Retailers are using experiences, not goods, to keep high street fashion on trend November 22, 2021 A short stroll along Oxford Street these days doesn’t necessarilly fill retail fans with confidence. A phalanx of American candy stores, souvenir shops of questionable quality and ‘to let’ signs have blossomed after the pandemic, and House of Fraser last week became the latest bricks and mortar flagship to announce it would be closing its [...]
Celebrity details leaked after London jeweller hacked November 1, 2021 London-based jeweller Graff has been attacked by a ransomware gang, with cyberhackers stealing celebrity clients’ details. Russian group Conti – who are known for launching attacks on hospitals and government departments – are thought to have demanded millions of pounds in ransom. The group has already leaked around 69,000 confidential documents on the dark web, [...]
Letters: Ikea needs more than real estate for high street success October 27, 2021 [Re: Ikea snaps up former Topshop Oxford St flagship for £378m, yesterday] While Ikea’s takeover of Topshop’s iconic Oxford Street store seems like a no brainer in driving footfall and brand awareness, making it a success will require more than stocked shelves and Swedish meatballs. The pandemic has accelerated the shift from brick-and-mortar to ecommerce, [...]
Ikea snaps up former Topshop Oxford St flagship for £378m October 26, 2021 IKEA has bought the former Topshop flagship store for £378m on Oxford St. The 214 Oxford St store was formerly owned by Arcadia, before the demise of fashion brands Topshop and Topman. Now, the Swedish-origin furniture giant is set to open up in autumn 2023, after the site was bought by Ingka Investments, the investment [...]
Covid pandemic accounts for around 15 per cent drop in retail footfall October 7, 2021 Retail footfall continued to strengthen in September, with analysts estimating that the Covid pandemic had caused around a 15 per cent drop in footfall. In September, footfall was down 17.4 per cent on 2019 levels, compared to being down 18.6 per cent in August, according to fresh data from Springboard. Footfall declined from 2019 by [...]
Sir Philip Green’s wife spent millions on London homes as BHS collapsed October 5, 2021 Sir Philip Green’s wife spent millions on London properties while thousands of employees working at now-collapsed BHS prepared to lose their jobs. Details of Lady Tina Green’s spending were laid bare in the ‘Pandora Papers – leaked offshore financial documents published by the BBC. Tina Green used a company located in the British Virgin Islands [...]
High street gaps filled by independent businesses as chains suffer September 16, 2021 Independent shops are filling gaps on high streets left after the shuttering of chain stores, recording their first rise in numbers in four years. Some 804 locally run convenience stores, barbers, bakers, cafes and fast-food outlets opened in the first half of 2021, according to Local Data Company (LDC) analysts. While local retailers enjoyed new [...]
Ikea set to take on Topshop flagship store on Oxford Street September 9, 2021 Ikea has reportedly agreed a deal to take on Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Street for around £385m. The furniture conglomerate has also bought the 73,000 sq ft NikeTown and a 4,700 sq ft Vans shop, adjacent to the Topshop store, according to real estate publication React News. Ikea is thought to be planning a [...]
Britain 2030: Writing off the high street is unambitious; its future is bespoke, local and community-driven August 20, 2021 After years of decline, the Covid-19 pandemic further hammered the high street, leading to boarded up shops and mass job losses, and some to declare the high street “dead”. But writing off the high street could prove to be unambitious, as, with the help of local government and private stakeholders, the post-pandemic high street could [...]
Meet Shein: The secretive Chinese fast-fashion firm taking over online retail July 27, 2021 Taking the Tube at the minute can still, at times, feel like time travel. Around you are slightly tattered posters for theatre productions that haven’t been on stage for more than a year; ads for movies touted for cinema release that ended up quietly released to Netflix with little fanfare. Amongst these relics of a [...]