Hanging up

The ridiculously named Everything Everywhere - formed out of the merger of T-Mobile and Orange - is to trial dual-branded stores ahead of what might be a wider roll-out of them. Amazingly the business has 723 stores, but that number could be significantly reduced if the trial of the three dual-branded stores works, as there is duplication in many towns.

That of course would lead to more vacant stores on the market, but on the other hand the ubiquitous mobile phone shops - particularly the network stores - add very little to the high streets they’re located on. Despite the best efforts of the store design fraternity, which have led to some quite innovative formats emerging from the networks, ultimately phone shops do nothing to drive footfall or add to a centre’s attractiveness.

Now the odd one doesn’t do any harm but when all the networks come in to one town, along with coffee shops and the rise of charity shops too, you end up with a situation where retail formats which don’t drive footfall end up dominating an area. That reduces its attractiveness to shoppers and in turn makes it harder to let vacant units to more exciting retailers.

The mobile phone market is mature now, and many people upgrade their phones without even having to set foot in a shop. Everything Everywhere is a sign of the consolidation which is inevitable in a mature crowded market, and that surely is going to reduce the need for the number of phone shops on the high street. And while increasing vacancy rates can’t be a good thing, if good tenants can be found to take their place, it might not be all bad news.