Making tracks

I spent an interesting afternoon yesterday at a conference Network Rail held for its retail tenants. It’s not an aspect of retail property I know an awful lot about, but like many people I spend far more time than I’d like to hanging around at stations and the major stations’ high levels of footfall clearly present a real opportunity for retailers.

The problem traditionally has been providing the quality of retail environment without the shops getting in the way of travellers, and providing the right assortment and quality of service in what are inevitably often constrained sites.

But station retailing has moved on dramatically over the past few years. The superb retail offer at St Pancras is the most obvious example, but other stations like Manchester Piccadilly have also benefited from the addition of new retail space which enhances the station rather than getting in the way of passesngers who have a train to catch. There are plenty of new developments on the way, at stations including Kings Cross and Waterloo in London, and Birmingham’s ghastly New Street station.

Retailers like WH Smith and Boots have known for a long time the attractions of this captive market, and more recently supermarkets like Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s have got in on the act too. But non-food specialists, ranging from TM Lewin to HMV have also found that small units offering a core assortment to people on the go can prove really convenient to shoppers. It’s a market more retailers, such as Waitrose, are keen to get into, and the short, turnover-based leases mean there’s more of an alignment of risk between landlord and retailer.

The railway needs to get its act together when it comes to providing the right space and clearing up the fussy rules which often get in the way of retailers’ trading and deliveries, while retailers need to improve the often poor service at their station stores and manage queues can often be ridiculous. But if both sides do their bit, it’s a type of location which is set to prosper. And with the growth in click and collect, surely there’s huge potential in offering the service in locations people pass through every day on their way home from work?