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West End 'will lose 10% of trade to new malls'
Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard28.09.07
The West End's retail supremacy in London is under threat from a series of huge new shopping developments, a report warns today.
Four vast malls just outside central London will each provide stiff competition to the capital's central shopping district over the next decade.
Analysts believe that the West End could lose as much as 10 per cent of its sales when the new centres open.
The biggest mall will be Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush, due to open next autumn.
There will also be new retail centres at Stratford, Elephant & Castle and Battersea Power Station.
The report, by retail analysts Experian, said: "London's West End faces a tough battle to remain top of the shops over the next 10 years."
The New West End Company, which represents more than 600 shops in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, rejected the claims, saying: "Our competitors are New York and Paris."
Westfield London will have an estimated turnover of more than £1 billion - about a fifth of the West End, but bigger than that of major city centres such as Oxford.
In its own right, it will be Britain's 15th biggest "city" as measured by retail sales, according to Experian.
Unlike rivals of a similar size, such as Bluewater and Lakeside, Westfield London will be only a few miles from Marble Arch.
Westfield's other project, at Stratford, will be Britain's 30th biggest shopping centre, just ahead of Brent Cross. It is due to open in 2011 with a new John Lewis store, which is expected to attract thousands of shoppers from the East End.
The third new competitor is part of the regeneration scheme for Elephant & Castle. The developer is LendLease, which built Bluewater in Kent. It will cover about a million square feet. A shopping centre of similar size is also planned for Battersea Power Station.
Jonathan de Mello, Experian's director of property consultancy, said: "We believe the West End will lose about 10 per cent of its turnover. It will remain the No1 destination in the UK but the problem is that its rent is so high. The destination stores such as Nike, Zara and H&M will still generate phenomenal footfall, but at the margin some stores will struggle and move out."
In the longer term, immigration and rapid economic growth would create demand for new shopping space equivalent to 14 Bluewaters, he said.
The West End has enjoyed a renaissance over the past two years after a series of setbacks such as the congestion charge.
Jace Tyrrell, of the New West End Company, said: "I remember the rhetoric from Bluewater when they opened, saying they were going to be the death of the West End.
"We believe the effect from these new shopping centres will actually be only one to two per cent of sales."
He said demand for retail space was at a 15-year high and £1billion of investment was being pumped into the area over the next five years.
Reader views (7)
If I visit London I would rather be in central London, than in one of the suburbs for shoppping, because it's not only the shops, its also the environment of the old beautiful buildings, bars, monuments, theaters, as well as the parks and the international metropolitan feeling you experience here. But for Londoners I can imagine that they prefer the comfort of the huge malls where they can find all the things they need.
- Ton Van Leeuwen, Weesp (Amsterdam) Netherlands
The real issue with shopping in this country is that the same shops appear to the detriment of smaller ones in whichever town you happen to be in. On the continent small independents seem to sit comfortably with the chain clones. This lack of choice for us means that there is no incentive to explore a new shopping area. For me, living west of London, I suspect I'll be heading for Shepherd's Bush, where the congestion charge does not bite, as opposed to having to endure the tube to go into town.
- Matthew, London
When I go to London I don't shop on Oxford Street, why would I? It's just full of the same shops you find on any high street, just bigger, most of which have a larger selection online, and for free delivery!
I'd rather find something different.
- Kevin Symonds, Cambridge, UK
10% fewer people in Oxford Street? Great, it might be a bit more comfortable shopping there then!
- Jon, London
I think it's called urban renewal, however inadvertent.
- Soji, London, UK.
Have you been to Soho and Berwick St recently? Small shops, particularly the CD shops are closed. Not because of the decline in CD sales but due to high rents. Oxford St and the surrounding areas need to look at who is there. With the decline of independent stores Oxford St and central London is becoming a 'clone' town like the rest of the UK towns, so why not shop locally? I have not been to Oxford St for ages and I live in zone 4 (30 mins away by train). I think it's overcrowded & dirty so I shop online a lot and go to my local towns who have the same stores. However at Christmas and with visitors I do go up there, but no way as much as I did. I think Ken needs to encourage smaller stores to come back by subsidising rents or making the landlords cut rents otherwise everyone will lose out.
- Caroline, London, UK
Whilst I am against the 'mall-mentality' that seems to have taken over Britain in the last twenty-five years, I do feel that Oxford Street has lagged behind in terms of facilities and atmosphere for years. Is it no wonder people would rather go to an indoor clean and pedestrianised mall, than try and beat the crush in the rundown West End?
Hopefully Oxford Street will see this as an opportunity to re-invent itself, and offer something that a chain-mall cannot - possibly by allowing smaller independent shops to grace its length, and being pedestrianised to allow an outdoor market selling fresh produce and homemade gifts. The potential is there.
- Darren, London
