Despite reports, the High Street isn’t dead. However, it is going through another of its periodic transformations – one which may have considerable impact not just on the use of retail space but on the requirements for the warehousing that supports the whole shopping experience. Amid the angst about rows of empty shops and the demise of muchloved retail brands, it is easy to forget that the High Street has been through changes as fundamental, if not quite so rapid, many times before. For many decades now, family-owned shops have struggled to compete with the slicker supply chains of new national brands. Department stores threatened to suck trade from small towns to the big city. Self-service would deskill and depersonalise the retail experience, while edge-of-town hypermarkets and malls would draw in the affluent car-owning middle classes, leaving town centre retailers the privilege of paying ever-higher business rates to serve a low footfall of low spenders. However, the High Street continually adapted and survived. Now there are new challenges: the inexorable rise of e-retail, with goods ordered from and delivered to the comfort of the customer’s home; and the drive to reduce carbon and other emissions and congestion Despite reports, the High Street isn’t dead. However, it is going through another of its periodic transformations – one which may have considerable impact not just on the use of retail space but on the requirements for the warehousing that supports the whole shopping experience. in town centres making it increasingly difficult for retailers to receive deliveries, or for customers to get their shopping home. Many town centres have, paradoxically, seen an increase in the number of small, independent, specialist or ‘artisan’ retailers, but there is no denying that the large ‘flagship’ or ‘anchor’ stores, fundamental to the thinking of town planners and property developers alike, have been hard hit. But the survivors are fighting back, developing new ways of becoming a ‘destination’ and rewiring the retail ‘experience’. In the process, they could be said to be re-inventing the department store – indeed Next, which is expanding from fashion into home and beauty through both own-label and third-party brands, has actually taken over a former Debenhams store in Watford. On Oxford Street, Next is creating a ‘shop-in-shop’ for Gap as well as concessions ranging from Sockshop to 02, Lipsy, and Paperchase. Some Next stores are also offering garden products through Homebase concessions. Sports Direct, part of Fraser Group, is similarly bringing together the group’s fashion, cycling, games, sports and other labels, and potentially other premium brands, in a single megastore in central Birmingham. High Street Evolution Will Boost Warehouse Demand
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