Changing retail times in the mall
As agents specialising in leasing retail units, I am used to taking time out to look at key occupational drivers to understand future trends and where they might be heading. At P-THREE we look at research, data and analyse and record reliable anecdotal evidence collected daily to formulate our opinions and advise.
This reversal in spending profiles – premium shoppers moving from department stores into mall units and mainstream shoppers heading in the other direction – has certainly become a reality and perhaps has not been the subject of much commentary to date.
I’ve just been examining a selection of recent UK shopping centre leasing transactions in some of the best-known shopping centres, and I’ve been struck by a number of themes, including how the geography of the spend is changing within prime shopping centres.
As traditional department stores have collapsed, as we anticipated, the premium fashion and beauty brands that often operated as concessions within those stores have upsized into their own unit space in prime mall locations. Recent fashion examples include: Calvin Klein, Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. The expansion of the beauty brands comes in a range of formats from large experiential such as H Beauty; specialist international Sephora and emerging online to offline brands such as Trinny London.
Conversely, at the same time, major mainstream brands, such as M&S, Next and TK Maxx (who have simultaneously been on an acquisition trail for more floorspace and more instore brands), as well as leisure operators, have effectively backfilled vacant ex-department store space.
This reversal in spending profiles – premium shoppers moving from department stores into mall units and mainstream shoppers heading in the other direction – has certainly become a reality and perhaps has not been the subject of much commentary to date.
A couple of other trends we have spotted, are also shifting around the tenant mix in shopping centres. A resurgence of international retailers (as discussed recently at CRM Marketplace) is simultaneously bringing more complexity and opportunities to prime malls. Of particular interest is Spanish fashion label Inditex, who, I noticed on a recent trip to Madrid, has had considerable success in Spain clustering brands together in adjoining units. If this retailer continues to enjoy the success in the UK that it has had so far, perhaps we will see a greater concentration of this clustering in the UK than has happened to date. Will they bring even more of their stable of brands to the UK?
This international retailer expansion is most evident in the sports sector with the growing number of sports brands including ASICS, Adidas, LuluLemon, New Balance, Nike, Under Armour, On Running and Asics all taking control of their own narrative. This sector becomes even more active when you include the domestic sports brands who are also expanding including JD, Sports Direct, Gymshark and Footasylum.
If you’d like more information on leasing trends in shopping centres (and the High Street) and the greater level of detail we can provide, please get in touch.
Photo credits: On Running, Liverpool One