Experiences of Oxford Street’s demise have been drastically exaggerated
I
s the “Elizabeth line effect” already beginning to repay for Oxford Street?
The West End’s world well-known boulevard of consumerism has had some fairly powerful publicity over latest months with the council sounding off in regards to the spiralling variety of cheesy sweet shops and solely final week M&S boss Stuart Machin utilizing these pages to explain it as “a national embarrassment”.
Footfall continues to be down on pre-pandemic ranges, however the gap is slowly closing as what’s already Britain’s busiest railway brings thousands and thousands extra vacationers and staff again to central London.
And a flurry of recent retailer bulletins in latest days means that experiences of Oxford Street’s demise could, as they are saying, be exaggerated. First it was HMV, which is about to return to its flagship website at quantity 363 some 4 years after its closure left an enormous gap for an American candy store to maneuver into.
Then this morning coach and streetwear retailer Footasylum introduced that it’s to open a 20,000 sq ft flagship over two flooring at 73-89 Oxford Street later this 12 months. Meanwhile Ikea is properly superior in its preparation for the launch of its new city centre retailer within the former Topshop constructing on Oxford Circus after investing £378 million.
There are nonetheless challenges forward. It shall be an enormous blow if M&S closes its Marble Arch retailer because it has threatened if it doesn’t get the go forward for demolition and redevelopment of the positioning.
Nevertheless there are encouraging indicators that “London’s high street” is lastly getting its mojo again after a grim decade of decline.