| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Demise of the High Street | |
| Posted by: | Sjoerd de Koning | |
| Date/Time: | 07/08/18 17:14:00 |
| Through my daily work I get to speak to executives from retailers and real estate companies and the topic of the decline of the High Street is often discussed. Very often I hear people talk about "innovative concepts" or “village vibes” to safe the High Street. When probing them on what that actually means I rarely get clear answers. Outrage about the tax status of Amazon is justified, but the reality is that online shopping is here to stay. Online sales of non-food items accounted for nearly a quarter of the UK market in December 2017, doubling the share in only five years. Ocado grew its revenues in 2017 by 15%, Amazon UK grew 19%. Some experts think more than half of retail spend might move online. At the same time, the retail space on Putney High Street and surrounding streets such as the Upper and Lower Richmond Roads has barely changed. As a result, we’re seeing lower quality stores such as gambling chains and poundlands take up more space and increased vacancy across the Street. If you think 50% of retail sales will be online, then it's fair to assume you will only need half the stores (though grossly oversimplified). Glancing over Google Maps, I'd say there are about 100 retail locations on Putney High Street. So that means we're going to need 50 innovative, hip concepts to reinstate the community spirit and cover the loss of retailers to save the Street - feels like quite a lot to me! Don't get me wrong, I am hopeful there will be more small independent stores and good brunch places in Putney, and love the fact that Gails opened up. But I don't think it's mathematically feasible to expect places like this to cover the shortfall in retail land. Therefore, it is inevitable we repurpose part of the High Street, take out some of the retail space, and protect the quality of the stores. But then we run into a conflict of interest that no one talks about. Landlords don't want to write down their properties (retail tenants pay a lot more than residential users), so they will accept any poundland or betting place that comes along. The Council gets a lot of its tax income from retail, so prays that the High Street survives without interference. Even if it does decide to step in (like has been done in parts of Fulham recently), landlords have a lot of legal means to fight rezoning. All in all it's very difficult to see how we will properly manage the transition that physical retail is in and most likely we'll continue to see a gradual degradation of the High Street. |