The pressure on the retail industry in recent years has led to many companies considering diversification to survive. Among those seeking to adapt to the changing market is the John Lewis Partnership who has proposed plans to build new homes for rent. John Lewis has championed this as a project which invests in local communities to reduce the nationwide housing shortage with the added benefit of driving new revenue into its business.
However, it has recently come under scrutiny in relation to its planning application to build 353 flats above a Waitrose store in Bromley due to only a fifth of the homes within the proposed development reserved for affordable housing. It has also experienced criticism from retail experts who believe its strategy should instead be a focus on improving the partnership’s bricks and mortar presence.
Other companies in the sector such as Phase Eight have taken this approach and recently announced its intention to open 14 new stores this year in the UK and Europe with a focus on big cities and a luxury shopping experience. However, whether Phase Eight has the infrastructure in place to deliver and overcome the persistent difficulties in the retail sector is uncertain.
It will be interesting to see how these two quite different approaches to the challenges faced by fashion and luxury brands today will fare amid rising costs and whether diversification from the traditional retail approach will work.
The John Lewis Partnership, which owns Waitrose supermarkets and a string of department stores, has pledged to build and rent out 10,000 homes as part of bold plans to generate 40% of profits from outside retail by 2030.
