Fashion victim

For many years, clothing and footwear has been the principal driver of visits to town centres, particularly amongst the young. With fashion retailers streamlining their store portfolios, what can replace them as drivers of footfall and who will they appeal to?

The recent collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia has added an estimated 14m sq. ft of vacant retail space to shopping destinations across the UK. As national fashion retailers increasingly focus on larger towns and city centres, many town centres have seen the knock-on effect, principally a decrease in footfall. With GlobalData reporting that, by 2023, just a quarter of clothing and footwear spend will take place in town centres (from 40% in 2013), town centres have an immense challenge in replacing lost footfall, particularly from younger shoppers.

So can town centres draw footfall back, and who will they attract?

Support independents 
Efforts have been made to revitalise many town centres through increased engagement with their local catchment via a strengthening of the independent offer, particularly in the F&B sector.

In Banbury, a town centre hit by the closures of Debenhams, M&S, Matalan and Next, the independent sector has seen a number of new openings. Whilst the town’s main shopping centre struggles with voids, an existing independent offer on Church Lane and Parsons St has been augmented with the openings of retailers offering homewares (Doodledash), sweets (Sheilas Sweets), bakery (Rustic Bakery) and F&B (Lenny’s – café/bar, Kosmos Grill – Greek, Fried City - Spanish), creating an area of the town with comparative vibrancy.

To help revitalise Stockton-on-Tees, the council supported major investment and improvement to the public realm This included measures such as the introduction of public art and new business space for digital and creative companies - including subsidised incubator space to support local entrepreneurs and independent brands. In addition, the council provided business support for shop front improvements as well as hosting a range of year-round specialist markets.

However, is expanding the independent and F&B offer enough to engage a younger audience who are more likely to shop online and have less of a historical connection to a high street than older generations? What else should towns do?

Diversify uses
Curating a diverse mix of reasons to visit, including leisure uses (such as restaurants, competitive socialising venues, boutique cinemas), services (hair and beauty salons, medical services, council services), and a visually pleasing environment with ample places to dwell is key, providing a reason to engage and promoting higher dwell time.

Cherwell District Council, owners of Banbury's main shopping centre, are currently overseeing the development of an adjacent scheme, featuring a new canal side cinema (seen in the picture above courtsey of Leslie Jones Architects), restaurants, pub and hotel, which will augment the street food market Lock-29, that sits in former BHS space.

In Ealing, West London, a 70,000 sq. ft. retail and leisure destination Filmworks is under construction, which will be anchored by an 8-screen Picturehouse cinema. The scheme neighbours an aspirational cluster of lifestyle brands and leisure uses in the upmarket Dicken’s Yard development, including a new BrewDog bar, as well as Gym Box, triyoga, Blo Bar, and a range of independent eateries.

In Eastbourne, efforts have been made to increase the reasons to visit for more people and to appeal to Eastbourne’s younger generation and student population. Ninja Warrior opened last year and the adventure and fitness venue provides a range of activities for the whole family. Boom Battle Bars is set to open this summer, which will offer a range of activities including axe throwing, crazy golf, electric darts, shuffleboard and beer pong.

With lessening demand for physical space from fashion retailers which traditionally played a major role in attracting younger shoppers to town centres, it is imperative that local councils and authorities invest in measures to revitalise and rejuvenate their offering to enable consumers to socialise, eat out, shop, work, live and enjoy  their local town centre.

Sophie Pisano