retail
Data from the latest Springboard footfall monitor has revealed that retail footfall across the UK has fallen for the third month in a row. The cost-of-living crisis, along with continued home working, has kept consumers away from shopping destinations: footfall fell to just 6.8% in September, down from 8.6% in August and 15.6% in July. Springboard said that the government’s energy price guarantee has gone some way to easing “some of the severe doom felt by many households” although ongoing inflation and higher interest rates are likely to lead to further restrictions to spending.
US beauty brand Sephora is returning to the UK after it left in 2005, with a website and physical store. The flagship store is set to open in London in spring 2023, following the launch of the website later this month. Chief executive and chairman of Sephora Chris de Lapuente said: “We will offer British consumers a pioneering selection of beauty that is best in class for innovation, diversity and inclusion. The UK is home to a dynamic beauty and wellbeing market that Sephora will aim to surprise and delight through our trademark knowhow and creativity.”
Leisure
Data from Altus Group reveals that pub closures have risen by 50% over the past three months as the sector contends with increasing costs and bills. In the three months to the end of September 2022, 150 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses, representing a 50% increase on the 200 pubs that closed in the first six months of this year.
Property
The Battersea Power Station development will open following its £9bn renovation project. The last attempt to relaunch was unsuccessful due to the 2008 financial crash, but developers are confident in this reopening despite the current economic situation. The 42-acre site includes residential and office space alongside 250 shops, cafés and restaurants, a theatre and a hotel. Head of Battersea Power Station Development Company Simon Murphy said that 96% of the development’s commercial units have already been filled.
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