Posts from December 2022

Frasers group, who own House of Fraser and Sports Direct, have purchased 15 brands from JD Sports for up to £47.5m. The group has purchased JD’s interests in Base Childrenswear, Choice, Clothingsites, Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Tessuti, Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear. JD Sports says the deals were made following a strategic review led by its chief executive, Régis Schultz. A statement from the group said: “The divestment of these businesses will allow the group to focus more fully on the opportunities across the rest of the group, in particular the international and digital expansion of the group’s core premium sports fashion fascias.” Schultz added: “JD is rightly recognised for its laser focus on the customer and we are convinced that the most significant opportunities lie in the continued international development of the group’s global sports fashion businesses. “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of these attractive, but non-core, brands”.

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IKEA announces growth in UK sales

IKEA has announced total sales of £2.2bn for the year ending August 2022, marking a 13% increase compared to the previous year. The retailer says that it has continued to see a strong appetite from customers to invest in homeware post-Pandemic, both in-store and online. IKEA’s total online sale have grown to 36% compared to 19% pre-Pandemic levels in 2019. However, consumers have increasingly returned to physical stores, with store visitation increasing by 34% compared to last year. To take advantage of this, IKEA UK opened its first small store in Hammersmith, while also announcing the opening of a store on Oxford Street and new Plan & Order Points in the North West of England (in Aintree, Preston, and Stockport with more to follow). Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer, IKEA UK, said: “We saw consumers returning to our stores while online sales remained strong with high demand for a convenient shopping experience. To meet these needs, we opened our first small store on the high street, created new ways to meet customers remotely and in-store, and launched new ways to deliver orders.” “A post-pandemic backdrop of increased living costs, supply chain challenges and macro-economic instability inevitably shaped our business in 2022”,...

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Plans submitted for redevelopment of Scarborough shopping centre

Regeneration specialists Scarborough Group have submitted plans for a major repositioning of The Brunswick. The 1990s-built, Debenhams-anchored Scarborough shopping centre was acquired by the group in September 2021. The group aims to create a leisure-led destination based around a modern, high-quality cinema as well as other leisure, retail, and food & beverage uses. Scarborough Group says it is working closely with the local council to meet its strategic objective of making Scarborough England’s best-performing coastal town by 2025 and the primary economic hub for retail, leisure, learning and living in the Yorkshire coast area. Since the acquisition of the centre, the group has begun refining its plans in collaboration with its design team, which includes architect Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher, engineer Buro Happold, and planning consultant Zerum. Scarborough Group says the transformation of The Brunswick will stimulate the regeneration of the wider town centre and create new jobs for local people. Mark Jackson, group director at Scarborough Group, said: “Town centres across the country are suffering as changes to the nation’s shopping habits affect the demand for retail space, and The Brunswick has found itself with all-too-familiar problems. The collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia was a significant loss for The...

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Oxygen appoints real estate advisors

Indoor family activity brand Oxygen has appointed leisure real estate advisors Stärka to support its expansion throughout the UK. Stärka has been tasked with securing strategically located sites of between 20,000 sq ft and 30,000 sq ft. Providing trampolining activities, Oxygen has recently invested £1m into its Wilmslow and Acton sites. The investments include enhanced facilities for adults and children, a customer engagement programme for staff and increased use of technology. In November, Oxygen announced its acquisition of trampoline park provider RedKangaroo and its sites in Reading, Nottingham, and Coventry, taking the brand’s total portfolio to nine locations. Founded in January 2021, Stärka has secured a range of new clients, including Oxygen, Everyman Cinemas, Blacklock, Chotto Matte, 92 Degrees and Parthian Climbing, and is also retained by Hickory’s Smokehouse. Stärka’s landlord mandates include Grosvenor, DTZ IM, Schroders, and DS Properties. David Bell, co-founder of Stärka, said: “The response from our initial conversations with leading landlords has been very positive; they recognise that Oxygen presents a very compelling answer to the question of how to keep retail and leisure destinations relevant for consumers.”

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Chinatown London launches Korean BBQ concept

Shaftesbury has announced the launch of Maguro Group’s Korean barbecue concept, Pochawa Grill, at Chinatown London’s 29 Wardour Street. The new 1,670 sq ft venue will accommodate 50 covers and feature street food items, sharing dishes, authentic Korean drinks, and cocktails. The restaurant is designed with Korean pub culture in mind, and is decorated with retro neon design accents and murals. This news concludes a busy 2022 for Shaftesbury in Chinatown London, having introduced a number of new tenants. Joining the shopping district this year were art toy brand POP MART, noodle restaurant Kung Fu Noodle, Hongkongese café The Eight, self-service eatery Zhang Liang Matalang, and Thai Concept Speedboat Bar. Japanese barbecue restaurant High Yaki has also signed at the destination for its debut location, joining Chinatown London early next year. Julia Wilkinson, Restaurant Director at Shaftesbury, commented: “We are always looking to introduce distinctive new Asian concepts to Chinatown London; those that reflect the culture of the Far East in authentic or creative way, and can appeal to everyone in our community.”

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Primark launches latest UK store in Belfast

Primark has launched its newest UK store at Belfast’s Rushmere Shopping Centre. The store opened its doors today after the retailer confirmed it was moving to the new location in March. Primark moves into a 30,800 sq ft space in a former Debenhams unit as part of a £6 million investment. The new store follows the retailer’s announcement that it would be investing £140m into its UK business over the next two years. Primark also opened a newly-refurbished store at Belfast’s Bank buildings earlier this month, bringing its Northern Ireland store count to nine. The retailer says the new store will create more than 170 new jobs. Rushmere Shopping Centre opened in 1976 and hosts retailers such as Boots, Home Bargains, H&M, Superdrug, River Island, TK Maxx, Dunnes and JD Sports while occupiers of the adjacent retail park include Homebase, Matalan, Next, Poundland and Currys PC World. Rushmere’s 14,500 sq ft Primark opened only last week. The new Poundland store is one of eight new UK stores for its owners Pepco to open in time for Christmas and forms part of its plans to invest in new and enlarged stores in town centres and retail parks.

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Consumer confidence sees meagre increase but remains at historic lows

GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index edged up two points in December to -42, but marks the eight month in a row in which the index has sat at -40 or below. This long-standing low is the first time this has happened since GfK’s records began nearly 50 years ago. Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: “Despite the latest GDP figures showing slight growth in October, the warning is of a tough road ahead and that the UK is not out of the recessionary woods.” The measure of changes in personal finances over the last 12 months decreased four points to -28; 23 points lower than December 2021. Meanwhile, the forecast for personal finances in the next year remained at 29. This is 30 points lower than 12 months ago. Consumers’ measure of the country’s general economic situation over the last 12 months was up one point to -66; however this is still 27 points lower than last year. Meanwhile, expectations for the next year were tempered, despite a five point increase to -53, down 27 points on December 2021. The major purchase index was up four points to -34; this is 28 points lower than 12 months ago, while...

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Asda boss calls for strikers to be “thoughtful”

Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose has called for striking workers to be “thoughtful” in the run up to Christmas. Rose, who is a Conservative peer, suggested that some workers “are pushing it a little bit harder than perhaps they should”, in an interview with Sky News. “I’m not asking people to sacrifice. I’m asking people to be thoughtful”, he added. Postal workers, nurses, rail workers, bus operators and baggage handlers are some of the many workers who are taking industrial action in the run up to Christmas. Lord Rose also said it was “shocking” that a fifth of households are short on money to live every month. Data from RSM revealed that over a third of consumers have no money left over at the end of the month. Rose said that Asda runs a survey which has revealed that 20% of UK households are running a £60 deficit. “So what we’ll see is that people, I think, will want a good Christmas, they’ll want to have a nice celebration on the day, they’ll want to look after their children”, he continued. “But they’ve been very thoughtful about what they can afford and what they can’t afford.”

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Customers stock up on Christmas food as overall retail sales down

Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have fallen by 0.4% in November, following a rise of 0.9% in October, which is believed to have been skewed by a bounce back from the Queen’s funeral in September. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that non-store retailing (predominantly online) sales fell by 2.8%, continuing a downward trend seen since early 2021. However, food store sales volumes saw an increase of 0.9%, suggesting that consumers were stocking up for Christmas to help spread the costs. Despite this, these levels were still 2.9% below pre-Pandemic numbers. Compared with the same period in 2021, retail sales volumes fell by 6.2% in the three months to November 2022. These figures suggest that the impact of Black Friday was less than anticipated for retailers, as many consumers struggle with a cost-of-living crisis which sees spending power pacified. The above figures from the ONS shows how on a seasonally-adjusted basis, sales volumes continue to decline. This method is used to offset the skew from the annual spike in sales at Christmastime which can misrepresent trends in retail sales. Despite an increase in non-seasonally adjusted sales volumes of 11.4% in November, when adjusted,...

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Hollywood Bowl strikes a boost in profits

Bowling leisure retailer Hollywood Bowl has announced an increase in group profits for 2022, as it targets a further ten centres before the end of 2025. In its annual report, which includes the year up to September 30, its was revealed that group profits were £37.5m, up from £1.7m in 2021 and 68.1% higher than pre-Pandemic, 2019 levels. The group’s revenue had also seen a large increase, up to £193.7m, ahead of the £71.9m recorded last year and 49.2% higher than in 2019. Hollywood bowl, who also own mini-golf centre brand Puttstars, cited strong customer demand, higher spending per game, and increased customer satisfaction as reasons behind the successful year. The leisure group has also refurbished six centres and opened three, as well as rebranding two AMF Bowling centres to Hollywood Bowl in 2022. Two additional centres have opened in the beginning of the 2023 financial year, with the launch of Hollywood Bowl Speke and Puttstars Peterborough. Peter Boddy, non-executive chair of Hollywood Bowl, said: “We have grown the portfolio during the year, opening two new Hollywood Bowl centres in Resorts World Birmingham and in Belfast, both of which are trading in line with expectations, and we continue to see...

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Festival Place announces MINISO

Household goods retailer MINISO has signed a ten-year lease for a 2,913 sq ft unit at Basingstoke’s Festival Place. The new store, which opened on Saturday the 10th of December, is the retailer’s tenth in the UK and the first in Hampshire. The unit is on the ground floor of Festival Place, near Next and H&M. The shopping centre’s leasing plan over the past 18 months has welcomed food and beverage brands such as Brewdog, Five Guys, and Tapas Revolution alongside local independents. Retailers who have joined the scheme include Ted Baker, H&M, and Skechers. Since the beginning of 2021, a total of 25 new leases/lease renewals have been agreed. Simon Barrett, managing director and head of asset management at AEW, said: “The opening of a brand new MINISO store at Festival Place is a great endorsement for the transformation that has taken place at Festival Place under AEW’s leadership.” Joint agents for Festival Place are Lunson Mitchenall and Cushman & Wakefield. CBRE is the managing agent for the centre.

Deals

Currys boss warns of uncertain future as international business suffers

Currys chief executive Alex Baldock has warned that the current economic climate means the business may struggle in the near future, as the international branch tanks in the last half year. “The outlook is obviously uncertain. We’re not counting on any macro improvement anytime soon, and have been accordingly prudent in our planning”, he said in the group’s half year report. The group posted a pre-tax loss of £17m for the first half of the 2023 financial year, down from a £45m profit seen in the same period a year prior. Currys also posted a statutory loss before tax of £548m, although it says this was driven by a non-cash goodwill impairment of £511m. Much of this international revenue loss was due to competitors’ heavy discounting, says Currys. However, the retailer said that it has seen a growth in UK and Ireland profit levels with a decline in gross margin improvements and cost-saving offset sales. It also said that the technology market was now bigger than pre-Pandemic levels, up by 14% in the UK. Baldock said: “Currys UK&I performance continues to strengthen, and is showing real momentum, reflecting good progress in our transformation. International, however, has had a tough period,...

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ASOS appoints non-executive director

Online fashion retailer ASOS has announced the appointment of Wei Gao as non-executive director. Wei’s previous role was as chief operating officer at online events platform Hopin, and brings over 16 years of experience from senior roles in data and ecommerce at Amazon, including roles as vice president for Grocery Tech, product and supply chain, and as technical advisor to the CEO. Wei will join the ASOS board in February 2023 and will serve on the audit committee, amongst other roles. The news coincides with ASOS’s announcement of Mai Fyfield’s appointment as chair of the Remuneration Committee from January.

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The O2 welcomes four new F&B additions

The Entertainment District at the O2 has announced the addition of four new signings, including two debut openings, to its food and beverage lineup, as the destination celebrates strong performance figures. The O2 welcomes Mediterranean and middle-Eastern restaurant Souka, which opens its first bricks and mortar site. The 9,730 sq ft concept will serve 300 covers with mezzanine and garden spaces opening in the new year. Meanwhile, American bar and restaurant Trapdoor has launched its 4,000 sq ft debut location on the lower ground level. Joining the two debutants in 2023 is sweet treat specialist Haute Dolci, who take a 3,100 sq ft space. Finally, J.D Wetherspoon will launch its nearly 8,000 sq ft location early next year. The brand will be investing £3 million into ‘The Stargazer’ which will feature a 3,800 sq ft beer garden with views across the Thames and Canary Wharf. These additions follow the recent launches of three British independents to Icon Outlet at The O2 – TOG24, Raging Bull, and Luke 77. The new openings and signings coincide with a period which has seen sales up for the district by 13% in October and November, compared to the same period in 2019. The O2‘s...

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Seven Dials welcomes the arrival of two fashion brands

Shaftesbury has announced the arrival of two sustainable fashion brands within Seven Dials. Outdoor clothing brand Meander Apparel has opened its debut permanent store within a 783 sq ft unit on Earlham Street, whilst womenswear brand Rakha has launched its 699 sq ft flagship store on Monmouth Street. Both retailers focus on being ethically and environmentally driven, with Meander being a member of ‘1% For the Planet’, meaning 1% of all sales are donated to environmental charities. Meanwhile Rakha uses solely biodegradable materials and works with green manufacturers across Europe. Jill Henry, Meander co-founder, commented: “Meander is a brand based on a passion for outdoors and sustainability – placing our commitment to the planet at the forefront of our brand values. As such, it was imperative for us to open our flagship store in a community that attracts and champions socially conscious brands, which Seven Dials is renowned for”. The new signings follow a series of new openings at Seven Dials, including the launch of four new flagships on Neal Street. Shaftesbury owns and manages a 16-acre portfolio in London’s West End, with all its properties within a 10-minute walk of the two West End transport hubs for the Elizabeth...

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Gloucester Quays tops off 15,000 sq ft of commitments with new signing

Peel L&P has announced the arrival of bath, body, and beauty retailer Molton Brown to Gloucester Quays, topping off a 2022 which has seen over 15,000 sq ft of new lettings arrive at the scheme. The 2,184 sq ft unit has opened opposite Le Creuset and includes dedicated areas for each of its collections, including the brand’s ‘Home’ range. In 2022, Levi’s upgraded its store within the destination, making its 5,000 sq ft Gloucester Quays location the brand’s largest flagship outlet in the UK. This year also saw the arrival of Eden Menswear, while Fat Face returned to the destination with a 2,100 sq ft store. In September, Gloucester Quays saw the opening of The Real Greek, the restaurant now occupying a 4,000 sq ft space. Paul Carter, asset director at Peel L&P, commented: “It has been an extremely positive year for retail at Gloucester Quays, and we have been proud to welcome so many well-renowned brands to the destination. The commitment of iconic retailers like Molton Brown and Levi’s is a huge vote of confidence in the outlet.”

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Over half of Brits to shop second-hand this Christmas, says eBay

52% of Brits plan to buy second-hand gifts this Christmas, according to data from eBay. Meanwhile, 56% said they still want to treat loved ones to thoughtful gifts while 26% intend to put more thought into sourcing meaningful presents. Nearly four in ten (38%) said they intend to spend less than £100 on gifts this festive season. Rising costs of living, inflationary pressures and high energy prices are some of the factors contributing to the lower consumer spending power seen this Christmastime. eBay’s director of trading, Kirsty Keoghan, said the online retailer was anticipating a shift to pre-loved gifting this Christmas. eBay’s Christmas ad report also revealed that 29% of consumers began their shopping earlier this year, looking to get ahead of the festive rush and taking advantage of Black Friday sales. Meanwhile, data from RSM recently revealed that over a third of consumers said they have no money left over at the end of the month, and that average spending this year will be down around 16%

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Hanover Green poaches CBRE veteran

Hanover Green Retail has welcomed the arrival of Richard Alsop, who joins from CBRE after nearly ten years. He joins the property consultancy group to focus on the Central London retail investment market. Alsop worked as a senior director for CBRE and was responsible for some important retail transactions such as the sale of Ferragamo at 24 Old Bond Street in a deal worth £141m. Luke Hargreaves, principal at Hanover Green Retail, said, “Richard Alsop is a key hire for us. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the London retail investment market that perfectly complements our strong agency and lease advisory team, particularly in the core luxury markets on and around New and Old Bond Street. We advise London’s most important retail landlords and it is important that we continue to deepen the range of advice we can offer to them”.

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Mountain Warehouse targeting new stores after posting record sales

Mountain Warehouse has said it plans to open a number of new stores in the UK and in overseas markets including New Zealand, as sales hit an all-time high in the 12 months to February 2022. The retailer’s revenue rose to a record £302.6m, a year-on-year increase of 26% compared to 2021 and 4.6% higher than three years ago, prior to the impact of Covid. Mountain Warehouse has cited its improved online range as one of the reasons for the uplift in sales. The increase in the amount of staycation holidays also benefitted the company, as higher demand for outdoor gear and camping equipment drove up sales figures. The retailer posted an operating profit of almost £11m for the year, however suffered a pre-tax loss due to lockdowns around the globe. Higher freight costs and investment in a new distribution centre also added to the company’s expenditures. Mark Neale, founder of Mountain Warehouse, said: “Two years on [from the start of the pandemic], and we have recorded record sales of more than £300 million for the first time and trading strongly. There are still some strong headwinds from freight costs, supply chain headaches, energy costs and rising inflation. But we...

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Demand for luxury watches sees Watches of Switzerland boost profits