In our latest podcast with the British Retail Consortium, we continue our reflection of how the retail world continues to reel from COVID-related restrictions, as enforced consumer hibernation from the high street extends into this first quarter of 2021.
While the next generation of retail will not fully form for some time due to the likely stop-start nature of industry recovery efforts this year, there remain many advocates of the positive role that bricks and mortar can play in an omnichannel strategy moving forward.
We explore the role that rationalising property portfolios now can play in helping retailers realise their future transformation efforts for the “new normal” and beyond. While CVAs can do much to accelerate positive property outcomes in the short-term, more sustainable success will only be realised if a comprehensive transformation strategy is under way alongside this activity.
We also discuss the prospect of developing more sustainable opportunities between landlords and tenants, faced with the challenge of re-engineering legacy commercial structures that lack the flexibility and agility to respond to the increasing levels of industry disruption that the pandemic magnified for all to see in 2020.