博鱼体育集团

Reinventing London's Retail Floorspace:

Case Study 1 - Battersea Power Station

鈥楾he Battersea shop will be pride of place, a wonderful, sociable 鈥榯hird space鈥� 鈥�. Part installation, part gallery, part museum but full of inspiration you can take home.鈥�

鈥� The Battersea Power Station Development Company

A fresh perspective

Battersea Power Station (BPS) certainly presents an innovative approach to retail development. Witnessing many unfeasible proposals over its famously long gestation period, its urban isolation (once the great attraction of the site for building a power station) proved its greatest challenge. Few past proposals successfully overcame issues of access, or achieved the right mix of uses, density, look and feel.

But the approved masterplan by Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) puts forward an ambitious new recipe for retail. With an arts and culture led redevelopment, Battersea has sought to disrupt traditional development thinking, which it highlights can be dominated by the 鈥榟ard鈥� aspects of physical place design.

It is only in paying equal attention to the 鈥榮ofter鈥� aspects (location offering, operation, and identity), it asserts, that will influence our experience of place. And dictate whether the 63% of 鈥楥ity Sophisticates鈥� in its shopper catchment regard it a desirable destination to spend their time and money.

Key elements behind this 鈥榥ew鈥� thinking include:

Blended neighbourhood and destination shopping

Accepting the reality that cities experience a daily fluid flow of people, Battersea has strived to create a mix of offerings for residents, tourists, and workers, to ensure it remains alive morning to night. Mixing the 鈥榩ractical and the pleasurable鈥�, it has earmarked units for both local neighbourhood convenience (Paul Edmonds hair salon, David Clulow opticians, Moyses Stevens florist) alongside more 鈥榙estination鈥� retail and leisure (The Turbine Theatre, Birdies crazy golf).

High street brands breaking from the identikit

CEO Simon Murphy once said Battersea will be 鈥榓 place for the majority.鈥� But it has seemed to avoid the 鈥榗loning鈥� and homogenisation typical of UK high streets. Enticing a line-up of well-known multiple brands is intended to create comfort and familiarity.

Yet clear expectations around the design and stock of premises have ensured differentiation from retailers鈥� 鈥榤ainstream鈥� stores. And tapped into operator trends toward 鈥榙e-branding鈥� to appear less commercial. Nike鈥檚 BPS store for instance hosting its localised member-only 鈥楲ive鈥� concept, tailored to the south London market.

Complementing the familiar with the new and unusual

Interspersed amongst high-street retailers are lesser- known international brands, such as Amsterdam optician 鈥楢ce & Tate,鈥� New York perfume house 鈥楲e Labo鈥� and Seoul automotive company 鈥楪enesis.鈥� New and original concepts are also integrated to keep shoppers curious. For example, 鈥楶etit Pli鈥� an eyecatching brand offering innovative and sustainable childrenswear that expands as your child grows, extending wear by around nine months.

Diverse unit shapes and sizes

Recognising that 鈥榦ne-size-doesn鈥檛 fit all,鈥� and that visitors enjoy exploring a variety of store configurations, the scheme provides a variety of spaces. Able to accommodate a range of retail and leisure businesses, retailers can highlight stock in a flagship space or evaluate out a new concept with a kiosk.

Using 鈥榬etail theatre鈥� to tap into the 鈥榚xperience economy鈥�

Online purchasing has become convenient but clinical, meaning demand for meaningful and memorable experiences 鈥業RL鈥� (in real life) is rising. The use of 鈥榬etail theatre鈥� stimulating the shopper senses has been employed to complement the beauty of the Power Station structure, adding a sense of spectacle and drama. And creating a unique experience retail brands want to be a part of.

Fitness brand Sweaty Betty鈥檚 first concept store (鈥楾he Powerhouse鈥�) has taken design inspiration from BPS鈥檚 industrial heritage and accompanied it with retail theatre. Blasting 鈥榩ositivity playlists鈥� from an oversized 3D sound system, customers energy levels are raised as they test out the latest fitness gear.

New rhythms of retailing

Constant change, novelty and 鈥榥ewness鈥� is required to attract visitors back throughout the seasons to create shopper loyalty, and BPS has set up a dedicated programme of year-round events to do this. The thinking that those initially attracted by the spectacle and grandeur of the architecture at its opening will have had their curiosity hooked - and return for unique experiences (such as the Winter Lights Festival) to see what has changed. With events available for only short periods of time, BPS has tapped into target demographics鈥� fear of missing out (鈥楩OMO鈥�).

Different anchor tenants

There is no department store at Battersea, but plenty of new 鈥榝lagship鈥� tenants with the gravitas to attract visitors from far and wide. Art鈥檕tel is a 164-bed hotel located on Battersea鈥檚 Electric Boulevard. Designed by award- winning Spanish designer, Jaime Haydon, it marks the hotel鈥檚 first outpost in the UK, offering an 鈥榓lluring, must-have experience鈥� with its playful, stylist interiors. Also anchoring the Boulevard is Zara鈥檚 new showcase store: a magnet for millennial shoppers. Offering its most technologically advanced concept to date, shoppers can experience the convenience of its pay-and-go app, pre-booked fitting rooms, and ability to collect online orders within two hours.

Shop & learn

Designed to be more than just a shopping or leisure destination, education is also central to the Battersea experience. Paying homage to its industrial history, visitors are given ample opportunity to learn about the site鈥檚 cultural heritage. Place plaques, mobile exhibitions, and a 鈥楶lant Park鈥� display original pieces of machinery plant as if in an art gallery. Rather than standalone, these are integrated amongst the retail. Visitors can purchase a slice of its history, its souvenir store (which accompanies its 鈥楲ift 109鈥� chimney elevator experience) stocking architectural drawings, replica building models, and limited-edition artworks. All reinforcing the uniqueness of the BPS brand identity (鈥榩art installation, part gallery, part museum but full of inspiration you can take home鈥�)

Click here for full insights on Re-inventing London鈥檚 Retail Floorspace.