SMEs and prominent brands to reinforce Capital & Regional’s community-focused shopping centre strategy
LONDON, 28 August 2018 – Capital & Regional, the UK focused REIT with a portfolio of dominant in-town community shopping centres, has partnered with Mall Solutions Europe to launch a joint initiative aimed at offering up-and-coming retailers and established brands prime retail space for pop-up stores.
The project has been designed to enhance the existing retail offer across the Capital & Regional portfolio by introducing fast-growing brands with a focus on food, dining, entertainment and family amenities.
Retail space will be offered on a flexible, cost-effective basis to local and new ambitious retailers looking to reach new customers by operating within a thriving community shopping centre.
Units will be allocated to the new pop-up initiative across Capital & Regional’s eight centres at Blackburn, Redditch, Luton, Hemel Hempstead, Wood Green, Walthamstow, Ilford and Maidstone. The businesses occupying the pop-up units will benefit from strong footfall across Capital & Regional’s portfolio, which received 37.9 million shopper visits over the past six months, representing like-for-like growth of 1.7% versus a 3.4% decline nationally over the same period.
Callum Board, Commercial Manager, Capital & Regional, said: “As we deepen our focus on providing a strong needs-based, community shopping offer, these pop-up stores will bring in exciting new brands and enterprises into the mix.
“By offering flexible and affordable units, we will support growing businesses, with a view to building longer-term relationships where they can thrive within our portfolio.”
Byron Lewis, CEO of Mall Solutions Europe, said: “The world of retail is evolving, with many local, new and innovative retailers looking to get a foothold into the shopping centre marketplace.
“This joint venture will launch a whole generation of new retailers and our aim is to help them develop and grow. By working with a major shopping centre owner like C&R, we can offer retailers opportunities that would have been difficult for them elsewhere.”