retail
Online clothing sales are set to overtake in-store sales next year, according to a new report by Retail Economics. Digital purchases increased by £2.7bn, nearly a fifth, during the pandemic. This signifies an acceleration of the trend towards online clothes shopping, which was expected to overtake physical store sales in 2025. Retail Economics chief executive Richard Lim said: “Stores will play multiple roles to become much more than a point of transaction. Some stores will function as immersive showrooms or ‘brand-bonding’ centres where customers can discover and interact with products, while others will operate as convenient fulfilment hubs geared towards click-and-collect and returns. Either way, the continued fusion of physical and digital realms will be key.”
Swedish furniture and homeware retailer Ikea has bought the former Topshop flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. The purchase reflects the boom in home improvement during the pandemic, which boosted the DIY and homeware store market. From 2023, Ikea plans to offer smaller items in their central London stores and showcase large furniture for delivery. They plan to open another high street store in Hammersmith this winter.
Tesco has launched a pilot partnership with grocery delivery app Gorillas. The trial begins with a micro-fulfilment site at the Tesco supermarket in London’s Thornton Heath, offering a selection of 2,000 products. Gorillas is to set up four more sites at Tesco stores, with locations yet to be confirmed. Gorillas COO Adrian Frenzel said: “As a fast-paced company at the forefront of the on demand grocery industry, we are always looking for ways to innovate, and this co-location partnership will bring unprecedented value to our customers in the UK who will now have the possibility to be delivered the best of Tesco within minutes thanks to Gorillas.”
Toys’R’Us has agreed a long-term licence agreement to return to the UK in 2022. The agreement covers online and physical retail, with plans for online sales to launch in the coming months. The retailer’s 100-store UK estate closed in 2018, having fallen to a CVA and eventually administration for the UK arm of the business. They have continued to trade internationally, having relaunched in Australia in 2019, and will spend 2022 and 2023 establishing local teams, offices and logistics sites.
Property
The collection of commercial property rents in the UK has reached the highest level seen during the pandemic. According to Remit Consulting’s latest REMark survey, an average of 81.9% of rents owed by commercial property tenants were collected within 21 days of the due date. This shows a significant improvement on figures for the June 2021 quarter, when only 73.9% of rent had been paid after 21 days. Senior consultant Steph Yates said: “It is a positive sign that we have reached this level within 21-days of the start of the Quarter and the current position is far better than for the same time last year when only 79.1 per cent of rents were collected over the full 90-days of the September Quarter 2020.”
Openings
Sarap Filipino Bistro is to open a new site at 10 Heddon Street in Mayfair; Restaurant Warehouse, which will offer a seasonal, sustainable menu, is to open on the ground floor of Covent Garden's Conduit Club; Korean, Japanese and French-inspired Lunar is to open at the Wedgwood pottery in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent; Soho restaurant Golden Gai is to be reimagined as Japanese restaurant Dai Chi; Restaurant concept The Maine is to open in London's Hanover Square, offering five distinct dining experiences over three levels; Tuscan bistro Il Borro is to open on London's Berkeley Street; Japanese robatayaki restaurant Yatay is to open on Wardour Street.
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