talking trade Deck the halls! Industry commentator Michael Weedon ponders Christmases yet to come
Landsec (formerly Land Securities) lost £147 million in the six months to September, compared with a £42 million profit a year earlier. They were not alone.
Underlying all of this is the dynamic that retail H
ere’s a Christmas story. Once upon a time people sold things happily from market stalls, then they did it in
permanent shops, then malls. Then the evil internet swept into town and things started to get a bit… difficult. Does this story have a palatable, wholesome, happy ending, with a great big feast? Maybe, just maybe. Since Steamer Trading went into administration in the chilly days of January, 37 major retailers have gone bust, between them shuttering 1,663 stores by the beginning of November, according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research. Across the whole of Great Britain, the net loss
of stores in just the first six months of the year was more than double that, although impressively the net loss of independent stores was just 138, according to retail market researcher Local Data Company (the gross losses were horrible, but the balancing gains were impressive). It has become an everyday occurrence for big
retailers to get rid of stores and force down rents through CVAs (Creditors Voluntary Agreements), although creditors tend not to be too keen on the Voluntary part, in the same way that victims of robberies are often not keen to agree to hand over their possessions. Lord Wolfson, the boss of high street chain Next (there has to be a Lord in this tale, even though this isn’t a proper Christmas story) tossed aside assertions that retailers now have too much space, declaring: “We do not have too much space, we have too much rent, rates and service charges.”
It became clear that the great property
barons were being hurt by the changing market. Shopping centre owner Intu sank to a loss before tax of £896 million, almost double the £486 million losses it racked up in the same period in 2018, as rental income ebbed away. Britain’s biggest commercial developer
profit margins have halved in a decade, according to analyst Retail Economics. Unsurprisingly the overall shop vacancy rate has risen to 12.1%, having jumped from 11.8% at the halfway stage in the year and from 11.5% at the end of 2018. All of these increases, though, would have been bigger had not the number of retail units converted to other uses taken retail units right out of the market. In 2018 alone, more than 3,500 store units dropped out of the totals. So what’s happening to those big retail palaces of yore?
One example can be found in plans for House
of Fraser’s Altrincham branch at Trafford in Greater Manchester. There, the building’s owner put forward plans to convert the existing 60,000sq ft store into a mixed-use development featuring offices, more than 60 apartments, and three retail units. Another example is Sunderland’s landmark Joplings department store, where the ground floor has been converted to retail units, but the upper floors have been transformed into student halls of a type with 114 luxury apartments, a gym, cinema room and conference and study rooms Another alternative use for cavernous retail
stores is being served up in the 35,000sq ft ex- BHS building, just off London’s Oxford Street, which has opened in time for the festive season. Market Hall West End hosts 11 fresh,
innovative food businesses including Good Birds by the creators of Flank, Fanny’s Kebabs and Yatai by Angelo Sato, which serve anything- but-ordinary cuisine for consumers keen for novel food experiences. The heart of the hall is a bustling common seating area. Over and above these are a rooftop bar, film studio and spaces for private events. I first came across this type of place about a
year ago in Florence, above the main market hall - and it was a wonderful discovery. When I later stumbled upon the Market Hall opposite Victoria station in London - providing exactly the same type of experience, but in the capital - this was a really exciting find. The new Market Hall on Oxford Street promises to deliver even more tasty novelty.
Declining footfall provides a deepening challenge to high streets and town centres. It is a key source of the business pain that’s leaving more and more of our great retail caves quiet,
December 2019 •
HousewaresLive.net
Billed as the UK’s largest food hall, Market Hall West End is in the old BHS building, just off London’s Oxford Street. Covering 35,000sq ft over three floors, with over 1,000 covers, this space features eleven independent food traders, four bars, three dedicated events spaces, a roof terrace and a ‘first-of-its-kind’ internet TV studio, including a demo kitchen
dark and empty. But alternative uses - filling empty buildings with residential, office or food and drink - can demonstrably bring life and light to them once more. So, the future of retail is… anything but retail?
Well, is anything ever really inevitable? Sitting with others at a shared table, spending quite some time over a beer and some noodles, looking around at the busy food concessions, I just couldn’t help thinking that the food theme and long dwell periods make for a perfect place to showcase (and sell) the culinary tools that make it all possible. So, with a little lateral thinking, maybe the
everyday future of product retail could find a happy ending - alongside the emerging alternative uses to which the retail halls and malls of old are now being put. In which case, Happy Christmas.
• Michael Weedon is chair of the FSB [Federation of Small Businesses] Retail and High Streets Policy Unit and managing director of exp2 Ltd, which carries out projects including research and report creation for clients in the retail industry, including data providers, place managers and individual retailers. He established exp2 in 2016 from a leading trade association role.
Michael’s contact details are: Mobile: 07411 763 551 Email:
Michael.weedon@exp2.co.uk Tw: @michaelweedon
•
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