The new owners of Selfridges have announced a number of grand plans for the flagship department store on Oxford Street, including the possible opening of a posh hotel and the development of serviced apartments.
The billionaire Westons family sold the retail business in December for a whopping £ 4 billion to a joint venture between the Thai Central Group and Signa Holding, an Austria-based real estate company. Both take over 50 percent of the shares in the company.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Signa’s CEO Dieter Berninghaus presented the possible plans for the location and stated: “The purchase price only reflects the evaluation of the main Selfridges building and its retail use.”
Berninghaus added that the development of serviced apartments has “significant potential for appreciation” and also hinted at a “plan to upgrade the food hall”. Signa already has gastronomic expertise with KaDeWe and Globus.
Difficult market environment
The joint venture between Signa and the Central Group also includes the department stores KaDeWe and Globus as well as the online retailer Mybestbrands, which was taken over in 2017.
The joint venture with Central Group comes at a time when UK retailers are struggling due to curtailment measures and many department stores are experiencing tough market conditions and closings.
Data compiled by CoStar Group, a commercial real estate information company, shows the UK has lost 83 percent of its major department stores over the past five years, both to changing shopping habits and to the pandemic. The study published in August found that around 237 large department stores have not yet been taken over by new businesses, reflecting the difficult situation on UK shopping streets.
Oxford Street is also struggling with many vacant properties in the popular shopping center. Recently launched on-site initiatives aim to increase footfall in this area and to diversify the retail offering.
This translated and abridged post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.