Storey’s Post

Revitalising the High Street: John Lewis & Partners Leads the Way with Innovative Experiences John Lewis is taking major strides to revitalise its appeal on the UK high street by aligning closely with consumer needs and creating innovative partnerships that add real value. This month, the iconic Oxford Street flagship has unveiled a stunning £6.5m makeover, adding several new experiences that breathe fresh life into the store. For food lovers, the upcoming Jamie Oliver Cookery School and Café promises to bring cooking enthusiasts together with more than 40 diverse classes, covering everything from Peruvian ceviche to Vietnamese street food. This on-site school and café aim to provide an interactive culinary experience that appeals to Londoners and visitors alike. Home enthusiasts will see big changes, too, as John Lewis joins forces with Made.com to launch its first-ever London showroom in-store and plans a new concession with West Elm for an exclusive collection. The partnerships don’t stop there, with collaborations set to expand to other John Lewis stores, offering a curated selection of home furnishings and decor that meet a variety of tastes. As consumer preferences evolve, there's a significant shift in demand for multi-purpose spaces. In fact, 78% of UK shoppers expect more than just traditional retail from their high street; they’re looking for spaces that blend shopping with experiences like dining, learning, and social gatherings, according to recent research from Mintel. This trend is particularly pronounced post-pandemic, as shoppers favour stores that merge experiences with convenience, driving foot traffic back to city centres. John Lewis is showing the power of tapping into consumer feedback and recognising the need for multi-purpose environments. These initiatives create a reason to visit in person and set a high standard for customer-centric innovation on the high street. For retailers, it’s a timely reminder to adapt to the evolving customer landscape, invest in unique in-store experiences, and harness strong partnerships to stay relevant in today's market. It’s an exciting time to see how the high street evolves, and John Lewis is paving the way! #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #HighStreetRevival #JohnLewis #MultiPurposeSpaces #RetailTrends #ExperientialRetail #RetailSavvy #SavvyInsights

Portillo’s, a Chicago-based brand led by CEO Michael Osanloo, is strategically focusing on expanding its presence in the Sun Belt region of the U.S., known for its warmer climates and lower taxes. With data showing significant population growth in counties in Arizona, Texas, and Florida, Portillo’s is directing 80% of its future growth efforts towards these states, particularly targeting areas like Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The brand has seen success in Texas, with four locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth market and plans for further expansion in cities like Las Vegas, Denver, and Atlanta. In line with its growth strategy, Portillo’s aims to open nine new restaurants in 2024, with a goal of achieving 10% annual growth in the near term. Looking ahead, the brand envisions a minimum of 920 U.S. locations and anticipates long-term annual growth of 12–15%. To optimize efficiency and reduce costs, Portillo’s is implementing innovative changes, such as the development of smaller, more streamlined kitchen layouts and the introduction of drive-thru-only locations. Despite economic challenges, Portillo’s remains committed to making sound real estate decisions and maintaining its track record of never closing a store in its 60-year history. Osanloo’s focus on strategic growth and operational improvements reflects the brand’s dedication to meeting consumer demand and ensuring long-term success. To read more, click the link below. #commercialrealestate #retail #tampabay #shoppingcenters #restaurants #stripcenters

I moved to a new city and drove 4000+ KM in 3 weeks…for a client. A few years ago, I landed a gig with a client looking to launch a product in a city they had no team in. They wanted to run a pilot project for a new market segment by launching a new product in a chain of retail stores. They needed boots on the ground to build a team there, do tasting in the stores for a few weeks and get people to know the product for the pilot test in that city before potentially rolling out in the whole province. So I moved there-ish.  (I crashed in my then-dad's girlfriend's basement for a few weeks) I did most prep work before getting there but had to be on-site for the whole pilot and go a few times prior, to scope out spaces to operate out of and do interviews. In 6 weeks, I built everything from scratch: -Built the team, onboarded them, and made the schedule with the stores. -Figured out what the tasting would be, portion size, etc., so we could order all the raw ingredients and have them shipped out. -Rented a kitchen and bought all the equipment to set up a workspace 250 km away. -Ran tasting in 27 stores for three weeks In the end, we sold out of everything we had to sell. The logistics aspect was the hardest part. The store didn’t have much experience with the type of product and by the middle of week two, a lot of the products we were selling were out of stock or expired. This meant I spent my evening driving between locations to refill fridges, making sure each rep had enough inventory to sell each night. On week three, I even made an extra trip to Montreal to fill my car with extra inventory so we could have what we needed. Ultimately, we built awareness for a new product in a new city. The pilot was converted to a longer-term test between the two brands and the feedback gathered led to a complete redesign of the packaging and major changes in the supply chain of the brand carrying the product. We made it work. The days were long, but so much fun. I'm always ready to go the extra mile for my clients—literally.  Whether it's driving across provinces or ensuring every detail is covered, I’m committed to making sh*t happen. Photo - Circa 2017: On the last evening, after we ran out of stuff to sell, I took some of the team out to celebrate.

[NEW POST] 20ft Refurbished Kiosk Conversion Have a look at this recent conversion where we transformed a used 20ft shipping container into a catering kiosk to be placed in a park. Alongside the case study we have included some of the important points you will need to consider if you are looking at converting a shipping container for a similar purpose. https://lnkd.in/dpNXweD9 #shippingcontainerexperts #shippingcontainerspecialists #weloveshippingcontainers #budgetshippingcontainers #convertingshippingcontainers #containerblog

Math is fun. Especially when it comes to parking. Here's an equation on the conservative side: 374 parking spaces MINUS 295 luxury apartments (assuming fully occupied, but only 1 vehicle/unit) 8 owner-occupied condominiums (again, assuming only 1 vehicle/condo) 15 restaurant 8,500sf (staff with a manager, host, some servers and kitchen) 2 shoe store 3,300sf (staff) 5 med spa 3,300sf (staff) 2 taproom 1,000sf (staff) 47 parking spaces remain for residents that have more than one vehicle, staff for the apartment management and guests of the residents. Oh -and customers. Very conservative math...

Are we making the best use of our shop fronts? 🪟 Travelling around Europe last week, in a nerdy real estate lawyer way, I was impressed by the different uses of shopfronts...and can't help but think we are missing a trick. At Galleria Kaufhof in Düsseldorf someone was having their make up done in the shop window, whilst the photo below shows a delightful patisserie in Ghent. Both of these introduced an element of theatre and interest, we immediately went and bought something from the patisserie 😋, so it must've worked. However, most leases in England and Wales will simply oblige tenants to keep the shop front "attractively dressed and lit". More often than not this will result in a "nice" display of products (with or without a manikin) which may change seasonally. Yet in an age where video content is king as we need something different to grab our attention, could we do better? It's already happening in some restaurants with counter dining and open kitchens near the front of the site; but surely there's more we could do? Maybe it's time to update the "standard" wording? What's the best shop window display you've seen? 👇 #retail #retailproperty #commercialproperry #realestate #hospitality #leisure #assetmanagement #lawyer

Windows, floors, waiting areas – the condition of a retail park store and its facilities can directly impact the bottom line. Our latest blog reveals six ways professional cleaning can drive brand loyalty > https://lnkd.in/erzBgU_m #LaddersFree #WindowCleaning #CommercialWindowCleaning #CommercialCleaning #REACTGroup #RetailParks

Dutch Bros Coffee operates ~1,000 shops It is adding >150 new shops per year and wants to grow to ~4,000 But #DutchBros has been plagued by high construction costs, permitting delays and the significant company resources required to build new ground-up prototype #drivethru shops on leased land So the Company may now pivot to other #realestate options Such as the #repurpose of existing buildings like former bank branches, freestanding #qsr and casual dining restaurants And perhaps even "unconventional" #adaptivereuse conversions Like former #drugstore buildings and even #carwash real estate ⬇

Let's Talk Bathrooms - For Real With young kids, there's a lot of potty talk in my house. The truth is, like my twin cart story a few weeks ago, #bathrooms are key to moms and families who shop your stores - especially #grocery stores, since those shops take so long and are regular stops. In the days when I managed #mysteryshop programs to help drive superb #operations at Harris Teeter, bathroom conditions were always on our measurement outlines. (Jeff Hall and Adrianne Taylor-White are amazing at this by the way). If our goal is to drive #operationalexcellence with friendly associates, strong product ranging, #onshelfavailability, fresh/in date products, and low wait times, we SHOULD NOT overlook the bathroom. A few stand out examples: - Despite about Target having operational struggles - Target bathrooms in my area have always managed to maintain good restroom conditions. - Numerous C-stores in the US (like Buc-ee's, Ltd.) have been working to make bathrooms a central part of their brand building strategy: https://lnkd.in/eKJKpmuq When a customer goes into a grocery store restroom that reeks, has not been cleaned in a long time, and has a filthy door/door knob, it doesn't send the right message. Last year, the Bradley Company published results of a study accounting for the ROI of clean restrooms: https://lnkd.in/eTeX22pY Just last week, I spent several days touring grocery stores and was reminded how important bathrooms are - some simply were not available and several I did find were so awful, I had to leave. If you need to review your restroom remodel and maintenance plans, here are some hall of fame design examples from the folks at Cintas: https://lnkd.in/ec_BRbb6 Retail Insight https://lnkd.in/epQZrqp7

Sorry, LinkedIn. I’m going to be dining out on this one for a while. 📍The Batch Members Club, Seven Dials More than just a shop, this is an event space, a workspace, a place for collaboration. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the high street isn’t dead; it’s just filled with dead shops. We set out to create something different. When we briefed Jim Butterell on the design, we told him we wanted it to feel more like a home than a store. Upstairs: Your kitchen/dining room. Downstairs: Your living room/bedroom. We believe being comfortable is essential to a positive shopping experience. We took inspiration from the likes of Spiritland, Bambi, Aimé Leon Dore, and Maison Estelle - and added our own twist. The first design Jim gave us was based on our incredibly modest £50k budget. I’ll level with you: it was miles off from what we knew we needed to make it work. Back to Jim it went - this time with the instruction: do it as if budget wasn’t an option. The result? 👌 Exactly what we wanted. The catch? 💸 An estimated £500k cost (and we all know how budgets love to slide). We knew we had to make it happen, and that’s where brand collaborations came in. But collaborating meant making quick, high-stakes decisions without time for endless revisions. Julian Osborne and I had to make snap calls and hope for the best. Thankfully, with the help of Studio Jim (who I couldn’t recommend more), it has turned out for the best. Now, we’re here—a space we’re proud to call The Batch Members Club. Come for the coffee. Stay for the conversation. And don’t forget to grab some fresh garms while you’re here. Batch LDN #retail #fashion #sustainability