Gatekeepers flanked the entrance to such perfection that shoppers were literally desperate to get into the store. Ordinary shoppers were having to press their noses up against the window, though, because only those on the guest list could get in.
The real party started later on in the evening, as guests moved from the store to the 100 Club down the road to an exclusive gig where The Paddingtons were playing. And, in the sweaty mosh pit that ensued, guests of JD enjoyed being one of the chosen few.
The launch party was a success for JD, in that it allowed its guests, including staff, suppliers, landlords and property agents, to see its new-format store. Many landlords are slow to realise new formats. They would probably have dumped JD in the same category as JJB and Sports Direct. But, if they did think that beforehand, they certainly won’t now – JD has turned itself into a fashion store and there wasn’t a replica shirt in sight.
Yet JD has succeeded in another respect – it has managed to make its Oxford Street presence profitable. A few years ago, JD had three stores on Oxford Street – none of which are understood to have been money-spinners. It now has one – an all-singing, all-dancing one at that – which, on its first day of trading, showed signs of not only making the high rent that the street commands affordable, but also of outperforming the former three stores.
While it’s early days for JD’s new flagship, the retailer was certainly pleased with the initial results. Having one store on Oxford Street increases a retailer’s rent bill massively, but having three stores pushes it off the scale. If JD can manage its flagship store as a destination, then shoppers will travel.
Retailers such as Uniqlo have taken the opposite view. Not content with its store at the east end of Oxford Street, the Japanese giant extended that store and opened a mammoth flagship in the former Waterstone’s unit. Uniqlo also has another store around the corner on Regent Street.
Uniqlo’s rent bill will be huge. But, having been bitten before and had to pull out of some stores, it should have learnt its lesson. For Uniqlo, the motto seems to be “the more the merrier”, while, for JD, consolidation was key.
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