6 ANALYSIS
Meadowhall takes a new direction
Repositioning a centre of the size and strength of Meadowhall is a bit like turning round a supertanker. But that’s what British Land and London & Stamford are doing
respectively. Clare Juniper, asset manager at British
Land, explains the strategy: “This year is all about building on the momentum generated during the previous 18 months. Meadowhall’s offer has evolved significantly, but these four brands are the first of the next stage in the centre’s evolution. Their offer, quality and brand strength is a perfect complement to Meadowhall.” She said that the focus on aspirational
fashion was designed to appeal to consumers in the outer reaches of Meadowhall’s catchment area, and this strategy is already paying off. “Research shows that we’ve already increased the market size by 11 per cent in two years – and we’ve achieved that during a recession. Now we’re out there competing with the major centres.” And Juniper says that in parallel with
As the Sheffield megamall approaches its 21st birthday this September, a multi-million-pound transformation is underway to prepare the centre for its third decade. Owners British Land and London & Stamford are adopting a two- pronged approach to change the centre’s offer which in turn will increase dwell time and customer spend. The first initiative began in 2009, shortly
after British Land sold a 50 per cent stake in Meadowhall for £587.7m to London & Stamford Property, the company led by property veterans Raymond Mould and Patrick Vaughan. It focuses on the tenant mix, with a
new drive to attract aspirational fashion brands. FR by Fashion Rocks, Crumpler, Vans and Boux Avenue have all recently opened and they follow the highly successful £5m
SHOPPING CENTRE June 2011
www.shopping-centre.co.uk
refurbishment of House of Fraser, which has recorded a 20 per cent increase in sales since it re-opened at the end of October last year.
FR by Fashion Rocks’ new 3,888-sq ft
store on Meadowhall’s Park Lane, the largest of the four new arrivals, is the first store in the UK of its kind. FR by Fashion Rocks is the retail brand launched by international fashion and music event, Fashion Rocks. The brand has received acclaim in the fashion press and is linked with designers such as Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Vivienne Westwood.
The second addition is new luxury
lingerie label Boux Avenue, founded by Theo Phapitis, with a 2,978-sq ft store on the High Street. In addition, urban accessory brand, Crumpler, and US footwear icon, Vans, have opened 310-sq ft and 2,186-sq ft stores
the drive to attract new brands, there is a strategy to enable existing brands to relocate within the centre. “It’s about enabling retailers to trade to their optimum in the right locations,” she says. “We have a list of brands that want to move internally, but we’ll only do that if it allows us to bring in someone else to freshen up the offer.” Between the two this means
Meadowhall’s leasing team of Smith Young Partnership and CBRE are achieving 40 deals a year.
The second part of the strategy
to reposition Meadowhall focuses on catering. When the centre opened the Oasis foodcourt was the place to be. But consumer tastes have changed and catering formats have moved on, and now Meadwhall is looking to introduce more restaurants, with catering distributed throughout the centre. “Our aim is to increase catering spend
from £7 to £14 per head,” explains Juniper, and one deal in particular epitomises the
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