Would anyone mind if I think optimistically of the prospects for the #highstreet in 2025.
I know many of you will have – as I did – spent time over Christmas and New Year wading through the tide of gloomster releases and reporting on footfall, sales and the like.
So how do I get to optimism despite all that…? Well.
The first set of actual figures from national brands are almost entirely positive: “exceptional”, “a bumper Christmas performance…”, “strong Christmas growth…”, “sales have soared as Black Friday and Christmas campaigns pay off…”, “new records for the Christmas period”, “another record golden quarter.”
+ Already some brands are setting out plans to open additional stores. Waterstones for example “plan to open at least 12 new stores in the UK this year.”
+ We ended 2024 sharing with #TheVacantShopsAcademy locations and others a lengthy set of requirements lists from agents and property directors setting out their targets for new stores and venues. They’ll be cracking on with those now.
And from towns and city centres we’re working with:
+ council and BID teams checking in on the initial vacancy data from our ‘audit’ are now reporting ‘empty & available’ units turning to ‘under offer’ and that leading to ‘let’;
+ places that saw vacancy rise in 2023 are also reporting new openings and deals nearing completion to further reduce their headline rate;
+ As more locations get a ‘place partnership’ in play (rather than leaving tackling vacancy be ‘just an agents-landlord’ thing) they’ll start to see vacancy reduce too.
And as places find new ways to support ‘alternative’ or ‘additional’ uses – arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, history & heritage, leisure, education, health and health & wellbeing – to take up spaces, that’ll further impact the figures.
Hopefully from that you’ll see why I favour #HighStreetPositives over gloom.
As a song you’ll have heard a bit in recent weeks runs: “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one…”
And as a Ps. Just so I’m not called Pollyanna again. I should say two things. I get that it remains challenging, there are ‘headwinds’ and we’ve much still to do, and I know that there are one or two brands making less positive noises. But…
What do #property and #placemaking colleagues think…?
