retail
John Lewis is planning on closing eight more stores and finding smaller units for others as it continues to feel the impact of the pandemic. The news comes less than a year following the last announcement of store closures. John Lewis reported a loss of £635m at the half year point in 2020 after losing £470m in the value of its property.
Adidas has announced plans to sell the Reebok brand after 15 years of ownership in a bid to focus on a 5 year strategy with the to strengthen its core Adidas brand. Chief Executive Kasper Rørsted said: “The long-term growth opportunities in our industry are highly attractive, particularly for iconic sports brands. After careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that Reebok and Adidas will be able to significantly better realise their growth potential independently of each other. We will work diligently in the coming months to ensure a successful future for the Reebok brand and the team behind it.”
As part of the wider roadmap out of lockdown, PM Boris Johnson has given the date of the 12th April for non-essential retailers to reopen, as long as strict conditions are met. Non-essential will be given the green light to reopen at the same time as hairdressers and outdoor spaces in restaurants but he indicated that face masks would still be required. However, the date is contingent on several factors including the pace of the vaccination rollout, the emergence of any new variants and the rate of infection.
Leisure
Hotel business have expressed their frustration that they will have to wait until mid-May to reopen. The news comes despite the fact that many hotels have put strict social distancing measures in place already and have housed vulnerable people and key workers throughout the pandemic. Lionel Benjamin, co-founder of Ago Hotels told The Caterer: "Simple measures, such as limiting food services, closing communal areas and reserving areas for people who are fully vaccinated could significantly enhance safety and bring the risk level closer to self-catering accommodation. Waiting until the middle of May to reopen a sector which has already needed significant financial support seems unnecessary and we urge the government to reconsider."
Quick service restaurant Leon has revealed that is it losing £200k a week and is in danger of going under. Before the roadmap was announced, CEO John Vincent spoke to Radio 4 to urge the government not to let lockdown ‘drag on’ and has spoken of the danger of extensive damage to the economy. He told Radio 4 “when we lose the economy, we lose lives”.
Large format space is being turned into food halls and there is potential for many more across regional, market towns according to real estate consultancy P-Three who released a report on the topic. They estimate that there is potential for up to 120 more of these new concepts, which appeal to locals spending more time in their locality due to lockdown, sparking a new found loyalty to staying local. Co-founder of P-Three, Thomas Rose said in a statement: “These community hubs will give people pride in their town centres again… This move towards being a loyal supporter of your high street is not going to go away. We have spoken to a handful of private equity groups who are looking to invest in this type of concept because they see the consumer wants this, Local authorities love the concept too.”
Property
The new McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in the West Midlands has made deals to welcome several brands, including Coach, Kate Spade, Levi’s, Lacoste and Hugo Boss in preparation for its opening this spring. The premium fashion brands will be joined by others such as Under Armour and Nike to being a strong sportswear and athleisure offering. The £160m new centre will be located just 30 minutes outside of Birmingham and also see leisure brands open such as Wagamama, Starbucks and Five Guys to the scheme. UK leasing director at McArthur Glen, Tim Miklausic said in a statement: “We are immensely proud to be opening the UK’s only stand-alone shopping centre this year and returning to the market where our business began over 25 years ago, when we introduced designer outlet retailing in Europe with Cheshire Oaks. Our latest investment shows the huge confidence we have in the UK retail market and the appetite of our brand partners to continue working with us to grow their bricks-and-mortar channels.”
International fashion brand Gap is considering closing all UK stores and becoming an online-only brand across Europe. It is reported that the business is putting pressure on landlords to allow them to break lease agreements early in order to exit from the brick-and-mortar market in the UK.
Romulus Construction has purchased Aberdeen Standard Investments’ Centre Court shopping centre in Wimbledon for around £70m, marketed for redevelopment. The shopping centre spans 350,000 sq ft and comprises 62 retail and leisure units across three trading floors and houses retailers including H&M, Boots and Oliver Bonas.
Openings and closures
Central England Co-op has opened its new store in Sutton, Cambridgeshire creating 15 new jobs and investing over £2 million in the local community; Fast casual brand German Doner Kebab has announced it is on track to open 47 new restaurants in the UK by the end of 2021, almost doubling its portfolio.
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