Shopping centres have changed dramatically over the past decade or so. Rather than being primarily focused on retail, they have also had to place a large emphasis on their leisure offer to satisfy changing expectations of the shopping experience. However, at the same time, they must maintain a high standard of retail tenancy to provide their customers with a large variety of stores to choose from.
Westfield Stratford City shopping centre is now attempting to up the ante in both of these fields by introducing two new brands to its large estate. Retailer TK Maxx and leisure firm Gymbox are each to take up space on site in the coming months, joining brands such as Armani Jeans and Hugo Boss on popular outdoor pedestrian fixture, The Street.
While most details of the two separate deals are yet to be forthcoming, it has been confirmed that discount designer brand retailer TK Maxx will take up a currently empty 17,747 sq ft unit on The Street. Exercise chain Gymbox, meanwhile, will occupy a 19,375 sq ft unit from which it will operate its gym and exercise studios.
Westfield director of operations, Bill Giouroukos, believes that the new tenants will help further the centre’s contemporary cutting edge image.
He says; “Westfield Stratford City continues to deliver strong retail sales, high footfall – which is set to increase with the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – and UK retail firsts.”
The shopping centre has become known for revolutionary moves within the retail and leisure industries, being home to three hotels and having become the first UK shopping centre to offer a click and collect service hub for its customers. These aspects have clearly proven desirable for local customers, with the centre and its Shepherds Bush counterpart seeing 66 million visitors pass through their doors in 2013.
Furthermore, this impressive footfall clearly translated into strong sales, as each of Westfield’s shopping centres racked up almost £1 billion in an annual sales growth of 3.1 per cent. This has led Westfield to enter into discussions with retail property giant Hammerson regarding the opening of a joint venture in Croydon.
Westfield has also recently submitted planning permission to cover The Street at Stratford City with a glass roof, believing that this will encourage consumers to visit the centre even when the weather is poor. This technique has proven successful at shopping centres and retail districts around the country, and will hopefully allow Westfield Stratford to continue to build momentum in its battle against the ever-growing threat of online e-tailer dominance.
