Time for High Street rethink, says LSH
LANDLORDS, local authorities and town centre partnerships must bring imagination and focus to bear on town centres in the face of retail carnage on the High Street, argues Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).
It warns that the collapse of many major retail chains and continuing poor trading mean that planners need to focus on alternative uses and regeneration to ensure that, as shopping pitches contract, the lifeblood doesn’t flow out of city and town centres.
Julian Welch, LSH’s head of retail, suggests that increases in internet trading are masking continuing falls in High Street footfall.
He said, “Next has posted figures showing a 3.1% rise in like for like sales in Q4 last year, but it is very telling that their High Street stores showed a 2.7 % sales drop while its online sales saw a huge 16% increase. Waitrose has announced a rise of 9.5%in December, but put much of their success down to a strong on-line offer. And Amazon had a very successful trading period.
“Meanwhile there is carnage on the High Street, with Hawkins Bazaar, Blacks, La Senza, Barratts and D2 all running out of road, while Past Times, Clinton Cards, HMV and Thomas Cook are finding life very difficult.
Welch argues the High Street will need to continue to evolve to keep up with changing circumstances.
“It is clear that there will be increasing vacancies and a lack of new operators to fill them. This situation calls for all of the imagination and vision that planners and landlords can muster if town centres are to be saved from near desolation,” he said.
