Currently, we are facing a massive change to the High Street.It is becoming empty. Edgware Road, which is the spinal road stretching from Marble Arch to Brent Cross and beyond, has several vacant units, all seeking tenants.I have never seen so many empty units in this normally very vibrant and busy street.
It is not the corporates who have been driven out, but smaller sole trader type businesses, who have been there for decades and made up the fabric of the local area, that have now been flushed out.The reason is two-fold: firstly, due to the lower footfall for obvious reasons; and secondly, changing consumer habits.
When you consider the cost of running a business from a commercial premises and look at two expenses namely the rents and the rates, a self-employed person must run pretty hard just to meet these two expenses; just to keep their head above wate - not even to be profitable.
These changes are being reflected in the manner big corporates are behaving and restrategising. A good example would be to examine how a traditional British Brand is responding. John Lewis has been going for over a century, with its first store opening in 1864, and it illuminates what a rapid change the High Street is experiencing. A reliable source has said that John Lewis is planning massive store closures, and instead are planning to go for a set up where they have a presence in Waitrose supermarkets, which will be experiential stores.
They noticed that their online business had actually increased over the pandemic. Their profits have increased by 10% since pre pandemic levels, therefore it is looking to increase and invest in its business online; without the liability of having physical stores, not to mention the extra staffing costs.
Commercial premises have now become a burden, and they are being dumped in a wholesale manner.
This trend has carried across the board with many retailers now opting for smaller stores, such as the likes of B&Q, Sainsburys, Lidl etc. The stores they are seeking to occupy can be as small as 1,500 sq. ft.; the rest of the trade will be done online. This trend means there will be a lot of empty retail units coming on to the market. This trend is already in motion in 2021 with Santander and Nationwide off-loading the bulk of their premises, all in strong High Street locations. Prior to opening they would have done an analysis in regards to footfall and demographics. Look out for these trends to be increasing in the coming year.