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January 2010 Update
The
Summary
There have been 6 retail administrations since the last issue of SnapShop Monthly, including
Adams, D2, Wesley Owen, Natural Kitchen, Ellie Louise and Happit; three of these appear to have
been pre-pack administrations, while the others, aside from Adams, have also been rescued.
New market entrants include Joe & The Juice, MBT, Kiyuchi and a Dyson pop-up shop.
Birth and Death of Retailers
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In Administration New Retailers
In the news…
January’s news has been dominated by Christmas trading reports – a digest of which can be found
under the Newsletters section on SnapShop. Consequently, several retailers have chosen to
outline their plans for the future.
Positively, Claire’s, Domino’s Pizza, Esprit, Ethel Austin, Fire & Stone, Greggs, Mint Velvet, New
Look, Papa Johns, Paperchase, Poundland, Swarovski and Waitrose have all announced
ambitious expansion plans.
Less positively, Arcadia is to close ten BHS stores and the leases transferred to Primark; all
Borders stores have now shut their doors; Ghost is to axe its department store concessions; and
La Senza owners Lion Capital are thought to be seeking funding for the lingerie chain.
Elsewhere, Ben Sherman is to exit womenswear; Boots & Waitrose are trialling a tie up; the
Threshers, Bottoms Up, Victoria Wine and The Local chains have been bought by SEP Properties
and Debenhams is to step up its store refit and brand makeover programme.
In the Statistics section, most measures look positive, no doubt again influenced by Christmas.
BRC Internet Sales were up a massive 26.5%, while house prices and BRC Retail Sales also rose.
Surprisingly, both SPSL and Experian both recorded falls in pedestrian flow levels, as did
consumer confidence, which was down 2 points – the second month of decline.

2. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Geoff’s
View
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ….
…but are they all of equal value? In shopping centres and retail parks, recruiting particular tenants
within an explicit retail mix strategy creates a more robust rent roll than simply taking the highest,
or any, bidder. Without a tenant mix policy, the retail composition of the centre or park is
determined by the judgements and vagaries of individual retailers.
Rent is paid from turnover and the lower its proportion the better. The proportion can be reduced
either by agreeing a lower rent or by increasing turnover. Other things being equal, retailers whose
customer profile matches the visitor profile will increase turnover more easily than mismatched
retailers. Furthermore, several retailers with similar customer profiles outperform a ragbag of
differently targeted shops. Historically, retailers in the same trade tended to group together in the
same area of town.
There are five broad objections to shopping centres and retail parks having an explicit tenant mix
strategy:
1. “Retailers know their own business best, so don’t second guess them”. This over-estimates
the resources of retailers and their agents to know the potential of your particular location. In
FSP experience, the vast majority of retailers welcome solid evidence of the scale of the
business opportunity represented by your centre or retail park
2. “We’ve managed successfully so far without a retail mix strategy”. This omits the role of
shoppers in making a retail location successful. FSP can demonstrate that happy shoppers
visit more often and spend more per visit so that annually they are worth two or three times
more than an unhappy shopper. Creating more happy shoppers increases sales, makes the
retailers more profitable and therefore willing to pay more for their space. Establishing the
identity of the happy shopper is therefore a fundamental step
3. “It’ll only tell me what I already know.” In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe the
Curse of Knowledge which prevents experts from being able to see the issue from the
perspective of the uninitiated. A tenant mix strategy gives a different emphasis to what is
already known and thereby effectively communicates the potential of the location to retailers
4. It’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut. On an established scheme, units come up one at a time,
so the expense of developing a retail mix strategy is not justified. While more centres now
have multiple vacancies, this may be a valid objection if the task is simply to fill it and flog it.
However, FSP has been involved in a number of pre-acquisition due diligence investigations
where such a policy has cut no ice with the potential purchaser
5. “A different skill set is required to present the business case to retailers when it flows from an
evidence-based retail mix strategy”. It can be difficult for letting agents dealing with many
different schemes fully to understand the potential of each one for each target retailer. Much of
the responsibility for this lack of understanding lies with the research providers who don’t make
the evidence very accessible. Naturally FSP pleads not guilty to this charge but only because
it is a high priority to work with the client and letting teams to translate the research into
practical actions.
I now look forward to a flood of enquiries for help in developing tenant mix strategies!!
With kind regards
Geoff Nicholson
Managing Director, FSP
geoff@fspretail.co.uk

3. www.snap-shop.co.uk
New Retailers
Georgina Goodman has secured a £4m private equity investment from Core Capital to fund expansion
J Crew has targeted the UK for expansion
Joe and the Juice has launched its first UK site on London's Regent Street
Kuyichi is to open up to 10 franchise stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland alongside a
series of company-owned stores as part of a long-term brand building exercise
MBT is to open its first UK outlet store at Land Securities’ Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth
Store News
Bombay Bicycle Club is planning to open a further eight restaurant delivery outlets in London
Boots The Chemist and Waitrose are considering trialling several different store formats simultaneously as
they thrash out details of their forthcoming tie up
Claire's intends to open significantly more stores during 2010 than this year
Debenhams is to rev up store refits following the success of its Cardiff shop and give its brands a
makeover as it focuses on profitability as well as sales
Domino's Pizza is planning to expand its chain of 608 pizza outlets in the UK and Ireland to 1,000 by
2017
Ed Hardy is planning to open a second London store after the launch of its first UK store at
Westfield London earlier this month
Ethel Austin is planning to open a further 100 fashion stores across the country in 2010
Fire and Stone is planning to expand with at least six new outlets over the next 18 months
GIVe may be expanding internationally just two months after its UK debut
Greggs is to focus on expanding its bakery chain in Scotland, Wales and the South East of
England this year where it has a relatively low presence
Haldane Stores has acquired a further eight stores from the Co-operative Group, with the transfer of
245 staff, taking its total chain to 26
Jaeger is engaged in talks over the possible opening of a new store in Paris
Lakeland is to open its first overseas store next year in Dubai
Mint Velvet will open 25 new fashion concessions and stores by spring to add to its 14 House of
Fraser concessions and two standalone shops
Monsoon is poised to open five Accessorize stores in the US next year as the retailer tries once
more to crack the North American market
New Look plans to double the size of many of its UK stores
Nokia is to close four of its flagship retail stores

4. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Oliver Sweeney has opened a new-look flagship on Regent Street
Papa John's is planning to open a further 40 pizza delivery outlets in 2010
Paperchase is planning to expand its chain of 60 stationery stores with up to 20 new outlets in 2010,
and believes there is long-term potential for 200 stores
Pineapple has opened a flagship clothes store in Covent Garden
Poundland is ramping up its store expansion programme in Northern Ireland on the back of strong
sales since first opening there in October
Principles is back, exclusively at Debenhams, with designer Ben de Lisi at the helm
Sainsbury's
Supermarkets
is to launch a click-and-collect service in April as it strives to double the size of its non-
food business within five years
Shop Direct Group has confirmed it has met possible franchise partners interested in relaunching
Woolworths on the high street
Subway is planning to expand its 78 sandwich stores in Yorkshire and the North East to 200 by
2015
Swarovski is to open four stores in Manchester, Aberdeen, Doncaster and Warrington
Tesco plans to open up to 30 stores in the Czech Republic
The Entertainer is to steam ahead with expansion after recording its "strongest trading in the company's
history" in 2009
Trespass has hopes to fill the void left by Blacks
Uniqlo plans to expand in Europe in 2010 with cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Milan,
plus a city in Germany all being targeted for store openings
Waitrose is planning to expand its chain of 222 supermarkets with 23 new outlets in 2010
Financial Restructuring
Adams Kids has fallen into administration for the third time in three years
Blacks Leisure Group is poised to undergo an equity fundraising of between £15m and £20m
Borders remaining stores have closed as no buyer was found
Bottoms Up plus Threshers, Victoria Wine and The Local have been bought by property investment
and consultancy firm SEP Properties
Clapham House Group has admitted that its Real Greek brand would eventually be sold as it moved to focus
exclusively on its expanding Gourmet Burger Kitchen chain
d2 became the first post-Christmas retail casualty after falling into administration in the last
week of December, however it was later bought out by its management team
Esprit is set to buy out its Chinese venture partner as it looks to ramp up its presence in that
market

5. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Habitat owner Hilco plans to write off 60% of the furniture retailer’s debts as part of a
turnaround plan
Happit has been bought out of administration by a new Yorkshire-based company, Ellie Louise
Trading
Harry Ramsden's has been bought by Ranjit Boparan, the owner of Birmingham-based Boparan Ventures
– think Buxted Chickens and FishWorks 2
Hobbycraft was put up for sale at the end of last year with a price tag thought to be around £70m.
Former Borders UK owner Luke Johnson has confirmed he would consider bidding for
the chain
Ideal Shopping Direct has bought plant and garden equipment retailer Lead The Good Life
Jane Norman lenders are to take over the business and restructure its debts of almost £136m
JD Sports Fashion has taken control of the Australian distribution company for rugby brand Canterbury,
and bought a majority stake in its New Zealand distributor
JD Wetherspoon is close to completing the acquisition of 12 late-night venues from 3D Entertainment,
the Chicago Rock Cafe owner, for about £4.3m
La Senza owner Lion Capital is thought to be seeking funding to save the struggling lingerie chain
Laithwaites will take over Vinopolis in London this month
Mamas & Papas has agreed a new funding package from HSBC which will allow the business to grow its
international business
Natural Kitchen has undergone a pre-pack administration through Tenon Recovery
Puccinos has put eight non-trading units up for sale after falling into Administration
Smythson of Bond Street has been sold to Greenwill for £18m
Theo Fennell is exploring options to raise funds through an equity placing
Topps Tiles has taken the decision to withdraw support and funding for its loss-making Dutch
subsidiary
Wesley Owen has fallen into administration
Internal Restructuring
Ben Sherman is proposing to exit womenswear business and focus on menswear
Bhs is to shut 10 department stores
DFS is considering a float or third-party investment
Ghost is set to axe its department store concessions and lower its prices
Jessops plc shareholders have voted to voluntarily wind up the company after the Jessops store
business was sold to new company Snap Equity in September

6. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Joules has launched Baby Joule following the success of its children's range
General
ASDA has waded into the online personalised greetings card arena in a tie-up with
manufacturer Hallmark
ASOS has launched a new plus-size range
Boxing Day proved to be the busiest online shopping day of the year but Christmas Day itself saw a
slowdown against last year in traffic to etailers
HMV and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have teamed up with AdMedia to launch
Gamerbase, an interactive instore advertising model
House of Fraser has become the latest retailer to launch an iPhone application
Key Staff Changes occurred in the following retailers during the month; Focus, Hugo Boss, Jessops, John
Lewis, Midlands Co-Op, Moss Bros, My-Wardrobe.co.uk, N Peal, OKA, Direct Wines,
HMV Group, Albemarle & Bond, Asos, Clarks, Co-Op Group and Daks
Local Authorities The government has unveiled plans to give local councils more power to put town
centres first ahead of out-of-town developments
Marks & Spencer lost clothing volume and value market share last year while rivals George at Asda,
Tesco and Primark all gained
Marks & Spencer is facing legal action following allegations that staff and customers at three of its stores
were exposed to asbestos during refurbishments
Matalan suitors are baulking at the £1.5bn price tag put on the value chain
Sainsbury's
Supermarkets
has announced that it will dramatically cut its packaging requirements for its Basics
tinned tomatoes when it switches from using cans to cartons
Snow The continued snowfall across the UK has resulted in unwanted costs for grocers as
they battle to overcome challenges in supply chain
Sports Direct
International's
Mike Ashley is understood to be facing an investigation into possible loans secured
from Icelandic bank Kaupthing
Tesco is trialling a schoolwear embroidery service as it seeks to give parents whose kids need
bespoke uniforms a cheaper alternative to specialist suppliers
Tesco has been left with unusually large quantities of waste after relaxing its stores waste
budget over the festive period, in an effort to boost sales and availability
Ugg and Jimmy Choo have teamed up to launch an ‘Ugg & Jimmy Choo’ women’s
sheepskin footwear capsule collection
VAT Fears have been expressed that VAT may be imposed on food in next year’s Budget.
Politicians are understood to be considering a levy of about 5% on food in a bid to
address the country’s financial challenges
VAT Some leading retailers increased their prices on key lines just weeks ahead of
announcing a VAT freeze, a report claims

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Property
Area Property Partners' Trinity Walk shopping centre has resumed construction
Ikea has bought a retail park in Theale, near Reading
Land Securities is moving closer to starting work on several shopping centre developments, including
The Trinity Quarter Project in Leeds, after the recession delayed progress on the
schemes
Threadneedle Property
Investments
has bought retail centre in Chester, Cheshire, for £27.6m; Holyhead retail park in
Anglesey, Wales, for £8.3m; and Abbey retail park in Daventry, Northamptonshire for
£15.3m.

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Retailer
Results

9. www.snap-shop.co.uk

10. www.snap-shop.co.uk
UK Overview
ONS Retail
Sales
The value of retail sales in December at current prices not seasonally adjusted, increased 2.6% YoY, changing
the 3 month moving average to 2.5%, from 2.4% in November. Value of sales through food stores in December
increased by 5% YoY, compared with 3% in November. The value of sales through non-food stores was up
0.5% YoY, up from 0.3% last month.
As always, Non-Store Retailing & Repair was the best performing sector, with a YoY increase of 4.8%. After a
reasonable increase of 3.2% YoY in November, Household Goods stores showed only a marginal increase of
0.9% YoY in December.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

11. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Internet
Retail
Sales
Based on BRC figures, non-food non-retail sales were 26.5% higher in December YoY, up from 16.9% in
November.
Internet Sales YOY %Change
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ONS YoY % Change BRC YoY % Change
NB: ONS have recently adjusted historical figures, but have given data only back to October 2008. BRC started reporting in April 2009.
BRC
Retail
Sales
Year-on-Year (YoY) total UK retail sales values in December increased 6.0%, while like-for-like (LfL) sales
increased 4.1%.
Retail sales in central London in December were 12.0% higher on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, when
sales had fallen 0.7%, as financial turmoil hit consumer confidence – especially in the City.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

12. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Pedestrian
Flows
SPSL’s Retail Traffic Index for December increased by 27% MoM against November, and decreased by 5.5%
on December 2008. Experian FootFall reported a MoM increase of 18.6% and a YoY decrease of 2.8%
Pedestrian Flows - Year-on-Year Change
-7
-5
-3
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Interest
Rates
In January, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee once again voted to maintain the official Bank
Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%.
Bank of England - Base Rate
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6
Jan-08 Apr-08 Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-09 Jul-09 Oct-09 Jan-10
%
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

13. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Inflation In the year to December, the consumer prices index (CPI) rose 2.9%, up from 1.9% in November. The more
familiar RPI (Retail Prices Index) increased, from 0.3% in November, to 2.4% in December.
UK Inflation (CPI v RPI)
-2
-1
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% CPI RPI
House
Prices
According to the Nationwide index, the price of a typical house rose by 0.4% in December MoM. At
£162,103, the average price of a typical UK property in December 2009 was 5.9% higher than at the end of
2008.
Nationwide House Price Index
-18
-14
-10
-6
-2
2
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10
14
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Apr-
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Jun-
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Jul-
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%
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
YoY MoM 3mma
NB: YoY figures refer to left hand scale, MoM statistics refer to right hand scale. September YoY was flat.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

14. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Consumer
Confidence
The GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index fell by 2 points during December to -19. After a dramatic
increase in the Index from August to October the Index has now fallen back for two months in a row, but
remains much higher than it was a year ago.
GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index
-40
-35
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
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Jan-
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Research by GfK NOPon behalf of the European Commission
%
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

15. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Ireland Overview
CSO Retail
Sales
At time of writing, the most recently published data were for November, when the value of retail sales in
current prices, not seasonally adjusted, was 11.5% lower YOY, decreasing the moving YOY 3 month figure to
–11.7% from –11.1% in October.
The value of food sales in November decreased to -8.9% YOY, and the value of non-food sales decreased to
-15.6% from –17.1% the previous month.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

16. www.snap-shop.co.uk
Inflation in
Ireland
In Ireland, HICP fell to -2.6% in December, while CPI increased, to -5.0%.
Irish Inflation (HICP v CPI)
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
Jan-
09
Feb-
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Mar-
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Apr-
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May-
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Jun-
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Jul-
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Aug-
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Sep-
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Oct-
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Nov-
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Dec-
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%
HICP CPI
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail.

17. www.snap-shop.co.uk
And Finally…
Family Values
Traditionally, January is the busiest time of the year for divorce lawyers, and as the economic situation takes
its toll, January 2010 is unlikely to be any different.
But never fear! If you’re currently thinking of filing or are in the midst of a tricky separation, don’t worry about
trivialities such as who’s going to get custody of the toaster…for Debenhams have launched the perfect
solution; the divorce gift list.
The idea, inspired by the increasing trend for people to celebrate rather than commiserate the end of a
relationship, gives the newly single the opportunity to ask their friends and family to help out with household
items their separation may have left them without!
Unsurprisingly, no trace of the aforementioned service can be found on the Debenhams website!
www.fspretail.co.uk
26/01/10
FSP has gone to its best efforts to ensure this data is correct but the author reserves the right not to be responsible for the accuracy of information provided.
SnapShop Monthly, a benefit of SnapShop Membership, is provided by:
FSP
20 Manor Court Yard
Hughenden Avenue
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP13 5RE
Tel: 01494 474740
Email: snapshop@fspretail.co.uk
www.snap-shop.co.uk
www.fspretail.co.uk