COMMENT Major train stations aren’t just bustling transport hubs; they’re vibrant epicentres of opportunity for brands, with more than 700m people using our managed stations each year. That’s a lot of footfall, eyeballs and potential consumer spending power passing through every single day.
In the ever-evolving and fiercely competitive world of retail, diversification is the name of the game, and what better stage to excite customers than in our destination stations?
As our key regional hubs such as Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly and our London stations find their stride again in the new normal, we are seeing a growing number of brands making the most of the travel retail market with new stores in our stations. Many of these brands are diversifying their offering from traditional high streets, exploring new opportunities to attract customers and gain the competitive edge.
We’ve seen brands across all sectors take space at stations for the first time recently. This autumn, Urban Pubs & Bars will open its latest site in the capital at London Waterloo. At London Paddington, Travelex launched its first station store, offering customers travelling to and from Heathrow a dedicated service.
Testing customer appetite
The continued trend for pop-up retail is playing a key part in this retail renaissance. Over the past 18 months, 40 new pop-up stores opened across our stations, ensuring our portfolio continues to offer customers something different on each visit while at the same time driving strong rental income which is reinvested back into railway infrastructure.
Our pop-up spaces are the perfect option for ambitious independent and smaller brands to have direct access to millions of potential customers without the commitment of a longer lease. They also allow bigger brands to test customer appetite for new formats. We’ve recently announced a partnership with pre-loved clothing retailer Good London. This eco-conscious brand has opened two pop-up stores at London Bridge and London Victoria, marking a pioneering moment for us as demand for pre-loved and sustainable fashion continues to soar.
Good London was established in February 2020 by David Brinson and Victoria Houston, built on an unwavering commitment to moving the dial on pre-loved fashion. Both co-founders have retail backgrounds and spotted a gap in the market for a well-curated pre-loved fashion offer that provides customers with an exceptional in-store experience.
Against the backdrop of growing retail vacancy across the high street, we are reducing ours. At 5.9% and continually heading downwards, stations such as London Paddington, Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh are 100% let. This is set against the British Retail Consortium’s headline vacancy rate of 13.8% (Q1 2023). Alongside an almost full retail and catering line-up, customer and sales numbers are also recovering. Commuting grew by 8% during the first three months of this year and leisure trips continue to account for the lion’s share of passenger numbers, ensuring our catering and new leisure opportunities breathe life into our destinations at weekends. When consumers visit our stations, despite the economic headwinds, they are also willing to spend. We saw a 17.65% uplift in brands sales (Q1 year-on-year) compared with 4.3% from the BRC for same period.
Immense potential
This broader retail resurgence is apparent; we have had 53 units open, rebranded or have had additional investment through a new shopfit over the past 18 months. We have welcomed new brands including global udon noodle brand Maraugame, which has taken a prime restaurant space on the balcony level at London Waterloo to extend our casual dining offer. While in the Midlands, the London North Western has opened at Birmingham New Street, marking the introduction of the largest pub across our portfolio at 8,000 sq ft, including outdoor garden space for customers to enjoy.
The picture is clear. Driven by growing sales and footfall numbers and as customer patterns evolve, retail brands are awakening to the immense potential of stations.
Hamish Kiernan is commercial director, retail, at Network Rail
