Location, location, location

You can walk down a familiar street and very often take the surroundings for granted. Walking along London’s Oxford Street this week - a pretty big street admittedly and one that sits in the top 10 rankings of most expensive retail locations in the world - and I saw it in all its shocking reality. For those living in London, this is not exactly something new to say, but when you look at the state of the old street it is still a bit of a shock. The pavements are cracked and uneven, there are empty units and in the east end of the street, many of the shops are of the poorest quality. Basically, its reputation as the retail artery of London’s west end which brings in tourists by the thousands every day is shockingly overplayed.

And yet, walk down Regent Street, which intersects Oxford Street, and the experience is very, very different. Admittedly, the architecture gives it a head start with its fine Regency era buildings, but Londoners also know that for many years, Regent Street was looking pretty shabby too with empty units and constant construction work. However, over the last year or so, a new Regent Street has begun to emerge with some world-leading stores and as of next week, US specialty retailer, Anthropologies’ first store in Europe. It will join Apple’s London flagship, Banana Republic, Desigual, Brooks Brothers and many others.

Regent Street’s owners have been playing the long game - this doesn’t happen over night. There has been a master plan that has taken years to execute and some tough decisions along the way no doubt.

There is no denying that the current recession is causing havoc amongst many town and city centre areas which isn’t going to help the retail environment. But the state of Oxford Street - as just one example - has been deteriorating for years. Areas can change if there is a will. Regent Street may be one example and the development of SoHo in New York is another. The debate about what will make areas attractive again will force planners, property owners and city or town authorities to have a serious period of contemplation. Retailing is of course going through a period of change where certain formats will disappear as consumer tastes and demand changes.

What is clearly needed is a serious debate about what makes for an attractive retail and leisure mix that in turn makes people feel they want to spend time - and money - there. And there is evidence that it can be delivered when there is the will and therefore the resource. Retail is still about location, location, location.