London’s most famous shopping street bans cars in bid to revive its fortunes
Oxford Street’s controversial pedestrianisation comes as big brands invest in flagship stores
Some of the world’s biggest retailers, including brands from Asia, are investing in flagship stores on Oxford Street as London prepares to pedestrianise and rejuvenate its most famous shopping street.
After decades of campaigns and failed proposals, a half-mile stretch of road will be closed to traffic on Monday in a bid to regenerate what mayor Lord Sadiq Khan calls “our nation’s high street”.
The closure, between Selfridges and Ikea, is part of a long-term £150mn plan to develop public spaces that can hold promotional events to compete with rivals such as New York’s Fifth Avenue, Rome’s Via del Corso and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The revamp comes as retailers and politicians push to restore Oxford Street’s image after a difficult decade in which the demise of department stores Debenhams and House of Fraser was followed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Vacancies rose to 13.7 per cent in 2022 and rents on the western part Oxford Street tumbled from a peak of an average £1,100 per sq foot in 2016 to just £600 during the pandemic in 2021, according to data from property agents Savills.
To secure tenants, landlords offered discounted or longer rent-free periods, which led to a surfeit of souvenir shops and American candy stores, exacerbating the public perception of an area in decline. The downbeat mood was compounded by a government move to end tax-free shopping for tourists.
But in recent years local businesses and developers have begun to regain confidence. The old Debenhams and House of Fraser stores have been redeveloped to include more office space, and a new local development corporation has been established to speed up planning decisions.
“Whether you’re from the UK or if you’re an international visitor, you will have heard of Oxford Street,” said Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company, which represents more than 800 retail, hotel and property businesses in central London. “We recognise it’s important as an economic driver, not just for London but for all of the UK.”
Although the plan to close the road to traffic has been controversial with residents and Londoners who face changes in transport routes, the majority of retailers are behind the scheme.
“We see this as a massive opportunity to create a really brilliant space for both our customers and wider visitors to Oxford Street and the West End. We’ve got such global competition that all the investment that both the retailers and other parties put in is really important,” said Naomi Simcock, chief operations officer for John Lewis, which has had a presence on street since 1864.
Retailers have been snapping up space in the past year. In recent weeks, emerging Chinese lifestyle brands such as Miniso and Pop Mart have joined Zara, Nike and Warner Bros in investing heavily in Oxford Street flagship stores.
There have been a total of 39 deals signed for stores in the past year, according to Savills data, while vacancy rates have dropped below 1 per cent.
While rents on the more upmarket western side of Oxford Street have been rising since 2022, they have rebounded more slowly than on the eastern side, Savills found.
The £850-per-sq-ft average for the western side is still more than 20 per cent below the 2016 peak. Moreover, footfall “is not where it was pre-pandemic and that’s probably because worker patterns and other things have changed”, Corsi said.
But property agents say the opening of the Elizabeth Line, which has cut journey times to Oxford Street from eastern and western suburbs, has helped persuade some of the world’s top brands to reinvest.
Fashion chains Zara and Mango and sportswear makers Nike and Puma are among those choosing Oxford Street for their flagship stores, while Warner Bros’ UK flagship Harry Potter store opens next month.
“It’s the one place [in central London] where you have large space with interesting buildings where you can stand out,” said Sam Foyle, co-head of global retail at Savills.
He pointed to the Miniso deal, in which the Chinese toys and collectibles brand said it would take over the space that will be vacated by music store HMV near Bond Street tube station and turn it into a “theme park-style” shopping experience.
“It’s the confidence that Asian businesses have got in London. There’s been talk of a wave of Asian retailers coming over to London and Europe since before Covid but that’s really started to accelerate,” Foyle said.