 concession, £2 for students and under-18s).

Annual income: £29.3million. Government grant-in-aid: £19.22 million. Income from facilities and admissions: £3.56 million. Additional sponsorship donations: £2.97 million; investment income £854,000; bequests £1.41 million; nongovernmental picture purchase grants £1.31 million.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

GIFT SHOP: near entrance filled with museum trinkets.

PY verdict: 0/10. "I don't know what it is doing there. It is completely empty and will put people off."

MAIN EARTH AND LIFE GALLERY GIFTSHOPS: Three shops offering goods mainly targeting schoolchildren.

PY verdict: 6/10. "I would give the gallery gift shops seven out of 10 if there was better signage. They have the right sort of merchandise on offer. The problem is that you could miss them both. The signage is not clear."

GLOBE RESTAURANT: cafeteria offering a range of hot dishes and meals for children. PY verdict: 3/10. "It's a halfway attempt. It is trying to target kids and adults but is missing something in the process."

WATERHOUSE CAFE: packaged sandwiches, tea and coffee.

PY verdict: 0/10. "It makes the place look cheap. The signage is bad and there is a large soft drinks machine. It does not match the museum at all."

GLOBE FAST FOOD CAFE: a cross between McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts.

PY verdict: 3/10. "This is another halfway attempt. It looks like a fast food place but it isn't. It only sells fries." OVERALL: 5/10. " Everything is going in the right direction, but it doesn't quite get there. It is all halfway there. They have targeted children well, particularly in the shops. The mix is right and it is well integrated. However the food is not the best. It tries to do everything but doesn't pull it off."

FINANCIAL DETAILS: free entry. Year 2000-2001 total income: £48.6 million. The 2000-2001 grant in aid was £30.4 million. Projected income from sponsorship: £2.3 million. Total research grants: £2.2 million. Retail: £ 1.97 million. Catering: £245,000.

SCIENCE MUSEUM

GIFT SHOP AND BOOK SHOP: selling quirky toys, gadgets and gifts.

PY verdict: 6/10. "It's in a good position and there is a definite target. The staff are also quite persuasive (PY is persuaded to buy two DIY balloon-making kits for his daughter). They probably could go a little further and do more. The shelves do seem to be a bit too high as well."

CAFE: scientific looking decor.

PY verdict: 3/10. "It is ugly and it is not integrated with the rest of the museum. It stands out. It looks very stressful and not very inviting. Not relaxing at all which is what you need when you bring children to a museum."

DEEP BLUE RESTAURANT: hidden away at back of ground floor.

PY verdict: 6/10. "This definitely raises the standard of the entire place. It is relaxing and stylish, very clever. Simple but effective. The only problem is that we would not have found it had we not got lost. Signage is very important."

EAT DRINK SHOP: tuck shop selling popcorn and hotdogs.

PY verdict: 3/10. "It is a nice place for children to come and sit and eat their packed lunch. It's very user friendly. But how

can it make any money? I imagine it doesn't."

OVERALL: 5/10. "The museum has the right idea and is heading in the right direction. But it does need to be more integrated. I would recommend a thorough market survey to improve the product."

FINANCIAL DETAILS ( including Science Museum, National Railway Museum in York and National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford): free entry. Annual income financial year ending 2001, £52.7million. Government funding £24.3million. Lottery grant £4.7million. Income from facilities £500,000.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

GIFTSHOP, BASEMENT BOOKSHOP

PY verdict: 3/10. "What is this? It is all far too hidden away. It is not cosy, it is in fact empty. They are both too cut off from the rest of the gallery. I would not come here unless I had to because I worked here."

THE PORTRAIT RESTAURANT: slick modern restaurant at top of the building. PY verdict: 5/10. "Why on earth would they want to have a funky place like this in the National Portrait Gallery? They should have something more traditional. It doesn't match the brand."

OVERALL: 4/10. "It is not well signposted and it's very easy to get lost here, which is not good. The merchandising and retail experiences should be more integrated.

There is no clear strategy. They should then be promoting these facilities more to attract more customers."

FINANCIAL DETAILS: free entry. Total income 2000-2001: £ 10.452 million. Grant-in-aid: £5.138 million. Heritage Lottery Fund: £1.636 million. Income from catering franchise: £ 132 , 000 . Trading: £1.831 million.

V&A

MAIN GIFT SHOP (PY's favourite gift shop): to the left of main entrance hall selling array of items, pictured left.

PY verdict: 8/10. "This is the first and only shop that is completely integrated with the rest of the museum. You can tell it is successful because it is also packed with people. It's both classic and modern and just how a gift shop in the V&A should be."

THE NEW RESTAURANT: self-service restaurant.

PY verdict: 3/10. "The fact that it is a buffet is not good. It looks very boring. It would be so much better if they had a proper sit-down waiter service restaurant here."

OVERALL VERDICT: 7/10. "I am very impressed. It is the first place that has clearly integrated its facilities with the whole of the museum. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into who they are trying to attract. The fact that we were stopped by a lady carrying out consumer research at the exit says it all. They obviously understand the importance of clear signs."

FINANCIAL DETAILS: free entry. Total annual income, financial year 2000/2001: £48,470,080. Government grant: £30,449,000. Shop and books from V&A Enterprise Ltd: £1,784,000. Restaurant, sponsorship, donations: £13,802,000.

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