{"id":169584,"date":"2025-06-09T06:39:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T06:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169584\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T06:39:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T06:39:23","slug":"in-my-view-by-eric-musgrave-london-calling-at-the-top-of-the-dial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169584\/","title":{"rendered":"In My View by Eric Musgrave: London calling at the top of the dial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noel Coward\u2019s celebrated song \u201cLondon Pride\u201d was the unexpected soundtrack to a pulsating video presentation that kicked off the recent World Retail Congress<\/a> at the Hilton on Park Lane, London.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Written in 1941 to raise the spirits of Londoners during the Blitz, a typical couplet in the lyric says:<\/p>\n

London Pride means our own dear town to us,
And our pride it forever will be.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Played over a fast-moving visual panorama of the UK\u2019s capital, it was a clever choice for an event that was a significant success in part because of its location.<\/p>\n

Almost 1,000 delegates from 47 countries attended the two-day bash, which had not been held in London since 2012. Since a two-year enforced break due to the pandemic, the conference \u2013 which covers all aspects of global retailing from luxury lifestyle brands to discount grocery chains \u2013\u00a0 had been staged in Rome, Berlin and Paris. In 2025, it was time to come home.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

My long-time friend and long-ago colleague Ian McGarrigle created the WRC two decades ago as an international version of the Retail Week Conference, an earlier success for him when he was publisher of the eponymous trade paper. The choice of London this time was made for him by contacts across the world who Ian and his team consulted in the early stages of planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our feedback calls, it very soon became obvious that it had to be London,\u201d Ian, who is chairman and co-owner of the now-independent event, told me. \u201cLondon is recognised as having the best of the world\u2019s retailing in a concentrated area. Internationally there\u2019s a feeling that there is a real buzz again here with developments like the renewal of Regent Street and the revamp of Covent Garden, for example. And, of course, the city is easy to get to from most places in the world, which helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"R\u00e9gis<\/p>\n

JD Sports CEO R\u00e9gis Schultz and On Running’s Britt Olsen at the recent World Retail Congress in London<\/p>\n

On Monday 12 May, the day before the congress opened, delegates were given behind-the-scenes tours of some of the West End retail landmarks that have attracted worldwide attention, including Selfridges, Primark, John Lewis, Sports Direct, Gymshark and the new Ikea at Oxford Circus.<\/p>\n

On the same day, to show visitors from as far away as Australia and the Philippines what true luxury retailing looks like, I led a small group of WRC delegates around five bespoke tailors on Savile Row to see artisans at work.<\/p>\n

A packed opening party in Fortnum and Mason, a drinks reception at Burberry, a Women in Retail awards dinner in Liberty of London and a farewell drinks at Gieves and Hawkes at No 1 Savile Row added to the parade of inspiration London can serve up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that being in London was a big factor in the success of the event,\u201d Ian confirmed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s to be hoped the international crowd of top retail talent attending WRC brought their walking shoes with them because London is enjoying a physical retail renaissance with a hectic procession of new arrivals and updated favourites.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New Balance, Oxford Street<\/p>\n

While Harvey Nichols is busily trying to reclaim its fashion credentials on Brompton Road, other names such as Inditex-owned Massimo Dutti,<\/a> menswear specialist Moss<\/a> and US sportswear brand New Balance<\/a> all have unveiled redesigned spaces on Oxford Street.<\/p>\n

Swedish premium casualwear name Gant was updated its long-established store on Regent Street, while men\u2019s shirt specialist Eton, also from Sweden, has refurbished its unit on South Molton Street.<\/p>\n

Japanese sportswear brand Onitsuka Tiger<\/a> has chosen London (in Neal Street, Covent Garden) for its first European location for a new \u201cred\u201d concept store while footwear retailer Dune London has opened its newly refurbished store out east, at Westfield Stratford City.<\/p>\n

\"Onitsuka<\/p>\n

Onitsuka Tiger, Covent Garden<\/p>\n

Among those extending their presence in the capital are Swiss sportswear sensation On (with its third London store in Battersea Power Station), casualwear name Crew Clothing (opening its fourth London store on Chiswick High Road), Brazilian womenswear brand Farm Rio (Carnaby Street joining its Marylebone and King\u2019s Road locations), and Californian activewear label Vuori (adding a third London store, this time in Chelsea).<\/p>\n

New arrivals include the first store (in Carnaby Street) for Tala, the activewear brand founded by British influencer-turned-entrepreneur Grace Beverly, US trainer brand Autry\u2019s UK retail debut in Beak Street, Soho, Chinese-owned fashion retailer Urban Revivo opening in Neal Street, Covent Garden, and French lingerie and swimwear brand Ys\u00e9 Paris opening on King\u2019s Road, Chelsea.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve already been told Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims will be opening on Regent Street in summer 2026. In a sign of how the fashion carousel never stops spinning, it will be occupying the former Ted Baker unit.<\/p>\n

In a particularly interesting development, on 4-5 June online operator Asos ran a pop-up on Tottenham Court Road to showcase selections from its in-house brands Asos Design, Arrange, Collusion and Topshop. Maybe online retailing is not going to take over the world after all!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ASOS pop-up Tottenham Court Road \u00a9 Photography by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective (www.instagram.com\/khromacollective)<\/p>\n

Despite all the current pressures on fashion retailing, from an ongoing cost-of-living squeeze, higher tax levies from the miserabilist Labour government, endemic shop theft and no tax-free shopping for international visitors, it seems, in London at least, there is plenty of life in physical stores and the aesthetic experiences they uniquely offer.<\/p>\n

I hope London\u2019s lively reinvigoration is being mirrored elsewhere in the UK. Readers, do let me know.<\/p>\n

All of this inspiring activity only goes to underline one of my favourite lines from the WRC presentations. American menswear designer Todd Snyder quipped: \u201cRetail\u2019s not dead but mediocre retail is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berlin, the venue for the WRC on 27-29 April 2026, has a tough act to follow.<\/p>\n