At the beginning of this year, Lush boss Mark Constantine told Retail Week if he had his way the ethical beauty business would focus on large city-centre stores like the one it had recently opened in Liverpool.

The retail business had also in recent years unveiled multi-floor experience-led stores in other major cities such as Birmingham, Munich and Shinjuku in Tokyo and Constantine was hungry for more.

“Would I like to only run large stores like Liverpool? Yes, I really would,” he said.

Constantine was not alone. Retailers ranging from Boots in Covent Garden to Primark in Birmingham were betting on large-format, city-centre stores to drive their business’ growth.

But a lot can change in 10 months, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has decimated trade and drastically decreased commuter, tourist and general footfall.