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Lone Design Club partners with landlords to host pop-ups in empty retail units

Tom Shearsmith
18 May 2021

Lone Design Club has partnered with landlords up and down the country to activate empty retail spaces, giving small brands access to locations that wouldn't generally be accessible and keeping vacant retail units at bay.

Spaces are being utilised in various ways including becoming shoot locations, hosting various LFW activities, shoppable windows, dark stores, and physical pop-ups.

As partnerships are confirmed daily, the project is gaining momentum, with most recent partners including Cardiff’s St David’s Shopping Centre, Bart’s Square, Farringdon, The Glades, Bromley, and Islington Square.

Lone Design Club CEO Rebecca Morter explains: "Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the landscape of the physical high street has been in a state of flux for some time. With many store closures, more empty units on the high street than ever before, and young designers are struggling to pay rents and high rates, change needed to come. Importantly, we needed to think outside the box and look for new collaborative ways of working.

"LDC are delighted that landlords have embraced the need for change. We’re seeing such a positive impact of these collaborations with massive estates such as South Molton Street, Kenningham Retail, and the City of London Corporation helping to drive this change. Seeing this new format combining so well with our existing pop-up model, we hope to demonstrate to other independents that landlords are open to new, more creative ways of working.  And that these fantastic locations are possible for independent brands"

LDC

With new partnerships now secured well into 2021 for the UK and plans to return to physical activities in Milan, Paris, and Berlin moving into 2022, LDC is becoming a driving force in the movement to save the high street.

Tom Ridge, Asset Manager at The Crown Estate, commented: "Lone Design Club is a cutting edge concept, which speaks to consumers who are increasingly wanting digital experiences from retail. It has been great to see the success of its two pop-ups in the Regent Street portfolio, which opened at the end of last year. We look forward to continuing to work with Lone Design Club and other new innovative brands as we evolve our offer to reflect shoppers changing expectations."

Heinz Kloihofer, Experiences Manager at Landsec, which manages St David’s, added: "We’re excited to host Lone Design Club and support independent Welsh brands in a unique and interesting way. The shoppable windows add a fun layer to a day out visiting our physical stores and allow guests to experience a wide range of ethical fashion and beauty brands safely as life returns to normality – while also helping these brands reach a wider audience. We hope our visitors enjoy this new experience at St David’s."

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