Luxury shopping and London are synonymous. The mere mention conjures up images of Bond Street, Mayfair et al.
But, what of the rest of the UK? Do shoppers in other towns and cities just have to lump it, jump on a train and head to these hotspots?
Not so, it seems. Many high-end brands are looking to extend their reach far beyond the confines of the capital and luxury shopping is becoming as commonplace in shopping centres up and down the UK as their more traditional ‘anchor stores’.
For almost 20 years now, Leeds has flown the flag for luxury beyond London.
It saw the arrival of Harvey Nichols in 1996 to the Victoria Quarter.
It is perhaps apt, then, that the Yorkshire city will benefit from a brand new £165 million development next autumn, two decades after Harvey Nicks opened its doors.
Iain Mitchell, UK commercial director of Hammersons, the company behind this Victoria Gate facility, explained: “We are building Victoria Gate, an extension to the Victoria Quarter in Leeds which will open in the autumn next year and that is very much pitched at the higher end brands.
“It’s anchored by John Lewis and we are in the process of securing the key brands and high end names that will complement those in the Victoria Quarter.”
The 35,400m2 development will feature three buildings – that flagship John Lewis store as well as a two-street covered arcade packed with more than 30 luxury and aspirational retailers and restaurants – two of which will be rooftop facilities.
Brands such as The White Company and Maje have snapped up space at the Victoria Gate, and the scheme is 51% pre-let already as companies look to cater for an ever-growing appetite for high-end products.
But Leeds is far from the only city to benefit from the expansion of luxury retailers.
Hammersons has enticed Hugo Boss and Michael Kors to Cabot Circus in Bristol, has created a high-end quarter in its Bull Ring centre in Birmingham and was able to add Michael Kors to its offering at Union Square in Aberdeen for this Christmas.
Mr Mitchell said the news has gone down well with customers in the Granite City, and told us: “It really has captured the imagination – you can see that from the number of comments we’ve had on Facebook about the opening – particularly from females who have written messages along the lines of ‘it’s Christmas, get saving’ to their partners!
“Last year we added The White Company and the first stand-alone Mac store in Scotland and those brands trade exceptionally well.”
So, why the sudden surge for luxury brands in cities right across the UK?
Mr Mitchell puts it down to the fact that the modern customer has a much greater exposure to a bigger variety of brands these days. Could it be, therefore, that the internet – so often labelled as a negative influence for the high street – is actually fuelling the interest in the very brands that are creating a buzz in shopping centres?
Mr Mitchell explained: “I think that people have a much higher exposure to a much wider variety of brands and there is an increasing expectation that when you do go shopping they expect to see a good cross section of brands – from the mass market right up to higher end brands.
“They probably would have had to search high and low for these aspirational, high end retailers but not now.
“This is a trend that has happened over the last few years and at Hammerson we have embraced that. We have been successful in attracting higher end brands across the portfolio.”
Big interest means big money too.
As Caroline Rush, the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, told The Independent: “The fashion industry is worth £26bn to the UK economy and employs nearly 800,000 people, which is not just down to its booming capital. There are hotspots all over the UK, with a growing interest in new talent and a demand from consumers to wear what they see on London’s catwalks.”
There is, clearly, a limit. There isn’t going to be a Michael Kors or Vivienne Westwood in every town in the UK and the sheer breadth of products available online on sites such as How To Spend It cannot be rivalled in bricks and mortar on the high street.
Yet, as Mr Mitchell points out, these shops are all about the ‘experience’ offered to the shopper. The Ted Baker store at the Bull Ring, for example, has been designed to get people talking and others aim to turn heads and get tongues wagging.
Mr Mitchell added: “It’s about creating exciting destinations for the shopper and creating points of difference that they can talk about on social media with their friends and family, that unique shopping experience. We also bring restaurants into that as well.
“It’s about them walking away and saying ‘wow, I really didn’t expect X brand or Y brand’.
“I think it’s good for the brands, it’s good for us and, more importantly, it’s good for the shopper.
“These brands continue to want to roll out to bring that experience to different catchment areas – there will be an international element to that too. I think the slightly higher end brands are more selective in terms of what cities they open in and locations within those cities too.
“Some of the brands won’t take 50/100 stores – that is not what their brands stands for.”
As Christmas approaches it isn’t simply the decorations and grotto that provide the attraction to the shopper. The likes of Michael Kors are star attractions to festive gift hunters – as well as being talking points during the rest of the year when it might be traditionally tougher to get people through the door.
Mr Mitchell added: “I think Christmas is still a very special time. It is about creating an all-year-round experience but you can’t take away from the fact that Christmas is still exceptionally special and those brands play their part.”
While it’s clear that the Christmas luxury retail rush won’t just be felt in London thanks to the expansion of high-end brands, it’d be foolish to say that London will suffer.
West End retailers are predicted to benefit from a £2.3 billion spending bonanza this festive season – with trade in key shopping streets to soar in the last six weeks of the year.
Jace Tyrrell, New West End Company’s deputy chief executive, told City AM: “The West End is an economic powerhouse for the UK, making a vital four per cent contribution to GDP in the last year alone. When every hour during our festive season is worth a collective £5.1m to West End retailers, it is easy to understand why the season is so tremendously important to the UK’s economic well-being.”
If London’s trade is untouched, Mr Mitchell’s argument appears to stand: the rise in luxury beyond the capital comes from a greater interest in high-end brands among shoppers. By catering for that demand, shopping centres are ensuring that they cater for their customers’ tastes and tap into the glamour and wow factor the very top brands have.
