Last summer John Lewis closed its Home Store outlet which was situated on Purley Way in Croydon and has recently announced that it has no current or future plans to open a new store in the Croydon Westfield shopping centre when it opens. When closing the Purley Way store, a spokesperson for John Lewis said that the retailer was waiting on the outcome of a review by Westfield-Hammerson which at the time, was the joint venture company heading up the Croydon development.
Disappointed customers had hoped that after the closure of the Purley Way store, John Lewis would soon return to the town when the Westfield centre opened, but due to the Covid 19 pandemic, John Lewis has been forced to pull out, along with the project’s financial backers, dealing a blow to the local residents and those who work in the area.
Pandemic
The pandemic saw many retailers struggle to survive, with well known High Street brands including TopShop and Oasis disappearing completely. John Lewis’ latest published figures reported a half billion pound loss for the first time in its history and as a result, it has chosen to close several stores up and down the country including the large At Home branch in Ashford Kent, which only opened in 2013 and was seen as a major shopping attraction in the town.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), a specialist in managing and developing large retail sites is behind the new Westfield project, but it too has been hit by the pandemic and has recently announced that it will be selling off some of its other assets as part of a recovery programme. Many of the retailers who rent units from URW have been unable to pay their rent and this has obviously had a negative impact on the business.
In addition, Hammerson, which is a partner with URW on the Croydon centre and specialises in creating high-quality property for retail, is also putting the brakes on several shopping centre operations for the time being. Hammerson was already under pressure before the pandemic and 2020 saw it having to make difficult decisions and put many of its business plans on hold.
Croydon Westfield
The new Croydon Westfield shopping centre has been in the planning for ten years but currently, the site is sitting dormant. It is set to replace the Whitgift shopping centre which has been a focal point in the area since the 1960s. The new Westfield centre is set to be the heart of the community and bring in shoppers from outside the area, giving the locals employment opportunities and bringing a much-needed boost to the Croydon business community, but it looks as though locals are going to have to wait a little longer.
Westfield does have a good track record in regenerating areas in need of modernisation. Its giant centre in Shepherds Bush, West London, has transformed the area and is a popular destination for shoppers from all around London. Similarly, the Stratford centre, one of the biggest urban regeneration projects ever seen in the UK, has also proved to be a great success.
