A1 july2013 final

The restaurateurDes Gunewardena on what’s next for D&D London

Trinity Leeds Land Securities’ new destination is a vote of confidence in UK retail

Pop till you shopWhy pop-up shops are an appealing alternative for retailers

summer 2013

26

There is no doubt customer habits are changing. With the onslaught of the digital world, consumers can shop where and when they like and only those retailers that are switched onto the change will be successful.

The digital change has led to many challenges and opportunities for both retailers and shopping centre owners. Customer loyalty is hard to come by and any offer needs to cater for all consumer needs. Retailers are working on fulfilling these new customer needs, and those with strong multichannel capabilities, as seen in our click-and-collect feature (p24), are gaining ground.

For us, there’s an opportunity to create environments that play towards these new consumer habits. If customers can shop where and when they like, we need to provide reasons why they should visit our schemes.

And that is what we’ve done at Trinity Leeds (p14). From the design to the retail and food and beverage offer, we’ve created a fit-for- purpose scheme for the modern consumer.

The leisure mix is important as shoppers need more reasons than purely shopping to visit a centre. From high-end dining – see our interview with D&D London chairman Des Gunewardena (p6) – to street food vans, plus an Everyman cinema, the leisure offer aims to cater for all (p20).

And, as retailers add to their bricks-and-mortar offers with a digital presence, we are also embracing these opportunities, and Trinity Leeds’ digital capabilities (p20) are integral to its success. The centre also offers the same newness that consumers would expect to see in stores. We have initiatives such as pop-up shops (p28) and events to create interest and keep customers coming back regularly.

This modern consumer means we as landlords need to be flexible in our management. If we have flexibility, then the scheme and retailers will perform better, as we will both be providing the type of environment that shoppers want to spend time in – the shopping centres of the future.

Welcoming the shopping centres of the future

Foreword

6 We meet Des Gunewardena, D&D London’s chairman and chief executive

Richard Akers, executive director, Land Securities

summer 2013 summer 20132 3

14

22

17

Contents 4 News All the latest deals, initiatives

and retail developments from Land Securities’ shopping schemes

6 Interview Chairman and chief executive Des Gunewardena on the success of D&D London and his new restaurants at Trinity Leeds

10 Beauty Why the beauty market has emerged as one of the sturdier performers during the recession

14 Trinity Leeds The opening of Trinity Leeds in March this year

has given the UK retail sector a boost in confidence

17 Design Contemporary store designs and innovative fit-outs on display at Trinity Leeds

20 Leisure and digital Trinity Leeds is enhancing the shopper experience by integrating its leisure and digital elements

22 Glasgow The new shopping area in Glasgow’s Buchanan Quarter makes the city a top shopping destination

24 Click-and-collect Why click-and- collect is providing consumers with a more convenient and flexible way to shop

26 Development Land Securities’ Nova, Victoria project is set to transform southwest London

28 Pop-up shops Why retailers are providing consumers with fun and exciting ways to shop

30 Leisure Changes in the way consumers shop mean retailers are ramping up their leisure offer

32 Retail view A1 asks a panel of six industry figures how they feel about the prospects for the year ahead

34 Portfolio An overview of Land Securities’ shopping centres, outlets and retail parks

Retailers are working on fulfilling customer needs, and those with strong multichannel capabilities are gaining ground

10

News

Other newsBCSC ACE AwardsLand Securities walked away with a bag full of awards from the BCSC ACE Awards in June. The developer won the Retail/Shopping Park Award for Westwood Cross, Thanet, while One New Change came second in the up to 40,000 sq m for Customer Service Award.

Six people were awarded ACE Stars – Bernadette Kayonga, The Centre, Livingston; Graham Hodge, The Centre, Livingston; Safdar Abbas, West 12, London; Hari Shrestha, West 12, London; Luke Searle, Cabot Circus, Bristol; and Georgina Shepherd at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. John McDonald at The Centre, Livingston was awarded an ACE Superstar Award.

The Queen opens BBCThe Queen officially marked the completion of the BBC New Broadcasting House development in June. Land Securities was the development manager of the project, the first phase of which was completed in 2006 and the second phase in November 2010. The building has been part of a fit-out undertaken by the BBC, comprising the installation of additional technology including more studios and cameras. The site now provides accommodation for 6,000 staff.

White Rose lettingsLand Securities’ White Rose scheme in Leeds has secured a bumper lot of lettings. Three new restaurants have signed – Frankie and Benny’s, which opened in May, and Prezzo and Handmade Burger, which both open in November. Meanwhile, Boux Avenue and Paperchase have also opened at the centre.

Land Securities’ Trinity Leeds scheme scooped three gongs at the Yorkshire Property Awards in May.

The scheme won Best Commercial Development, principal contractor Laing O’Rourke won Best Contractor and Land Securities portfolio director Gerald Jennings won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In a video played before the Lifetime Achievement Award, Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan thanked Jennings and Land Securities for what they have done for Leeds.

Yorkshire Business Insider, the media partner for

the property awards, reported on the evening, and said: “Gerald is a ferocious advocate for Leeds and the north of England and continues to work tirelessly to help further the regional economy, drive businesses ahead and ensure our communities prosper. He remains committed to his adopted city and says he still has much to achieve as he strives to secure Leeds’ place on the global map.”

Trinity Leeds also scooped first prize in the commercial category at the West Yorkshire Building Excellence Awards.

Trinity Leeds scoops three property awardsAWARdS

dEvElopmEnT

produced by


Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and upmarket grocer Waitrose are the latest additions to Land Securities’ Victoria development.

Waitrose is to open an express store, Little Waitrose, on a 3,000 sq ft site in Westminster’s City Hall, while Oliver will open restaurant Royal Quarter Café beneath the new residences at Kings Gate on Victoria Street. The restaurant in Victoria will be the fourth in London for the British chef, joining the successful openings in Chelsea, Battersea,

Plantation Wharf and in Heal’s department store on Tottenham Court Road.

Land Securities head of development Colette O’Shea said: “We are delighted with the continued success we’ve had in attracting a diverse range of tenants to Victoria and will keep talking to Londoners about what they want for the area.”

The new recruits form part of Land Securities’ long-term vision for Victoria as it becomes a place where people will aspire to live, work and socialise.

Victoria development attracts new recruits

little Waitrose is to open on a 3,000 sq ft site in Westminster’s City Hall

iniTiATivES

The team at Land Securities’ The Centre in Livingston pushed home the message of World Environment Day in June.

Participants from Smurfit, Shanks, West Lothian Council and Lush gave demonstrations and encouraged shoppers to learn more about recycling initiatives.

Beauty retailer Lush invited shoppers to make their own fresh face masks to raise awareness that all its packaging is 100% recycled. Also, if shoppers return five pots, they’re entitled to a free natural face mask.

Lush also displayed the art of Furoshiki – a Japanese

gift wrapping tradition. At Lush, the retailer uses old plastic bottles to create a fabric called Greenspun to create gift wrap.

The retailer also presented a range of shampoo bars and toothpaste tabs, which are more concentrated thereby reducing the number of lorries on the road and the need to replenish so often.

Shanks and Smurfit work with the centre to recycle retailer waste – it recycles 97% of all waste generated on site.

Meanwhile, West Lothian Council promoted kerbside recycling.

Shoppers get involved in World Environment Day

pARTnERSHip

More than £80,000 has already been raised by Land Securities for its retail national charity partner, MS Society.

Each of Land Securities’ 20 centres has been involved in fundraising. Ideas have included flashmobs and Christmas wrapping in Livingston, and firewalks at Cabot Circus, Princesshay and St David’s. The most raised so far by one centre is £11,250 by The Galleria in Hatfield.

This is the second year of partnership, and also the year the MS Society celebrates its 60th anniversary. In addition to fundraising, the activity also helps build awareness of multiple sclerosis, a condition that affects

about 100,000 people across the UK. What’s not widely known is that most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, so having the chance to talk about the condition in shopping centres across the UK can make a huge difference.

Nicola Tallett, director of marketing and fundraising at the MS Society, said: “The first year of the partnership has been an outstanding achievement. We are delighted that so much money has been raised – it will help us to continue the vital work we do in research, campaigning and offering support to people affected by MS. We’re looking forward to celebrating our 60th anniversary throughout 2013.”

Land Securities raises £80,000 for MS SocietyFundraising included flashmobs and Christmas wrapping

Firewalks took place at shopping centres

Editor Jennifer Creevy

Writers mark Faithfull, Gemma Goldfingle, nicola Harrison, Tiffany Holland, Alex lawson, John Ryan, Rebecca Thomson

Supplements Production Editor Tracey Gardner

Design forty6 design ltd www.forty6design.com

Publisher Tracey davies

For Land Securities

Claire Reynolds [email protected] T +44 (0)20 7747 2390

Sejal Lad [email protected] T +44 (0)20 7024 5411

© Retail Week

All material is strictly copyright and all rights were reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of Retail Week is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Retail Week or land Securities.

A1 is printed by Headley Brothers ltd.

Ashford, Kent

summer 20136 27summer 2013

Stepping into the ‘secret garden’ of the South Place Hotel in the City of London is like walking into a bar in Miami. Strolling in off bustling Moorgate you are transported to an enclosed, sheltered rooftop garden with striking design, cosy seating, a cocktail bar

and artwork from east London artists. And Miami-esque music to match.

This surprising and enchanting bar sums up everything that D&D London chairman and chief executive Des Gunewardena puts into the business. With a suite of restaurants across London and a smattering internationally, South Place Hotel is D&D London’s first hotel but Gunewardena has approached it in the same way as he would one of his restaurants.

“We work in a different way to other hoteliers,” he says. “While everyone else is trying to maximise value by cramming rooms in, we always start off the design by thinking about the public places – the restaurants, the bars and the public areas. We want it to be a great place for the general public first, as we believe that makes it a desirable place to stay too.”

This ethos “comes from who we are and what we are about”, says Gunewardena. And that is a business rooted not only in design but in creating inspiring environments, great food, impeccable service and a thirst to give its customers a good time.

D&D London was borne out of Conran Restaurants, founded in 1991 by design guru Sir Terence Conran.

Interview

Fine diningGunewardena, who originally trained as an accountant,

first met Conran when he was working as a partner in a small firm of architects where Conran was the chairman and a shareholder in the company.

It was 1989, Conran had just left Storehouse Group – the retail conglomerate he founded – and invited Gunewardena to join him as a partner in Conran Restaurants.

“We started life with an office in a little three-bedroom flat in Butler’s Wharf,” remembers Gunewardena. “There was a grand living room with a lovely view and I had the back bedroom. Then we squeezed in a finance guy and a couple of PAs and that’s how we started.”

What began with just one restaurant at London’s Design Museum soon spread and the company was at the forefront of the explosion of eating out in London during the 1990s.

“We had a great time opening restaurants in the 1990s,” says Gunewardena. “There wasn’t much of a food scene in London at the time. In the evening you went out and had your food really quickly so you could get on and do something else like go to the theatre. It wasn’t the experience that it is today.”

The restaurant that kickstarted the food revolution in London, and was tantamount to the success of Conran Restaurants, was Quaglino’s in Mayfair.

“We’d just come out of a rather nasty recession and every-body thought we were mad opening a restaurant that had 468 covers,” says Gunewardena. “It was Terence’s version of the great French brasseries in London and it really caught

With a global presence stretching from New York and London to Copenhagen and Tokyo, Jennifer Creevy meets D&D London’s Des Gunewardena to talk about his new restaurants at Trinity Leeds

Crafthouse at Trinity Leeds offers great views across the city and Gunewardena wants the restaurants he’s opened in Leeds to be part of the local scene

g


the mood of coming out of the recession. It opened with a wave of optimism and we were packed.”

Gunewardena remembers the restaurant had to start serving lunches at 11am and dinners at 5pm because of its popularity.

A string of openings followed, such as Mezzo and Bluebird, and the restaurant scene in London started to flourish. “We played our part in the beginning and we now have chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal taking the restaurant business to a totally different level compared with what it was 20 years ago,” he says.

Going globalGunewardena adds: “London is now a bit like the premier-ship of football in terms of restaurants. Everyone wants a restaurant in London.” He explains that when the company is competing for restaurant sites, it now comes up against companies or chefs globally, not just the UK.

International success followed, which Gunewardena jokes began because “everyone started saying there were too many Conran restaurants in London”. He says: “Everyone said London had been Conralised so we thought we’d better go overseas for a while.”

The first overseas venture was Alcazar in Paris, followed by Guastavino’s in New York. More recently, openings have included Botanica and Iconic in Tokyo.

In 2006, Gunewardena, alongside managing director David Loewi and their management team plus a group of financiers, acquired a 49% stake in the restaurants. The group then changed its name to D&D London and became an independently managed business.

Gunewardena says the name change made no difference to its customers. “What people care about is whether the food is good, if they are looked after, and they have a good time.

“Where it had some impact was with business partners but everyone knew we were the guys from Conran. We had been there from the beginning, we were the Conran guys.”

All change Then in April this year, private equity firm LDC bought out investments previously held by Conran Holdings and private equity investor Caird Capital. Gunewardena, Loewi and the management team retained their existing investments but the deal meant that Conran himself was now no longer an investor.

“We’ve had some great times and of course we still speak,” says Gunewardena of Conran. “He is brilliant at ideas, and focused on improving people’s quality of life through whatever venture he is working on at that time.”

The LDC deal gives D&D London a “strong financial partner and a platform to further grow the business,” he says.

It was a deal that got off to a hairy start though. D&D

London was opening a restaurant in Istanbul and Gunewar-dena delayed it by a day to sign the deal. But by the next day it still hadn’t happened and he had to fly off. “I was power of attorney for a number of other people but had to go and open the Istanbul restaurant so thought I could just sign it from there,” he says. “Then when I got there I suddenly realised that to do the deal I had to sign the papers witnessed by a UK lawyer. So we found somebody off the internet, went to his office, he was a very nice English gentleman, and we kept his office open until 10pm to sign the deal.”

And as if that wasn’t enough, Gunewardena laughs: “Our first board meeting was held over telephone with me in the back of a taxi hurtling through the back streets of Istanbul.”

The plan now is to further expand, says Gunewardena. He wants to open more restaurants in London, internation-ally, and in other UK cities to complement its first outside the capital, which opened at Trinity Leeds in March.

Leeds hadn’t been on Gunewardena’s radar and it was

Land Securities leasing director John Grimes who showed him the potential. “John came to us and said ‘I know you’re in London, Paris, Tokyo but have you thought about Leeds?”

Gunewardena knew Leeds from a previous investment, he also knew there was a strong business community there, and points out that if Harvey Nichols opened there then the demographics would be right to build a D&D London restaurant. “All those things made us think there might be something in it,” he says.

He also points out the bravery of Land Securities to build in the recession. “It was a gutsy thing for Land Securities to do, it was very visionary,” he says. “And I love the site. While we are not shopping centre people, we are part of Trinity but adjacent with views of Trinity Church.”

D&D London heads to Leeds At Trinity Leeds, D&D London opened two restaurants occupying the fifth and sixth floors accessed from an outdoor lift or one from within the shopping centre. Crafthouse offers views across the city and pays homage to Leeds’ culture and heritage, while Angelica has a wraparound terrace and panoramic city views. A central feature of the restaurant is a cocktail bar with drinks made by a team of mixologists.

Gunewardena says the restaurants have gotten off to a good start but “we don’t make judgments on the first few months, we’re in there for the long term”.

He explains he wants the restaurants to be part of the local scene. Head chef Lee Bennett is a local lad from Bridlington, and while working in Singapore prior to the opening, he always told Gunewardena that he would like to move back home for the right restaurant.

The restaurants also work almost exclusively with Yorkshire suppliers such as Ginger Pig. “Angelica and Craft-house are Yorkshire through and through,” he says.

Gunewardena is confident in building up the business despite the continuing difficult climate because that’s what he has always done.

“It’s often the best time to build in a recession,” he says. “If businesses can only survive in good climates they aren’t sustainable. We’re building businesses to last several cycles.”

It hasn’t always been easy though. He explains: “When Lehman’s went bust, if you ever needed an illustration of how global it was you should look at our cancellations. It was like a deck of cards – London, Paris, New York, Tokyo – a wave of cancellations.”

Gunewardena says the company acted swiftly and stream-lined the business but for D&D London, it was a relatively short recession. “For Londoners spending their own money, the recession lasted only six months, while the corporate recession was longer, about 18 months,” he says. “But after that short, sharp six months, our businesses recovered and had strong like-for-like growth.”

With an injection of capital, Gunewardena and the team are ready for the next chapter in D&D London’s growth. And one thing’s for sure – there will be many more surprising and enchanting restaurants and hotels opening up to keep customers wanting more. l

Crafthouse’s outside terrace (above). Its sister restaurant, Angelica (right), has a cocktail bar with drinks made by a team of mixologists

Interview

London is now a bit like the premiership of football in terms of restaurants. Everyone wants a restaurant in London

Des Gunewardena,

D&D London


The beauty market has escaped much of the turmoil that has beset other parts of retail over the past few years.

While sectors including electronics and fashion have been awash with change, the beauty sector has been

luckier. Not only do consumers view beauty products as more of a necessity than some other products, making the impact of the economic downturn less stringent, but the industry has managed to avoid some of the change caused by the advent of online retail.

Since 2005, beauty has consistently outperformed the overall retail market. Even after the recession hit, the market continued to perform well – between 2005 and 2012, consumer expenditure in the sector rose by just less than a third (30.6%). This is more than double the rate for all retail, which was 14.6%. However, this doesn’t mean everything has been straightforward for the beauty industry, and the sector has still weathered some change. Beauty retailers have to work just as hard to attract consumers and drive footfall – destination retailing is high on the agenda, and retailers increasingly need to create a compelling reason for shoppers to visit. This often means getting the right mix of retailers in a location to act as enough of a pull. Services such as hairdressing are becoming a more important part of this mix as well, and help to create a strong ‘experiential’ retail offer.

And there is growing pressure for beauty to respond to the multichannel revolution, by providing services such as click-and-collect and by having

a strong online presence.

Report

Beauty secrets The markeT

The beauty sector is a relatively small one, says Land Securities retail performance analyst Rosalind David. It consists of about 50 retailers, where Boots and Superdrug account for a large portion of the market. The market has seen some polarisation, she says. “Premium brands and everyday products are doing well,” she says. “But everyone else is finding it hard.”

She adds some previously strong brands have lost their way, stuck in the mid-market compounded by the dominance of Boots and Superdrug. But both retailers may have some strong competition in the future as niche premium players have successfully increased their share over the past eight years.

Overall, beauty has grown strongly over the 2005 to 2012 period, with expenditure rising 30.6%. But there are differences between segments. The everyday market increased 11.1%, while high street premium rose 61.4% – this includes brands such as Neal’s Yard and Molton Brown – and the premium market went up 53.9%.

Shoppers have also changed where they spend their money, with grocers and department stores taking share at the expense of specialists – in 2012 grocers accounted for 35.7% of all beauty spend, up 2.2% from 2005. Department stores increased their share by 1.5% to 13% of the total.

Conlumino managing director Neil Saunders says grocers are unlikely to take much more market share, despite their success so far. “They have made great strides in the everyday market,” he says. “They do very well in that because the products are seen as commodities. But with premium products, the environment isn’t right. A supermarket is not the kind of place that inspires you to spend £40 on fragrance or makeup.”

Much of the growth in the beauty market has been achieved because consumer attitudes haven’t mirrored the changes that have occurred in other parts of the retail industry throughout the downturn. Shoppers do not view the category as an area that is ripe for savings, and 76% of female shoppers still like to treat themselves with beauty products. 67% of shoppers say expensive beauty products are an “investment in myself” and 65% view them as an affordable indulgence. 61% refuse to cut back on beauty services such as hairdressing.

“Beauty has been a cheap fix, a cheap indulgence, and is an easy thing to buy into,” says Saunders. “It gives you a sense of indulgence without breaking the bank.” Shoppers have wanted to treat themselves throughout the downturn and this category gives them an easy way to do it without feeling as though they’ve spent too much money. Premium brands such as Chanel have tapped into this, opening its first beauty-only shop in 2012 in London’s Covent Garden, offering shoppers an accessible way to buy into the brand without spending hundreds of pounds.

The other trend supporting beauty’s growth is the ageing population, with older shoppers willing to spend more on good-quality products. “There’s a desire among shoppers as they get older – they want to remain youthful,” Saunders says. “They are prepared to spend quite a lot of money on scientific products.” These products are generally not cheap – they tend to cost a minimum of £30 and go into the hundreds. But Saunders says consumers are willing to part with the cash. “People will prioritise and invest in that spend. It’s seen as an investment and it is given priority and status.”

It also helps that men have become more avid consumers of beauty products, which has helped to drive growth. Plus, retailers have helped to increase the size of the market. Not only is there a strong focus on product innovation, which drives desire to spend, but department stores such as John Lewis and Harvey Nichols have devoted increasing amounts of space to the category. This has boosted the number of opportunities to purchase and increase impulse buys, Saunders says.

Consumer Trends

ExpEnditurE growth from 2005 to 2012 by bEauty sEgmEnt

opinions on thE purchasE of bEauty productsall numbers are percentages agreeing

I still like to treat myself with beauty products

expensive beauty products are an investment in myself

Beauty products are an affordable indulgence

I refuse to cut back on beauty services such

as the hairdressers

I am prepared to pay for products that keep me young

female

76%

67%

65%

61%

52%

36%

29%

44%

59%

26%

male

overall

30.6% PremIum

61.4% everyday

11.1%

luxury

53.9%

The beauty market has emerged as one

of retail’s sturdier performers throughout

the recession. By Rebecca Thomson


0.6

Report

The beauty sector has been further helped by the fact that it has been relatively insulated from the changes affecting retail by the growth of online. Other sectors have been subject to fundamental change, with consumer habits and shopper journeys changing almost unrecognisably. However, beauty has been one of the luckier ones.

In 2012, only 4.5% of total beauty spend was estimated to have been spent online, a remarkably low figure. Part of the reason for this is that much of the everyday, lower-priced items are picked up in supermarkets during the grocery shop. Shoppers find this process convenient enough, without resorting to online – which is why food is another category with a relatively low online penetration.

The other reason for beauty’s avoidance of the online onslaught is that the premium end of the market still operates in a fairly traditional way. Many beauty purchases are still physical – shoppers want to see what a product looks, feels and smells like. “People like to use the stores,” says Saunders. “They like to test things and engage with the product. It’s interactive and tactile.”

But this doesn’t mean the sector is totally insulated from online shopping. “It’s not a massive threat but it’s still a challenge,” Saunders says. “Players like Asos have great potential.”

David adds: “In some ways it’s quite an old-fashioned sector. People like to try things out and they need to be there to do that.”

Beauty retailers have in essence been granted the gift of time. While other retailers have been playing catch up with online players, the beauty sector’s own online revolution is happening more slowly. Part of the reason online growth has been slow is because the sector’s biggest player, Boots, has been slow to kick off its own multichannel offer.

“If they [Boots] got their click-and-collect service sorted, it would work well,” David says. Boots is to start offering click-and-collect and is focusing on improving the service – it is likely

to work well for the retailer because of its comprehensive network of stores.By 2015, 5.6% of beauty sales are expected to be made online – still a fairly low rate, but as the

growth continues, retailers will need to keep an eye on their online offer.

onlIne key Players

The fuTure

proportion of onlinE bEauty spEnd sincE 2000 to 2015all figures are percentages

winnErs and losErs of sharE ovEr thE nExt fEw yEars

forEcast ExpEnditurE growth ratEs by sEctor for 2012 to 2015all figures are percentages

2000

2004

2008

2012

2002

2006

2010

2014

2001

2005

2009

2013

2003

2007

2011

2015

The predicted losers of market share over the coming year include Tesco, Avon and The Body Shop, which respec-tively hold 13.7%, 1.8% and 1.1% of sales at the moment. Tesco is facing competition from its grocery rivals, while Avon and The Body Shop have suffered as a result of online growth and have failed to stay as relevant to shoppers as they once were.

Boots will remain the largest and most important player in the market – it accounts for 21.4% of sales – but it will struggle to retain this in the coming years as other niche players continue to do well. Superdrug, which accounts for

4.7% of share, will face some of the same issues but will also need to improve its proposition and point of difference.

The winners in the market are likely to include Asda, whose customers are more open to buying some of the cheaper premium products than other grocers. Morrisons also has an opportunity to push growth, as it has lagged behind so far in non-food. Niche specialists will also be winners, with brands such as skincare specialist Ren and makeup brand Mac continuing to do well. These compa-nies are strong on innovation and excel at creating a propo-sition customers are keen to buy into.

Expenditure in the beauty market is expected to grow 14.2% between 2012 and 2015, second only to food. With much of the food category’s growth inflationary, beauty will be the largest growth sector by volume.

There will be some changes in the way shoppers interact with stores as well. Experiential retail will become more important – while some beauty purchases are more of a basic purchase, expectations around premium products are high. Female shoppers expect advice, the ability to test products, and a relaxing

environment. The fact that so many department store beauty halls provide this is part of the reason for their success.

Services are also becoming a more important part of the offer. Saunders says: “People will spend on products, but they will also spend an increasing amount of money on treat-ments, whether they’re scientific, indulgent or health led.”

The market will start to be more and more led by scientific products and treatments – those focusing on a certain issue, such as anti-ageing – and indulgent products that focus on making the customer feel special. Winning brands will increasingly exploit one of these two trends.

Winners

middle

losers

niche specialists

John lewis (2.7%) debenhams (3%)

l’occitane (0.3%)

sainsbury’s (8.1%)

The Perfume shop (1.5%)

lush (0.2%)morrisons (6.3%)

savers (1%)

m&s (3.9%)Boots (21.4%)

superdrug (4.7%)

The Body shop (1.1%)Tesco (13.7%)

avon (1.8%)

asda (7.6%)molton Brown (0.2%)

food

Beauty

Clothing

Total

home

electricals

furniture

dIy

Books

music / film

0.7 0.81 1.1

1.41.7

2.2

2.7

3.1

3.6

4.1

4.5

4.9

5.35.6

16.7

14.2

10

9.7

3.2

1.1

0.2

-5.4

-6.2

-15.3

Hollister, says Niven. “They have been real crowd pleasers,” she says. “There’s a lot of interest too around the larger, new flagships for Next, River Island, New Look and Marks & Spencer.”

M&S already had a store at the location, also the birth-place of the famous brand, but decided to extend and revamp all four floors for Trinity Leeds’ opening. “Customers who have been going to that shop for years think it’s brand new,” says Niven.

More to comeShe points out that the centre is not even operating at full throttle yet, because three of the biggest draws are yet to open – Primark and Victoria’s Secret, and the street food sensation Trinity Kitchen, all of which open later this year.

Leeds, a highly fashion-conscious city, already had a solid retail scene. Indeed, with Harvey Nichols and the striking arcades of the upmarket Victoria Quarter, the city has been dubbed the ‘Knightsbridge of the North’.

However, not only has Trinity Leeds provided more space for big-name brands to open regional flagships, it has also linked the city’s existing retail offer. The well-connected centre is nestled between Briggate, Albion Street and Boar Lane, and is just a few minutes’ walk from the train station, with accessible bus links and 3,500 car parking spaces in easy reach. Trinity Leeds also aims to grow the night-time economy by keeping shops open until 8pm – many shops in the area close at 6pm – and restaurants until late.

“We always wanted it to be the heart and soul of Leeds because it links in all the busy streets,” says Niven.

Trinity Leeds


g

When Trinity Leeds opened its doors in March, it captured the minds of not just the city’s inhab-itants, but the country at large. Going by its Twitter coverage, some may even say the world.

On opening day, Trinity Leeds was the third most- tweeted thing in the UK and the eighth globally, according to Land Securities retail operations director for the North Alison Niven.

TV news channels were out in force and column inches in the national newspapers were thick. The opening allowed people to, for a day at least, forget about the financial woes the country faces.

But the attention Trinity Leeds garnered was driven by another factor too – it was the only big development to open this year and the first since Westfield Stratford City in September 2011, after the recession caused developers to rethink opening expensive shopping centres.

However, with an investment of £350m, Land Securities showed its faith in British retail – as did the shoppers. An impressive 132,000 people came to witness some of the world’s best retailers unveiling top-quality shopfits on opening day.

But happily for Land Securities, it was not just the novelty factor that pulled shoppers in in their droves, plenty have visited since. The busiest day so far was not launch day, as one might expect, but Easter Saturday, when 139,000 visitors descended on the scheme.

Leeds shoppers have in particular been visiting brands that are new to the city such as Apple, Superdry and

On opening day, an impressive 132,000 people visited Trinity Leeds and footfall has been strong since

in numbers: TriniTy Leeds

l 4 million shoppers in

the first eight weeks

l 1 million sq ft

l £350m in cost

l 120 shops and restaurants

l 50 brands new to Leeds

l 15 years average lease length

Leeds

l Leeds’ catchment is more

than 5.6 million with an

annual spend of £15bnl Leeds is the UK’s largest

financial and legal services

centre outside London

l 50,000 passengers pass

through Leeds train station per

day, equating to 18.2 million

per year

l The city has an undergraduate

student population of more

than 72,000. With more than

eight higher education centres,

there are more than 200,000

students in total

“A lot of shoppers naturally meander into the scheme. It links the city.”

Niven says Trinity Leeds has put the city back on the retail map: “It’s as if shoppers have come back to the city of Leeds because they don’t need to go further afield to do their shopping anymore.”

Elaine Wrigley, head of retail for the North at New Look, which opened its fifth Leeds store in the centre, said on opening it was “critically important” to be in Trinity Leeds. “We see this as the next step in the evolving shopper experi-ence in Leeds’ city centre, and it’s paramount for us to be

part of that,” she says. “Leeds is such a destination, not only for the immediate areas but from further afield. There are lots coming from the Northeast as well.”

Superdry head of retail Claire Arksey said the retailer was so convinced of Trinity Leeds’ pulling power that it has opened its second-largest UK store in the centre, comprising 16,000 sq ft of selling space. Arksey expected the shop to be a top-performing one among the retailer’s portfolio. “Our demographic is the 18-to-24 audience, and Leeds has one of the largest student populations in the UK, so it’s perfect for us,” she says.

OpenThe opening of Trinity Leeds in March garnered much attention. Nicola Harrison finds out why it has given UK retail a boost in confidence

Trinity

Trinity Leeds

summer 201316

Mamas & Papas deputy chief executive Tim Maule says he was “thrilled” with the mix. The retailer launched its new branding here and spent £500,000 on the shopfit. “Leeds is a fabulous city. For a long time we’ve wanted a store in the centre, but there’s never really been the right scheme to go into,” said Maule. “Trinity brings together some of the best retailers in the country. And they’ve worked hard to get families here with the food and beverage offer, and the cinema too.”

Niven says the leisure offer has impressed locals. “We’ve been really pleased with the night-time economy, and it’s hard to get that instantly in shopping centres,” she says.

The more upmarket offerings such as restaurant Angelica gives staff in the large financial and legal sector “somewhere to go”, she adds.

digiTaLLy enhancing The experience

Land securities claims Trinity Leeds is the most digitally enabled shopping centre in the UK and

retail operations director for the north alison niven says retailers and shoppers alike are making

use of the technology available.

For instance, she says customer service staff who walk around the scheme with mini ipads

to help guide the shopper through the centre are proving popular: “We’ve tried to make

that interaction feel natural, and have colleagues standing beside store entrances − it’s

working very well.”

in the customer service lounge, visitors can browse ipads, and there are TVs, couches and

newspapers. “We want it to be a place to dwell, and not feel like a rushed experience,” says niven.

The Trinity Leeds app has been downloaded more than 9,000 times and its Facebook page has

more than 85,000 ‘likes’. add that to the Twitter performance and it seems shoppers are responding

well to the centre’s digital offer. “some of the digital initiatives have gone off the scale,” says niven.

Trinity Leeds offers free wi-fi, which is another example of the centre trying to engage with

today’s digitally savvy shopper. On paper at least, Trinity Leeds is an effective example of the

best of what is available in shopping centre technology.

customers can use google product search to find items on sale in the centre, while retailers

can use the Trinity Leeds website to personalise communication to shoppers through its embedded

crM system. stores can also use digital screens around the centre to target promotions at

Trinity Leeds' shoppers.

The screens are a new channel for retailers, and niven says stores are “starting to use

them more and more". For instance, Trinity Leeds hosted a ‘student takeover’ that attracted

10,000 students forming queues around the block to get in, and retailers used the screens to

communicate their promotions, with 46 brands providing exclusive offers.

Trinity Leeds boasts the first Everyman cinema and first D&D London restaurant to open in the North and restaurants including TGI Friday’s and Carluccio’s. Trinity Kitchen will open in autumn, bringing seven brands, many coming out of London for the first time; Pho Café, Chip n’ Fish, Tortilla and Notes coffee shop and wine bar. It will also showcase five pop-up street food traders, fresh from the festival circuit, curated by food journalist Richard Johnson.

This pop-up strategy also extends to retail. To bring a sense of newness, a range of temporary shops will continu-ally open to ensure fresh brand names in the centre. For instance, global pop sensation One Direction opened a pop-up shop on Trinity Leeds’ first weekend.

The novelty of Trinity Leeds for shoppers will not yet have worn off, and it remains to be seen if the centre will still have the pulling power one year down the line.

However, Niven remains confident of the centre’s long-term appeal. “It’s going really well. Trinity’s given Leeds the chance to have flagship stores, and our rolling events programme means there is always something new to discover. The people of Leeds have really warmed to it.”

Ultimately, the fact the centre opened at all is a vote of confidence in UK retail. As Sir Stuart Rose – former M&S boss and non-executive of Land Securities – said at the opening, Trinity Leeds “shows retail is alive and kicking”. l

caption here pleaseparitatem quam hiliquiae lanis volore nobis rem. pa quidebit

Trinity Leeds boasts the first everyman cinema outside London and has opened a host of restaurants new to the city (above); 'equus' – a metal pack horse sculpture in the shopping centre (right)

summer 2013 17

Opening a new shopping centre is one thing, opening a scheme in the middle of a busy city centre is quite another. As the retail development sector has been moribund this year, the opening of a mall the size of Land Securities’

Trinity Leeds scheme is certainly a surprise. Leeds’ newest, shiniest shopping centre is a develop-

ment that offers contemporary store design, the latest fit-outs and a building that is a positive addition to the city centre. Robin Pinfield, director at Chapman Taylor, the architect for the scheme, says what is on view today is actually some distance from what was originally envisaged.

“As we went into 2008, the scheme that had been proposed wasn’t viable anymore,” he says. The initial plan was for an enclosed mall, but Chapman Taylor was commissioned to convert the scheme into a covered,

but open-air shopping centre creating the feeling of open streets and arcades. Pinfield says this meant the scheme would be cheaper to build and it therefore chimed with the tough economic climate.

Trinity Leeds opened in March with an interior that bears some resemblance to Land Securities’ Cabot Circus shopping centre in Bristol, which opened in 2008. A major feature of Cabot Circus is the roof – a sweeping curvilinear glass structure that rises and falls depending on where you are looking at it from in the mall. The same DNA is evident in Leeds, but Pinfield observes: “The roof in Trinity Leeds is a move on from Bristol,” in engineering terms at least.

According to Pinfield, one issue Trinity Leeds faced was planning permission, because obtaining consent to switch from an enclosed to a covered shopping centre was a complex and sensitive matter.

of the times

Trinity Leeds

The opening of Trinity Leeds brings a positive impact to the city with

contemporary store design and innovative fit-outs. John Ryan visitsDesign

Trinity Leeds


In terms of the shape and form of the mall, much of the original masterplan remains in place.

Pinfield says working with the council and the city architect to smooth the passage from one type of mall to another proved to be a collaborative process. This was owing to the council’s general desire for the scheme to make it off the drawing board as it was viewed as an asset for Leeds.

And what has emerged is a shopping centre that is virtually “land-locked”, as Pinfield puts it, nestling between existing buildings in the centre of Leeds. “This makes it pretty unique and the main common feature across the scheme is the roof,” he says. He points out there is a drop of between seven and eight metres between the different parts of the building, as it is built on a steep slope.

This could have provided a challenge for both those charged with creating the space and the retailers that have taken units. However, there is little sense of difference in height across the centre – the scheme functions as a three-level contiguous whole.

Judith Kelly, project manager, retail delivery, at Land Securities, says working with the council was a long-term commitment and a rewarding process. She relates that one of the principal aims was to prove that a design guide produced by Land Securities would suffice in taking the place of individual applications from the retailers looking to take space in Trinity Leeds.

This meant the guide had to be sufficiently robust to ensure there would be consistency across the centre. “We tried to make the design criteria specific across each level, but at the same time we worked with the retailers to retain their individuality within the scheme. What we didn’t want was every shopfront being the same size,

with every retailer using the same size font for their logos,” says Kelly.

The outcome is a new shopping mall in the centre of a northern metropolis that does ring the changes. It also happens to look good and whether it’s the Superdry store, which takes what has been done in the Regent Street flagship and brings the same glamour to the north of England, or the new-look Mamas & Papas, there is novelty at almost every turn. With Urban Outfitters, Next and New Look all joining the party as large space users and with their best store design feet forward, it is little surprise that on opening day the centre was mobbed.

Mamas & Papas in particular is interesting, as the retailer has chosen Trinity Leeds to launch its new

format with everything from the external logo to new display fixtures receiving a makeover. Deputy chief execu-tive Timothy Maule comments: “What we’ve had to do is to make the store easier to shop. We’ve tried to make this the sort of place you’ll feel comfortable shopping in.” What in fact has been done is to create a store interior with a neutral palette that allows the stock, rather than the fixturing, to do the talking. It is also to the credit of Trinity Leeds that it is the location for the new format’s debut – which will be taken to all new Mamas & Papas stores.

Superdry is also worthy of a mention, if only because of the striking glass vitrines containing mannequins and displays that front the entrance to the store. The only other location where this has been done is Regent Street and it is a measure of the importance attached to Trinity Leeds that

it is considered worth doing this. Across the rest of the floor, items such as a flatbed railway truck and raw concrete walls confirm this store’s position as one of the most promi-nent in the scheme.

But what does another shopping centre bring to one of the commercial hubs of northern England? This is a Victo-rian city and much of what makes its centre worth a visit is the combination of arcades and grand civic buildings. Yet the curious thing about the Trinity Leeds development is that it seems to fit almost seamlessly into the urban landscape, despite its highly contemporary appearance, internally and externally.

In part, this is because externally there is almost no vantage point from which the whole of the centre can be seen, so closely is it integrated with its surroundings. Yet within, this Land Securities shopping centre is a soaring, cathedral-like structure with multiple levels, angles and perspectives to look at.

Mention should also be made of the central piece of public art – taking the form of ‘Equus’, a metal packhorse with a sack straddled across its back. It stands on a pole above the main body of the centre and is intended to make reference to Leeds’ history as one of the cradles of the industrial revolution, and its textile heritage, when animals bearing load of this kind would have been commonplace.

Visitors to Leeds now have a new retail axis – one that moves the centre of commercial gravity a couple of hundred metres south of where it was previously. It also puts Leeds in the vanguard of new retail in the UK and with more than 1 million sq ft of new retail space and being the only scheme of size that will open during 2013, this is a development that will reinforce the city’s position as a retail force to be reckoned with. l

Retailers including Next, Superdry, New Look and Mamas & Papas (clockwise from top left) all pulled in the crowds on Trinity Leeds’ opening day with their innovative store design

We’ve tried to make this the sort of place you’ll feel comfortable shopping in

Timothy Maule, Mamas & Papas


The impact of the £350m Trinity Leeds scheme may well go beyond the 1 million sq ft of prime retail space added to the city. Trinity Leeds has also introduced arguably the most-advanced digital features

to be incorporated in a UK mall and an extensive and unique food offer.

The leisure element has risen from the 10% originally proposed to 22% of the total space, including the first Everyman cinema outside London and a cluster of D&D and Living Venture restaurants and bars to suit budgets and tastes. Integration is a key mantra – the mall has eight entrances and is surrounded by Leeds’ three busiest shopping streets, and it is on the doorstep of the train station. “Previ-ously, Leeds really closed down at 6pm, now the residents have somewhere that will extend the night-time economy, with a range of restaurants and the cinema,” says Land Securi-ties leasing director John Grimes.

Everyman chief executive Andrew Myers adds: “We were one of the first to sign for Trinity, I was at university here so have an affinity with the city. When I was at university in 1992, I remember going to the multiplex cinema out by the M62 and that was the big thing then. Now customers want something different. The multiplex model doesn’t offer the experience customers want anymore. The future has to be different and we are creating that environment.”

Trinity Leeds has integrated leisure elements and advanced digital features in the shopping centre to enhance the consumer experience. Mark Faithfull reports

movement and British Street Food Awards, is curating the street market. Local and international chefs will visit the street market as part of a rolling events programme. Trinity Kitchen will also be home to several global brands, each placed in a different ‘pod’-style setting and will increase the presence of food and beverage at Trinity Leeds by 50%.

Trinity Leeds development director Andrew Dudley adds: “With Trinity Kitchen we aim to lead the charge for next-generation retail destinations, creating an entirely new and highly innovative F&B model yet to be replicated by any other retail scheme.”

That difference is also embodied at Trinity Leeds through an all-digital experience including a new website with an embedded CRM system to personalise communication to shoppers, a new mobile app, a network of digital screens, free wi-fi, Google Product Search and a service team equipped with iPads and a unique service app, all ensuring retailers and shoppers get the most from their visit.

Land Securities head of business-to-business marketing and brand partnerships Sean Curtis explains: “A lot of shopping centres collect all this data, yet don’t do anything with it. Our new CRM system allows us to segment customer data and ensure that visitors only get content and offers relevant to them. That means we can develop a personalised relationship, keep content relevant and all in a cost-effective way.”

Digital screens at Trinity Leeds, including four digital video walls, allow shoppers to interact through gesture recognition. They form part of a network of large screens that promote retailer offers, events, provide cinema times, centre information and real-time details on public transport.

Land Securities is the first landlord to offer free wi-fi in all its centres and, together with Google Product Search – which is tailored to only search for products available in Trinity Leeds – shoppers can look for a specific item to find out which retailers in the centre sell that product, driving traffic directly to the store. It also allows customers the opportunity to click-and-collect, browse and buy or simply find inspiration during their visit via the website or the app.

Curtis adds: “We can deliver retailer news, events and offers, all based on a consumer’s preferences almost instantly via our mobile and main websites, through the Trinity Leeds app, on the centre’s screen network and in tailored emails. We recently ran a student lock-in, for which more than 45 offers were transmitted over the screens. When the lock-in was finished the screens went back to displaying the 12 current retail offers we had running that week. It gives us and the retailers huge flexibility in the way we can react.”

Land Securities brought together partners including advertising specialist JCDecaux, media firm Space and People and digital specialists Ocean Outdoor and Grand Visual to offer brands the oppor-tunity to create an immersive experience. The first collaboration was with Sony for its new Xperia Z

smartphone as part of a national campaign, whereby Sony Mobile used advertising throughout the centre’s screen network. This included JCDecaux digital six-sheets (large-format screens) and the new portrait M-Vision (portrait LED screens). In addition, multi-sensory advertising ran

across three interactive, gesture-controlled screens. Sony also took control of the centre’s event space.

JCDecaux managing director of sales Spencer Berwin says: “The digital media space at the centre offers the ideal environment for brands, with creative flexibility for an increasingly connected consumer audience. Trinity Leeds’ unique position in the city centre ensures exceptional footfall.”

Land Securities ran a retail partnership with Oasis to promote its store opening in April. As part of its launch campaign, Oasis implemented an in-store photo booth to drive awareness through social media. To support this activity, Land Securities arranged for live uploads from the photo booth to be displayed directly on Trinity Leeds’ digital screens to drive incremental footfall.

In addition, along with Everyman and Leeds-based indie film production company Left Eye Blind, Trinity Leeds challenged 150 filmmakers to write, shoot and finish a film in less than three days. In total, 25 teams completed the ‘2.8 Days Later’ film challenge, and their films were put to the public vote, via Facebook. The winner of the popular vote had a special screening event last spring, while the winner of the media award saw their film screened at Everyman cinemas across London, as the trailer to a major movie.

“Our job is to provide the platform to help our retailers succeed,” says Curtis. “Whether it’s the extensive and unique nature of our food and beverage and cinema offer, or the structure of our digital and physical capabilities, the future is about joining these elements up and delivering them in a way that

enhances the customer and retailer experience.” l

Leading the wayEveryman has strong retail ties, with investors including

the Kaye brothers, who set up Ask, and the Lewis family of River Island fame. Myers stresses the objective is that a night at the cinema “feels like a special evening as well as being value for money”. He says: “Land Securities should be commended for signing us up five years ago when we were a fledgling company. We are more established now but they took a chance on us because they wanted to deliver something different.”

Dining outTrinity Leeds has also developed an extensive food and beverage offer. Local independent Cielo Blanco is a stylish Mexican restaurant and bar next to Wagamama, Carluccio’s and Giraffe, all with balconies overlooking the scheme. TGI Friday’s has also upped its game with its latest fit out and The Botanist, hidden behind Holy Trinity Church, is the best kept secret in Leeds. This autumn, Land Securities will welcome Trinity Kitchen, bringing cooking demonstrations, street food vendors and pop-up market stalls in a shopping centre environment for the first time.

The concept will host a mix of brands in a street food market, and will retain the authenticity by only selecting the best street food vans from across the UK – five pop-up food traders will be on offer and will change on a regular basis.

Richard Johnson, UK food journalist and broadcaster and the brains behind the emerging British Street Food

Large screens in Trinity Leeds promote retailer offers, events, centre information and real-time information on public transport (top); Land Securities’ mobile app for Trinity Leeds (below)

Trinity Leeds

Report


Glasgow is one of the most popular shopping destinations in the UK. The catchment is fashion focused and the thirst for new brands is strong.

For this reason, Glaswegians will be jumping for joy at the extension of the

hottest retail area in the city – Buchanan Quarter, nestled at the top of the main shopping area – Buchanan Street.

Buchanan Quarter consists of an area receiving consider-able investment, which includes Queen Street Station, The Concert Hall, Buchanan Galleries and the newest additions: 185-221 Buchanan Street and a new residential scheme, Buchanan Gardens.

Buchanan Street is an upscale thoroughfare that runs almost north to south in the middle of the grid of streets that forms the centre of Scotland’s commercial capital and that has the country’s House of Fraser flagship at its southern end.

185-221 Buchanan Street is formed by a series of high-profile, first-to-Scotland brands, including young fashion retailer Forever 21, stationery retailer Paperchase and new branches of Gap and Fat Face, all of whom have taken space in this 200,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme.

The development adds to Land Securities’ presence in the area as it sits across the street from the 600,000 sq ft Buchanan Galleries – a covered shopping mall jointly owned by Land Securities and Henderson Global Investors.

The scheme offers shoppers the chance to inspect cutting-edge deals in stores of real architectural note. But before any of this could be realised, a substantial change in the local retail dynamic had to be effected. This meant larger store footplates were put in place, according to Land Securities development director Nick Davis.

The outcome has been a Forever 21 that is the biggest, single leasing on Buchanan Street after House of Fraser. “We were aware of the requirement for new retailers to come into the city and, for Forever 21, the biggest challenge about coming to Glasgow was to find a unit of the size they required,” says Davis.

He notes that the 62,000 sq ft, three-floor Forever 21 was the result of a concerted effort to “get the retailers to do something different”, adding: “All of the new stores are flagship stores. It’s a case of showcasing and an opportunity to inject some real theatre.”

For Forever 21, the Buchanan Quarter behemoth is noteworthy. “This is the first flagship shop Forever 21 has opened in the UK that fronts a pedestrian street – and a very wide pedestrian street at that. How the shop would be viewed

Glasgow’s new shopping development, Buchanan Quarter, enhances the city’s retail offer. John Ryan finds out why

from the outside-in at various vantage points on Buchanan Street influenced where the main interior elements, such as the escalator and stairs, were placed. With all the movement that occurs on a pedestrian street, we thought it was important to show movement and activity inside,” notes Forever 21 spokes-woman Stephanie Chavarria.

“We tried pushing the envelope in terms of what is allowed by regulation and wanted to keep the stairs as open as possible. With one side of the stairs exposed to Buchanan Street and the glass enclosure, we think the stairs look open and acces-sible,” says Chavarria. All of which equates to a store with a huge glass frontage and a jaw-dropping atrium and escalator inside the door.

It would be hard not to be impressed by what has been achieved in this store and the same could be said of the neigh-bouring Paperchase store, which also features a large, glazed frontage. The difference with this 15,000 sq ft, two-floor shop is that the frontage is meant to imitate the shape of an envelope, in reference to the retailer’s stationery offer.

Stand out in styleIn terms of size, this is a flagship for Scotland, according to chief executive Timothy Melgund – second only to the store on London’s Tottenham Court Road and Paperchase has worked hard with Wingate Design Partnership to create something different.

Whether it’s the suspended feature staircase or the “1950’s Milanese-style cafe”, as Melgund terms it, there is something to look at at every turn. The store also features a digital box of tricks among the art materials on the first floor, where shoppers can play at being designers with a flatscreen kiosk that features a number of templates that can be altered by the user.

There is much to commend about what has been done in this large, contemporary-looking store and shoppers will have good reason to linger once through the doors.

The same is true for Fat Face, Office, Gap, Skechers and Watches of Switzerland, which collectively make up the rest of this new retail axis at the top of Buchanan Street. The enterprise has injected £70m into Glasgow and this is the start of longer-term aspirations to invest in the Quarter.

New shopping developments that change the face of a mature retail landscape in the UK’s towns and cities are thin on the ground, not least when the economy has been on its uppers for a while. Buchanan Quarter represents a genuine improvement and one that enhances the city’s reputation as one of the best retail offers in the UK. l

Buchanan Quarter

Size 200,000 sq ft

Opened March 22, 2013

Key tenants Forever 21

and Paperchase

Development cost £70m

Developer Land Securities

NoRtheRNstaR

clockwise from top: Gap; Forever 21; Paperchase


The priority for Harding is to improve the ordering experience in store and make it easier for customers to make a purchase.

Andy Morrey, co-founder of ecommerce consultancy Enova Partnership, who in his former role as head of ecommerce at Argos helped launched its click-and-collect service in 2000, says the in-store experience is often where retailers let themselves down.

“There’s often no clear signage and customers join the same queue as in-store shoppers. There needs to be invest-ment to make sure the customer feels good about the in-store journey. If they feel good about it, they’ll use it again and may even buy something else while they’re in store,” he says.

Although House of Fraser has clearly signposted click-and-collect areas, queues are still an issue, and one that Harding wants to eradicate.

“At lunchtime during one of our brand events, the queues can be ridiculous. I don’t want shoppers queuing, I want them walking around the store and hopefully spending money,” he says.

Drive-throughs, park-and-ride and petrol storesIt’s not just department stores that are investing heavily in click-and-collect. Grocery giants Asda and Tesco have also made it a key focus.

“It’s a period of test and learn. We’re seeing what works and what resonates with the customer,” says Asda home shopping director Kieran Shanahan.

Asda has many initiatives on the go including a click-and-collect drive-through operation, which allows customers to choose a two-hour window to collect their goods, a park-and-ride facility in Nottingham, a collection point at a business park in Reading and pick-up from temperature-controlled lockers at two of its small format convenience stores at petrol stations in Manchester and Leeds.

It has also heightened the convenience of its click-and-collect service by offering a same-day service. Since May this year, shoppers have been able to pick up orders made by 10am from 2pm in store.

Morrey says it’s not just speedy click-and-collect but flexi-

bility that shoppers are looking for. “Some people want to reserve it now but pick it up in four or five days. Obviously the best laid plans can go astray so click-and-collect must be easily changeable for the customer,” he says.

Shanahan says the focus on convenient collection is bringing a new audience to Asda. “New customers are coming to order through us. People who are busy want to use this, they can pick up their orders on the way home or when they know they’re out and about,” he says.

So far the grocer has opted to use its own vast property estate rather than acquiring new space as, according to Shanahan, it allows them to roll out the new formats quickly.

However, it does use Collect+, which has 5,000 convenience stores in its network, for George and Asda Direct orders.

Partnerships of this nature have become increasingly popular and the success of John Lewis’ tie-up with Waitrose, which has driven 43% of the department store’s click-and-collect orders to be picked up at the grocer, has opened retailers’ eyes to further collaborations.

However, it might not be so straightforward, according to Stockil, who says it might not stack up for the retailer hosting the collection point.

“What fee is a retailer willing to pay [to the host] and would it justify the expense of reconfiguring operating space in store to make it worthwhile? You can quickly calculate that it probably does not,” he surmises.

However, Morrey believes retailers will increasingly create third-party collection in store as they find themselves with too much space across their estate.

Retail landlords are also “getting in on the act”, according to Stockil, and multi-brand collection points at shopping centres could be the next step in click-and-collect.

Although having a single payment system for several brands may present challenges, they can be overcome, and shopping centres could become the department store of the future in terms of collection. And for retailers, many believe that customers coming in to collect goods ordered online will also buy supplementary impulse purchases, so for a shopping centre that is a win-win situation. l

Click-and-collect is one of the fastest growth areas in retail and has been heralded as the future of conve-nient shopping.

The delivery method is gaining scale quickly – it now makes up

27% of John Lewis’ online sales – and retailers are eyeing alternatives to a pick-up point in store to get the most out of it.

From Amazon’s collection lockers in locations including office buildings, train stations or your local Co-op, to stores devoted solely to click-and-collect, retailers are trialing innovative new ways to up the convenience credentials for customers.

Department store group House of Fraser identified the rapidly growing service as one to invest in in 2010 when it first started plotting its Houseoffraser.com stores, which debuted in October 2011 in Liverpool and Aberdeen – both built exclusively for click-and-collect.

“It’s a myth that home delivery is convenient,” says House of Fraser executive director of multichannel Andy Harding. “It isn’t convenient for people going to work every day. Collection is far more convenient as it fits round your schedule rather than your courier’s. You can receive your parcel at a time that suits you.”

Convenience is not the only driver, according to Tony Stockil, chief executive of multichannel consultancy Javelin Group. He believes click-and-collect options are attractive for shoppers reluctant to pay delivery charges associated with home delivery.

“A £10 delivery charge puts people off. Consumers think if I’m willing to do more work and come to store, I’ll get a lower price,” he says.

The Houseoffraser.com stores allow customers to grab a drink at their free coffee bars and, from the comfort of relaxed seating areas, browse through the department store’s online products via iPads, computers and interactive screens. Goods ordered will be in store – or at the customer’s house if they so wish – from the next day where they can try them on in fitting rooms.

Harding says the passing trade was there from day one: “Customers are curious so they will come in. Although, some have gotten quite cross that it wasn’t a full department store. That is where the quality of our colleagues in store is needed to demonstrate the concept and how it works.”

The retailer believes its store staff are key to click-and-collect, be it in its Houseoffraser.com stores or in its full-line department stores, and ordering in store should still be an assisted sale, in particular for those unfamiliar with the concept.

Harding says before pushing ahead with the format, House of Fraser had to prove that click-and-collect brings incremental sales, and he is so confident it does that he is on the hunt for four or five new locations to take the trial further.

However, the trial has not been without problems. The retailer is looking to close its Liverpool store after discovering it was too close to its Manchester department store. “If there is a full-line department store down the road, people prefer to go there,” he says.approachf lexibleThe

Click-and-collect offers consumers a more convenient and flexible shopping experience. By Gemma Goldfingle

Report

Click-and-collect is a rapidly growing service among retailers including Argos (above, left), John Lewis (above, right) and House of Fraser, which has opened stores exclusively built for click-and-collect (far left)

Collection is far more convenient as it fits round your schedule rather than your courier’s. You can receive your parcel at a time that suits you Andy Harding, House of Fraser

Key Facts

n 5.5-acre site opposite Victoria station

n Five landmark buildings

n 603,000 sq ft of offices

n 193,000 sq ft of apartments

n 85,000 sq ft of retail, cafes and restaurants

n 16,000 sq ft of community space

n at construction peak, there will be 1,800

people working on site per day


Development

Why have you dropped the name Victoria Circle?Victoria circle was always a holding name

for the project while it was still in planning.

What does Nova mean?Nova, Victoria encapsulates how new and

exciting this development will be as a focal

point and destination. It transforms a whole

block in Victoria to an architecturally striking

mixed-use destination, creating a new link

between Victoria station and Buckingham

Palace and the Royal Parks and delivers a new

place to work, live, eat, drink, shop and enjoy.

What is the total investment?Nova, Victoria represents a £900m direct

investment into the London economy over the

next five years. the first phase costs £768m to

deliver. construction of the first phase alone

will cost £380m.

Why does London need this development?Nova, Victoria will generate 857 full-time jobs

during demolition and construction, and more

than 5,000 when completed and operational.

It will deliver fit-for-purpose, efficient

offices for about 5,600 employees of leading

businesses. It will also provide much-needed

quality homes.

Who is responsible for the design?PLP architects has designed the Masterplan

and three of the five buildings with the

following leading architectural practices

responsible for the remaining two buildings:

n Benson + Forsyth – the Nova Building

n Lynch architects – 11 Victoria street

n Flanagan Lawrence is the delivery architect

for the Nova Building in the first phase and

is responsible for the interiors.

What are the new public spaces being created?Nova, Victoria delivers 82,700 sq ft of public

and cultural space. It will include generously

scaled pedestrian routes and public spaces.

a north-south thoroughfare will have retail,

cafes, restaurants, public art, trees and

seating, which will also be used to host

special events.

Land securities has also submitted proposals

to place public art at the heart of Nova,

Victoria. this includes the creation of an

outdoor exhibition space hosting rotating site

specific art sculptures and a video art wall.

Up-and-coming artists would be commissioned

to create pieces of work on display for

a six-month period.

Is there cycle parking?Nova, Victoria offers 876 bicycle spaces for

residents and tenants in a secure basement

accessed from Bressenden Place. 48 cycle

spaces are available for the public at ground

level, and a 28-space Boris Bike stand is

planned for allington street.

When will it be built?Demolition started in October 2012 and is

nearly complete. construction of the first

phase started in June and is expected to

complete in the second quarter of 2016.

the second and third phase can’t start

until completion of the Victoria station

Upgrade. this is expected to happen in

the third quarter of 2016.

Why will people want to live there?Nova, Victoria will be a destination with

high-quality, modern accommodation

in a convenient location.

Victoria is proving increasingly popular

with both occupiers and retailers who want

to be part of our vision for the area, and

we have had strong levels of interest from

many companies and brands.

Victoria is already home to places such

as the Goring Hotel, a 5-star Intercontinental

Hotel, the luxurious Zander Bar and a new

bar at st James theatre.

We have shown the potential of the area

with Wellington House – all of those apart-

ments sold a year before completion. Kings

Gate is also proving popular with buyers.

Nova, Victoria will create a new leading-

edge restaurant quarter for Victoria, and

strong interest in units at other Victoria

developments suggests a healthy appetite

for quality retail opportunities.

Q&a WItH LaND secURItIes June marked the start of a major new phase in Land Securities’ £2.2bn transformation of Victoria in southwest London.

Nova, Victoria, formerly known as Victoria Circle, will provide an aspirational place to work, live, eat, drink and shop.

Nova, Victoria, developed in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is a 897,000 sq ft scheme, which will deliver 603,000 sq ft of offices, 193,000 sq ft of apartments, 85,000 sq ft of retail, cafes and restaurants, and 16,000 sq ft of community space.

Along with five landmark buildings, Nova, Victoria will deliver new public and cultural space, with evolving public art and outdoor dining, linking Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park.

Colette O’Shea, Land Securities’ head of London devel-opment, says: “Nova is great news for London and Victoria. Nothing of this scale and potential has been deliv-ered in this part of London before. We are delighted to be continuing our investment in Victoria with a scheme that we believe will become the destination for those looking for the best that London has to offer in the heart of SW1.”

Construction started last month and the 727,000 sq ft first phase comprises 480,000 sq ft of offices, 80,000 sq ft of retail and 170 apartments across three buildings with a new pedestrianised, landscaped public quarter, which is due for completion in the second quarter of 2016.

The development is expected to create 857 jobs during the demolition and construction and this workforce is estimated to spend £500,000 per annum locally while on site. Land Securities is implementing its Employment into Construction Programme at Nova, Victoria with its main contractor, Mace. It is also creating an on-site Employ-ment Hub, and when completed and operational, Nova, Victoria will create 5,181 jobs. 73% of these jobs are expected to be local, contributing an additional £3m per year to the Victoria economy.

The offices at Nova, Victoria will deliver an architectur-ally striking urban campus. And with Victoria already home to businesses such as Channel 4, Microsoft and the Telegraph Media Group as well as fashion names such as Jimmy Choo, Burberry and Tom Ford, the area will become the base for innovative and forward-thinking businesses.

nova, victoria Branded as ‘a place for people who think differently’, Land Securities’ Victoria project is set to transform southwest London


Pop-up shops are springing up all over the place as retailers from denim brand Diesel to furniture specialist Ikea hope to surprise customers with temporary sites across the UK.

The trend for short-term lets is gathering pace with many retailers using the temporary format to exper-iment and cause a stir in a way they couldn’t with a permanent space. Kaye Walker, director, head of marketing and commer-cialisation of Jones Lang LaSalle, says: “There are a number of advantages: they’re low risk, there’s no long-term commitment and they are cost effective.

“They really enhance the brand visibility and give retailers the chance to try new markets and new format stores.”

Diesel’s pop-up shop, the Diesel Village, opened on Regent Street from December to April this year. Diesel marketing and commercial director for the UK and Ireland Scott Morrison says: “It was a fantastic opportunity to try a different retail format. We had moved out of our Bond Street store but we wanted to keep a presence in that area of the West End.

“And we were about to launch our Studio Africa range, which allowed us to not only use the space in a different way but use it as a hub for different marketing activities.”

The Diesel Village showcased this new brand – a range created in collaboration with U2 Bono’s label Edun – by using the space to host radio shows, play films, and curate exhibitions. The aim was to give the customer a real experience and communicate the ‘DNA’ of the brand.

“We wanted to bring the marketing campaign to life,” Morrison says. “We set up the store so it wasn’t just about retail, it was experiential.”

Retailers also open pop-up stores in the run-up to Christmas to take advantage of the busiest time of the year – for example, last Christmas, The Original Factory Shop and Toys R Us opened pop-up shops. Toys R Us also trialled a shopping centre format whereas traditionally the retailer has big-box shops on retail parks.

Testing the waterToy retailer Hawkin’s Bazaar boss David Mordecai says pop-ups are a “logical conclusion” for a business like his, which thrives on the festive season.

“We get a huge amount of our trade in the last six weeks before Christmas,” he adds.

Mordecai explains that typically the average lifespan of a Hawkin’s Bazaar pop-up is four months – opening in October and closed by the end of January. The retailer’s temporary stores are a way of trialling a new site to see whether it is viable enough for a permanent store. Opening a permanent store is a huge commitment, especially in a tough climate, so being able to try a site on a temporary basis gives store groups the option to test the market before committing to a lease.

Meanwhile, Walker believes there is more to the latest trend for pop-ups than just seasonal shops: “Seasonal, tempo-rary leases have always been there. Businesses are very geared up for that.

“Other pop-ups are there to push the boundaries and get the experience customers wouldn’t usually get in that brand.”

One retailer that has succeeded in achieving this is Ikea. In April, it opened a pop-up store in London train stations Liverpool Street and Waterloo as part of its ‘make more of your garden’ campaign. It was an opportunity for Ikea, a

traditional big-box retailer in out-of-town locations, to interact with city commuters.

Running on emptyMordecai believes the rising level of vacant properties has increased the popularity of pop-ups, following a wave of store closures as retailers struggle in the difficult economic climate.

“It is much easier [to find a temporary site] now because it has become the norm,” says Mordecai. “Five years ago, if you went to a landlord they’d be against having pop-ups for Christmas.”

But Walker believes there is more to it than just a rise in vacancy rates. “We are seeing pop-ups in a lot of cities that don’t have high vacancy rates.”

Many pop-ups have opened in high-profile locations such as Oxford Street and Regent Street. It seems that retailers are choosing pop-up spaces depending on what the purpose of the store is. If it’s for a marketing campaign, then high-profile locations are key, while if it is for a Christmas sales drive, they will be in popular shopping centres or high streets.

For Diesel, hosting a pop-up in the West End is a key opportunity. “London is the global hub,” says Morrison. “People come to visit it from all over the world and so the store has to reflect the brand’s DNA.”

But he believes the increase in online shopping is spurring retailers on to use this space: “The high street is responding to the growing demand for consumers’ attention. The high street has changed in the past five years and those retailers that have sat in the middle have fallen by the wayside. Brands have to do more interesting things with bricks and mortar.”

Nick Russell, chief executive of temporary space specialist We Are Pop Up, which seeks locations for any business that wants a temporary site, says: “Consumers want the real world to function more like the internet and be more dynamic.”

But even online retailers, such as eBay, are aware of the advantages of physical retailing, as pop-up shops are a perfect way to operate a first high street store.

Walker helped open a Candy Kittens store – the online sweet shop owned by Made In Chelsea reality TV star Jamie Laing – in recently opened shopping centre Trinity Leeds.

“It was a complete success,” Walker says. “Candy Kittens

only sells online and through concessions, so it was key to experience the brand.

“It was an excellent store and a very prominent location with high footfall.”

Despite the increasingly available property, Russell says it is very “difficult” to find temporary sites in some cases.

“If you’re Chanel or Nike, then there is no problem finding a shop,” Russell adds. But he believes it is more difficult for mid-range brands to get sites.

Morrison says because of Diesel’s strong brand and reputation for innovation, landlords have welcomed the retail-er’s temporary hosting.

But Emma Jones, co-founder of Pop Up Britain – which uses temporary lets to host start-up businesses – believes some landlords are still dragging their feet when it comes to enabling short-term tenants: “Some landlords are not giving up space because as soon as a permanent tenant comes along they want to close the pop-up for them.”

The legal costs are also a barrier. Jones says it can take the same time to agree a pop-up lease as a permanent lease, making it an expensive process. Meanwhile, the Government, which is trying to revive ailing high streets, has also jumped on the pop-up bandwagon, opening a temporary store in Whitehall, London through Pop up Britain and encouraging towns to do the same.

The stores certainly offer a fun and exciting way to shop but could it all disappear once the economy is back on track and retailers settle back into business as usual?

Morrison doesn’t believe pop-ups are just a fad: “The one thing to remember when coming out of a recession is that the consumer doesn’t just go back to pre-recession behaviour.

“Pop-up shops have had a fundamental change on our behaviour. The high street will continue to evolve and will continue to change. Definitely in the short term, the battle for consumers’ attention will continue.”

Retailers are reinventing customer relationships, so as long as pop-ups continue to surprise and innovate they are here to stay. Whether it’s as a tool for marketing, to drive Christmas sales, or to try a location ahead of a permanent site, there are many reasons to open pop-ups. And for customers, they bring something fresh to their local shopping destination. l

PoP and goRetailers are choosing pop-up spaces to experiment with different store formats,

providing consumers with fun and exciting ways to shop. Tiffany Holland reports

Report

Pop-ups really enhance the brand visibility and give retailers the chance to try new markets and new format storesKaye Walker, Jones Lang LaSalle

Pop Up Britain uses temporary lets to host start-up businesses Online sweet shop Candy Kittens opened a pop-up store at Trinity Leeds

summer 201330 31 summer 2013

As shopping destinations battle the twin forces of depressed consumer spending and fierce online competition, the importance of an attractive leisure offer for retail specialists has ratch-eted up. Adjusting property portfolios

to adapt to changing consumer habits is one of the biggest challenges today and it is one that Land Securities has tackled head on.

Land Securities head of retail portfolio management Ashley Blake explains that market forces triggered a review of the company’s strategy three years ago. “We looked at the market and some shops were struggling while leisure was firing on all cylinders with sales growing year after year,” he says. “Leisure has traditionally bucked the trend in a reces-sion and this has combined with some longer-term trends around increased eating out and day-out activities in the UK.

“As retail specialists, we had leisure tucked alongside our retail developments or around the corner but we decided to move into it decisively. We needed to show our investors we are robust to the challenges the internet has presented.”

tions adding retail to their offer, it is retail centres that have increased their leisure content as consumers demand a better experience and have more leisure time,” she says.

X-Leisure’s developments stretch from Ashford to Aberdeen each offering unique experiences. For example, a stroll in Brighton Marina offers visitors more than 20 restau-rants, a gym, sauna and pool, a cinema, casino and a bowling alley as well as the option to take sailing trips on the nearby channel and, of course, shop.

But while activities are increasingly important, traditional ones are just as vital. “You see more single households and students away from home who eat out,” explains Blake. He adds that restaurant trade has been bolstered by more families eating out in facilities better catered to children as well as mid-tier branded restaurants including Nando’s and Pizza Express, which offer affordable meals and deals allowing them to fend off the rigours of recession.

The big screenCinemas are also becoming an increasingly important feature of any development. Blake says: “Out-of-town multiplexes near a major road are still important but people like town centres and are coming back to go to the cinema.

“Cinemas used to be unprofitable to build but that’s no longer the case. They used to have to be huge, out-of-town complexes but now you can have everything from large 14-screen cinemas to mini, six-screen sites. It also gives the centre a night-time trade and complements the other leisure offers, encouraging some of the shops to open longer as they know there will be footfall.”

Blake adds that prestigious brands such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis remain key anchors despite the need for a cinema in new developments. However, there are challenges in adding leisure to an existing retail portfolio. “Many councils try to limit the amount of restaurants you try

to put in locations. They appear to think leisure is a secondary use to retail,” Blake warns. “You have to make sure you have the right ventilation and extraction for restaurants.”

Troughton adds: “Retail rents generally have come down and restaurant rents have moved on, and so the restaurant tenant becomes a viable possibility.”

Land Securities has also worked hard to integrate multi-channel elements to support retailers by using apps and mobile-enabled websites for its centres to engage visitors. Using its marketing and social media channels, it has been able to send shoppers deals on coffee or family meals and has allowed the landlord to drive footfall to restaurants and cafes, which may be quieter during the week.

Leisure trends are also shaping the physical future of the shopping centre. Cinemas and bars are increasingly likely to be top-floor tenants, drawing shoppers through the complex and the shops. “In the past, the roofs of shopping centres were just where you put the air conditioning but now everyone wants a roofscape in the Gods to have dinner or a drink as the sun goes down,” says Blake.

The future of Land Securities’ portfolio appears to be more likely to contain ever-more leisure facilities including within existing properties. Future developments may feature up to 25% of their floor space dedicated to leisure, compared with 10% in the past. Restaurants and cinemas are likely to be joined by casinos and even hotels as shoppers look for an increasingly rounded experience. Moreover, competition between out-of-town, dedicated leisure facilities and in-town leisure offers in shopping centres is likely to increase.

“The modern consumer doesn’t want to spend two hours pushing a trolley around every Saturday, they want their time off work to be a premium experience,” Blake says. “We’ve all become discerning consumers and Land Securities is tapping into that trend. We’ve seen what is happening and adapted to it.” l

In August 2011, Land Securities bought the 90,000 sq ft Kingsmead complex in Bath for £20m – entering the market by taking on a well-developed centre complete with the city’s only multiplex cinema, restaurants and a Fitness First gym. Following this was the acquisition of the 250,000 sq ft Nottingham Cornerhouse, which has a nightclub, Cineworld, restaurants and a casino, for £50m from BP Pension Fund. Land Securities also acquired the 350,000 sq ft Printworks in Manchester in November 2012 for £93.9m taking what executive director Richard Akers described as a “dominant leisure scheme in one of the top cities in the UK”.

But Land Securities made its biggest move for its new market in January this year. It completed the purchase of a 42% interest in the X-Leisure Unit Trust, taking its holding to 54%, and a 100% stake in X-Leisure, which manages the fund, for £111.9m. This resulted in Land Securities taking on the management of X-Leisure, moving its 20 staff to the head office in the Strand, London and taking on its 16 schemes.

X-Leisure property director and chair of the Leisure Property Forum Polly Troughton believes the company is in the sweet spot of the market. “Rather than leisure destina-

Land SecuritieS embarkS on XScapade

in taking control of X-Leisure,

Land Securities has brought the

company’s two Xscape-branded

locations – in castleford, West

Yorkshire and milton keynes – into

its portfolio. the two large centres

offer a raft of activities, which

create distinct offers including

a soft play centre, LaserZone,

skate park, Skyride aerial

adventure course, snow slope

and indoor skydiving.

troughton says X-Leisure

has worked hard to lease to

retailers with something that

complements the leisure offer. in

milton keynes, outdoor specialist

ellis brigham trades alongside

the winter dome while evans

cycles appeals to sports fanatics

visiting Xscape in castleford.

troughton adds: “the easy

access and free parking makes

the location within the Xscape

destinations very easy for

click-and-collect shoppers.”

Report

LEISUrEforce Changing shopper habits means

retailers are ramping up their leisure offer. Alex Lawson reports

brighton marina offers visitors a range of leisure activities including restaurants, a gym, cinema and a casino (far left); Land Securities acquired large leisure scheme printworks in manchester in november last year (near left)

winter 201032

Fashion

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Retail view

32 33summer 2013 summer 2013

People want to be entertained when shopping, so leisure is importantNeil Saunders, Conlumino

What are the biggest challenges facing retailers in the next year?

Richard Akers Retailers need to find the best way to operate in today’s market to attract shoppers. This may mean streamlining the number of stores and focusing on online sales or online retailers opening high street stores so customers can view products before making a purchase.

Julian Dunkerton The need for retailers to have a proposition that is truly multichannel. Responsible sourcing is also important as is value.

David Barford Staying true to your brand values. For John Lewis, that’s all about trust, so we’ve stood by our Never Knowingly Undersold commitment.

Neil Saunders The first is dealing with weak demand, which means sales growth will remain sluggish. The second is integrating all the channels, which requires technical skill and investment. The third is evolving business models so they are fit for purpose over the next few years.

Joseph Wan The uncertain economic outlook means there is a lack of a feel-good factor, which means even if consumers still have the money, they will be more careful with it, so we can’t maximise our revenue.

Dunkerton We will be focusing on a combination of Europe and UK.

Barford We are opening an At Home shop in Ashford this year and, in 2014, a flexible format shop in York and a full-line shop in Birmingham. We are launching the first Little Waitrose at our Watford shop this summer and expanding our Beauty Retreat spa concept to three shops.

Wan We are being cautious in this economic uncertainty and have no plans to open any new bricks-and-mortar stores in the next 12 months in the UK.

What changes have you noticed in shopper behaviour in the past year?

Akers They are utilising mobile technology more to source what they are looking for and where they can purchase it at the best price, which is why we provide mobile-optimised websites and free wi-fi. More people are eating out during their shopping trip, so more space is being devoted to food and beverage.

Dunkerton The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets coupled with a greater focus on value is making consumers more astute on price.

Barford Consumers are more conscious of value, and want the best possible prices combined with good service.

Saunders People want to be entertained when shopping, so leisure is important. Despite the downturn, consumers remain prepared to invest in statement pieces and products.

Page There is an increasing shift to wanting a deal, something that gives them a reason to part with their cash.

Neil Page Growing sales in the UK where there is weak demand, and where consumers face inflationary cost pressures with minimal increase to their income. The rise in business rates irrespective of the quality of the location is challenging store profitability in some areas too.

Where are the big growth opportunities for retailers this year?

Akers Retailers need to connect with customers in different ways to maximise convenience and therefore opportunities for sales. Shoppers have a lot of choice as to where and how they shop so retailers must utilise every opportunity to interact with them including via physical stores, online and mobile apps.

Dunkerton Internet and international are clearly the main areas of growth.

Barford For us it’s about delivering value and creating a real point of difference through our product assortment.

Saunders International is a lucrative opportunity for many brands, and online continues to outpace physical growth. But the most successful retailers online are generally those with a multichannel focus.

The retail market has held up much better than expected during the recession, but there has been a change in the way consumers shop. How are retailers tackling this change in behaviour and what challenges do they face in the next year? asked a panel of six leaders representing different sides of the retail debate how they felt about the prospects for the rest of 2013

Wan We need to extend and broaden our product range with a view to attracting a new customer.

Page The integration of digital into the day-to-day think-ing has become critical.

How can retailers marry their stores and online offers to give a seamless experience?

Akers Some retailers have already begun introducing services such as click-and-collect. Retailers can also offer their online customers free returns in store to maximise the convenience of their offering and bring people into the store where there is the potential to make another sale.

Saunders Retailers need to be channel agnostic and not see them as separate. They also need to know how their operations perform not just in isolation but how they interact, and systems must be integrated to give a single view of stock and customer.

Wan We are investing a lot of our effort and money into training to change the mindset of our shopfloor staff to make sure they genuinely embrace multichannel.

Page The decision making on all aspects of trading needs to be closely integrated.

What are your property priorities?

Akers Our priority is to provide retailers with the space they need to succeed in these rapidly changing times. We have exciting developments in the pipeline, including Westgate in Oxford and Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow. T

he re

tail v

iew

Joseph WanChief executive, Harvey Nichols

Neil Page Group finance director, Carpetright

Neil SaundersManaging director, Conlumino

Richard AkersExecutive director, Land Securities

Julian DunkertonChief executive, SuperGroup

David BarfordDirector, selling operations, John Lewis

Land Securities Retail

Shopping centres

Location Property Name Area sq m (sq ft) Principal Contact Phone Number

Aberdeen Bon Accord / St Nicholas 40,877 (440,000) Katherine Armstead 0141 331 4409

Birmingham Priory Square 26,003 (279,900) James Larmuth 0113 261 5356

Bristol Cabot Circus 134,986 (1,453,000) Howard Smith 020 7024 5115

Cardiff StDavid’sDewiSant 130,063(1,400,000) GraemeStevenson 02070245415

Dundee OvergateCentre 39,019(420,000) KatherineArmstead 01413314409

Exeter Princesshay 49,238(530,000) VasilikiArvaniti 02070245134

Glasgow BuchananGalleries 56,411(607,200) KatherineArmstead 01413314409

Leeds Trinity Leeds 92,902 (1,000,000) James Larmuth 0113 261 5356

Leeds White Rose 63,174 (680,000) Harlan Pollitt 0113 261 5351

Livingston TheCentre 80,639(867,986) KatherineArmstead 01413314409

London OneNewChange 20,439(220,000) DavidAtcherley-Symes 02070243730

London Shopstop, Clapham 4,170 (44,884) Jack Busby 020 7024 5487

London Lewisham Centre 31,269 (336,579) Andrew Rawlings 020 7747 2336

London W12, Shepherds Bush 24,155 (260,000) Andrew Rawlings 020 7747 2336

London TheO2Centre 25,770(277,385) AndrewRawlings 02077472336

London Southside, Wandsworth 49,238 (530,000) Jack Busby 020 7024 5487

Oxford WestgateCentre 29,729(320,000) VasilikiArvaniti 02070245134

Salisbury TheMaltings 8,921(96,022) GemmaDew 02070245133

Sunderland The Bridges 47,844 (515,000) Harlan Pollitt 0113 261 5351

OutletsLocation Property Name Area sq m (sq ft) Principal Contact Phone Number

Hatfield TheGalleria 29,729(320,000) GemmaDew 02070245133

Livingston DesignerOutletCentre 26,783(288,300) DeepanKhiroya 02070245436

Portsmouth GunwharfQuays 39,483(425,000) JackBusby 02070245487

Retail parks


Bexhill-On-Sea RavensideRetail&LeisurePark 24,131(259,750) HermioneMackrill 02070245486

Blackpool Blackpool Retail Park 11,271 (121,323) Charles Clarke 020 7747 2318

Bracknell ThePeelCentre 15,384(165,592) NickDuffield 02070245485

ChadwellHeath GoodmayesRetailPark 9,197(99,000) CharlesClarke 02077472318

Chester GreyhoundRetailPark 18,859(203,000) HermioneMackrill 02070245486

Chesterfield RavensideRetailPark 12,344(132,875) CharlesClarke 02077472318

Derby MeteorCentre 16,920(182,130) NickDuffield 02070245485

Dundee KingswayWestRetailPark 27,768(298,900) HermioneMackrill 02070245486

Gateshead TeamValleyRetailWorld 35,083(377,650) NickDuffield 02070245485

Livingston AlmondvaleRetail,South&West 35,285(379,800) NickDuffield 02070245485

Northampton Nene Valley Retail Park 13,657 (147,000) Charles Clarke 020 7747 2318

Poole CommerceCentre 19,325(208,011) NickDuffield 02070245485

Taplow TheBishopCentre 9,429(101,500) NickDuffield 02070245485

Thanet Westwood Cross 44,129 (475,000) Hermione Mackrill 020 7024 5486

West Thurrock Lakeside Retail Park 35,004 (376,778) Hermione Mackrill 020 7024 5486

Workington Derwent,DerwentHowe 14,903(160,426) CharlesClarke 02077472318

Leisure centres


Bath Kingsmead 8,361(90,000) GemmaDew 02070245133

Manchester Printworks 32,516(350,000) GemmaDew 02070245133

Nottingham TheCornerhouse 20,900(225,000) GemmaDew 02070245133

Boldon Boldon Leisure Park 5,275 (56,780) Andrew Russell 020 7747 2395

London WestIndiaQuay 6,597(71,010) PollyTroughton 02077472398

London GreatNorthLeisurePark 8,542(91,945) AndrewRussell 02077472395

Wolverhampton BentleyBridgeLeisurePark 9,195(98,974) JulieGarsden 01614865035

Kent Eureka Leisure Park 9232 (99,372) Mark Lomax 0207 747 2396

Aberdeen QueensLinksLeisurePark 11,951(128,639) MarkLomax 02077472396

Maidstone Lockmeadow Leisure Complex 13,214 (142,234) Andrew Russell 020 7747 2395

Cambridge Cambridge Leisure 13,863 (149,220) Mark Lomax 020 7747 2396

Poole Tower Park Leisure Park 18,510 (199,240) Mark Lomax 0207 747 2396

Norwich Riverside 19,595(210,920) MarkLomax 02077472396

Leeds CardiganFields 21,436(230,735) JulieGarsden 01614865035

Edinburgh Fountain Park 21,636 (232,890) Andrew Russell 0207 747 2395

Manchester ParrsWood 21,795(234,600) JulieGarsden 01614865035

Brighton Brighton Marina 31,855 (342,884) Mark Lomax 0207 747 2396

Yorkshire XscapeYorkshire 33,650(362,205) JulieGarsden 01614865035

Milton Keynes Xscape Milton Keynes 39,109 (420,966) Andrew Russell 0207 747 2395

DevelopmentsLocation Property Name Area sq m (sq ft) Principal contact Phone Number Opening

Glasgow BuchananQuarter 37,161(400,000) NickDavis 02070245203 2017

Oxford Westgate 74,322(800,000) BertMartin 02070245076 2017


Working in partnership to create the fi rst f lexible format John Lewis store

Opened in Exeter October 2012

Documents

A1 july2013 final