{"id":203360,"date":"2022-04-07T16:10:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T15:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/?p=203360"},"modified":"2022-04-07T18:50:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T17:50:30","slug":"the-interview-simon-quayle-executive-director-shaftesbury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/the-interview-simon-quayle-executive-director-shaftesbury\/","title":{"rendered":"The Interview: Simon Quayle, Executive Director, Shaftesbury"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year marks the 25th<\/sup> anniversary since retail estate investment trust company Shaftesbury PLC acquired the majority of the Carnaby estate in London\u2019s West End, comprising the world famous Carnaby Street and its 13 surrounding streets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going back to 1997, when Shaftesbury was on the verge of making its offer, Carnaby Street was quite a different proposition to what it is today. In fact, it was quite tatty version of its former self, filled with downmarket tourist shops and cheap jeans stores, having once been the epicentre of fashion and the birthplace of \u2018Swinging London\u2019 in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

In the late 1970s and early 80s the area became something of a Mod hangout, retaining some element of cool before its slippery slope into a tourist trap. It was Shaftesbury, headed by the direction of Executive Director, Simon Quayle, who had a vision to return the area to its former glory, with a new strategy focusing on attracting new up-and-coming brands and designers, independents and concept stores from established brands with a point of difference, as well as UK firsts for international fashion brands.<\/p>\n

Quayle tells TheIndustry.fashion about Shaftesbury\u2019s Carnaby story so far.<\/p>\n

How did Shaftesbury come to acquire the majority of the Carnaby estate in 1997?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going back slightly earlier, to 1994, we bought a small lot of properties which included four shops in the south end of Carnaby Street, and a few small shops on Beak Street. We didn\u2019t actually have intentions of acquiring more of the area at that time. However, in 1996, we were approached by Wereldhave, the Dutch company that then owned about two thirds of what we own now, to see if we were interested in acquiring what they had. They were quoting \u00a369.5m for their parts of the estate. It was certainly of interest to us and, because by then we\u2019d \u2018lived\u2019 at the bottom end of the street for two years, we had a bit of a feeling for it. We then got our property agents to help us appraise it and we came to a value in excess of \u00a380m.<\/p>\n

We knew it was going to be a very competitive market, with a lot of people interested, so, because it was a closed bid situation, we actually decided to bid \u00a390m in the end as we believed it was a game-changing acquisition. We completed the purchase in February 1997.<\/p>\n

\"Carnaby

Carnaby Street, 1997<\/p><\/div>\n

What did Carnaby Street look like then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was generally quite tatty looking. If you think of a lot of the shops down east Oxford Street, it was along those lines, though there were a couple of decent stores on Newburgh Street. Carnaby Street was filled with cheap fashion stores and quite a lot of tourist shops with \u2018kiss me quick\u2019 style hats. Not a good look. The reason why the tourist shops came to the fore was because in the 60s Carnaby Street was really the birthplace of British fashion.<\/p>\n

It then had a bit of a lull, but in the 70s and 80s it became a bit of a Mod centre, before becoming a bit of a tourist trap. A lot of tourists and coaches with kids were still coming to the area because they\u2019d heard about what it was like in the 60s. They didn\u2019t have much to spend, they just wanted to buy a hat or something and then go off and do the rest of their tour of London.<\/p>\n

What attracted you to it then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only is it such an iconic location, it\u2019s one of the best locations in the West End of London \u2013 between Regent Street and Oxford Street, with Oxford Circus tube station around the corner and Piccadilly Circus just up the road. It\u2019s the best part of the best city in the world, and with such amazing heritage we saw real potential.<\/p>\n

How did you initially go about changing the look and feel of the area to make it a more desirable place to visit? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a leap of faith. We knew what the potential was, but we also knew we had to invest in it long-term. To a certain extent, we had to take a step backwards before we could go forward. What we effectively set about doing was buying out a lot of the leases from some of the less desirable retailers. For example, the corner unit that is now Office, we originally paid around \u00a3500,000 for the lease from what was a shabby looking jeans centre and army surplus store.<\/p>\n

Referring to Carnaby Street at the time, an amusing cartoon in the Evening Standard said \u2018my dad went to London and all he bought me was this lousy street.\u2019 That kind of summed it up! We knew we had to change that. When we first got involved, we didn\u2019t want to refer to the past at all, because people were so disappointed when they arrived. So, we avoided any real messaging about the past, until we got to a stage where we were confident to talk about it. It is now a destination in its own right again, so we can go back and appreciate the past.<\/p>\n

How did you go about the reinvention? <\/strong><\/p>\n

What we did early doors was called the whole area Carnaby, encompassing 14 streets including Carnaby Street. Though Carnaby Street is very much the backbone, it\u2019s also very much about all the other streets that have their unique character and make the whole. There are stores of different sizes in different locations, with varying rental levels, and with the likes of Newburgh Street, Ganton Street and Marshall Street, we can be more imaginative and creative with who we put in there, because it\u2019s less risky for us and for potential tenants too.<\/p>\n

What was the general retail landscape like when you got properly got involved 25 years ago, and how has that changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we first got into retail, it wasn\u2019t unusual to have a 25-year lease for a shop on Carnaby Street. That whole move away from saying you have to sign your life away for 25 years was probably one of the most important things we made the decision on right from day one.<\/p>\n

Obviously, in the larger shops with higher rents, the leases still tend to be longer, so maybe 10 years now. But, in the smaller shops, the leases are more like five years, sometimes three years. That trend has actually increased, and you will find that most retailers don\u2019t want to take anything on for more than five years, and there\u2019s often breaks put in to contracts where they can opt out if it\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n\n\t\t