Over the last ten years, we saw the death of the independent, boutique high street. Now, as Westfield – the largest inner city shopping centre in Europe – opens some fear we are increasingly we are seeing the death of the branded high street too.
As the Evening Standard put it, the “mega-mall” could be “the retail equivalent of the neutron bomb, leaving your area physically intact but destroying all organic shopping life within a five-mile radius.”
The proponents claim that Westfield is important, a unique retail mix of both mid-range and designer shops within one location, “small, little businesses next door to big High Street names”. And besides, it is what consumers, want, isn’t it?
Shopping malls, incredibly popular in the US, Australia and Japan, undoubtedly have an impact on the High Street. The UK High Street forms a focal point for many small communities, a place of commerce and business. Big communities, too, are under threat: it has been argued Westfield could ultimately be “the nail in the coffin” of world famous Oxford Street.
Others argue Malls will ultimately complement High Streets, and here one could see a potential bright future. If branded stores move into the malls, and rents fall back to historical levels on the High Street, does that leave the opportunity for independent boutique shops and restaurants, such as those of the beautiful Marylebone High Street, to fill the gap again?
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