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We deliver inspirational and effective environments through an approach that is underpinned with realism and a thorough consideration of function, aesthetics, sustainability and affordability.

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Being part of one of the largest design and construction consultancies in the UK, enables us to encompass a global reach and provide specialist European project management knowledge, as well as full cost and contract management services.

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What the future holds for student accommodation

PBSA OR HMO?

According to research conducted by StuRents Limited, a leading service provider for the UK student accommodation sector, historically there has been an impression that a shortage of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) represents a shortage of accommodation as a whole, when in fact 80% of British students executing their contracts via Concurrent, actually chose to live in HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) accommodation.

By nature of design, HMO are more affordable to build and for students to rent, as these tend to be typically converted houses or flats shared by multiple students. However, HMO tend to have limited amenities. In contrast,  PBSA are specifically designed with student life in mind, and with a variety of communal spaces for studying and socialising, which offer an altogether more attractive student experience. PBSA are often managed by specialised Student Housing Companies, rather than Private Landlords, thus making this a more expensive option for students.

The reason for a substantial proportion opting for HMO is therefore largely down to cost and affordability, with PBSA often seen to be significantly more expensive.

The research also indicates that in contrast, Chinese students still have a significant skew towards PBSA and the prediction is that numbers of Chinese students are expected to further increase in the UK, due to Trump and other countries placing restrictions on Chinese students,  which will have a knock-on effect on the UK rental market.

The impact of affordability

The financial squeeze is making the costs of PBSA accommodation increasingly unaffordable for many, but particularly domestic students. Nobody can argue that the PBSA sector has done much to provide more accommodation for students, whilst also significantly raising their living standards in the process, but there is a growing need for more budget friendly PBSA accommodation. As shared in the StuRents report, “The sector faces a huge challenge in delivering additional stock across the price curve rather than just at the higher end. At the more expensive end of the spectrum, the reliance on the Chinese market is significant. More than 65% of Chinese students were signing contracts at £200pppw or more, whilst for British students this figure stood at just 19%.”

To make delivering more budget friendly PBSA financially viable for developers, options to scale back on ancillary facilities such as gyms and cinema rooms will help save costs, which can be passed to students and won’t impact on living standards, especially when considering how may high street gyms are now popping up near to universities for example.

Location location location

Research shows that London remains the location with the highest number of university place acceptances, and these have also grown in the West Midlands area. When it comes to ascertaining supply and demand, research is paramount to accurately calculate where there is an under supply, and hence where opportunities exist for development. Recent Office for Students data shows that overseas student numbers are rising in cities such as Birmingham and Bristol, but declining in Leeds and Sheffield, and that in  the past year, 40k beds have been submitted for development nationally. Most of these are concentrated in major cities, with London leading, followed by Glasgow.

The effect of the Renter’s Rights Bill

If an HMO has five or more unrelated occupants, it’s considered a “large HMO” and therefore requires a license from the local authority. However, new laws such as the Renters’ Rights Bill, expected to come into effect in the summer of 2025 could lead to the biggest regulatory shake-up in recent memory for the HMO market. This is because, while it will spell the end of the fixed term contract and offer greater rental flexibility, HMOs also face having to get their accommodation up to EPC B as part of new regulations, and the cost to some of doing this will make it unviable for them to continue to rent the accommodation. This could also easily lead to a reduction in supply and an increase in rents, which would be detrimental to British students, as they make up the largest proportion of this market.

The impact of BTR

BTR can offer students a compelling alternative to both PBSA and HMO for numerous reasons. For starters there is the advantage of location, as may BTR properties are central, close to universities and near to amenities such as shops and gyms. Being newly constructed, and offering flexible contract lengths and occupancy start dates, makes BTR an often more attractive and viable housing choice for students who are seeking value and quality. Also, with PBSA creeping up in price, there is less of a differentiation between PBSA and BTR financially. Currently, anecdotal evidence indicates that student occupancy in existing BTR is steadily gaining traction.

The right marketing strategy

Nicole Eve, who heads up the rental sector at Focus Agency Group, including PBSA, also highlights the importance of marketing in a successful PBSA asset: “Creating and implementing a marketing strategy that is based on strong insights of target audiences for the development is fundamental. This includes creating the right brand for the asset to appeal to students and their parents, the media and organic channels it appears on to position the asset front and centre at the key decision-making times, as well as the key messaging needed for the wide variety of platforms, to engage and build an affinity with potential residents.”

The opportunities

Outside of London, it looks as though demand for PBSA will grow faster than supply. As the report states, “Taking into account core PBSA demand, and adjusting this to factor in a proportion of the returning domestic market and regional cities could require a further 250k beds by 2028. Including London, this figure balloons to 330k, highlighting the significant shortage in the capital.”

Aside from new build, there are plenty of opportunities to transform redundant office blocks and commercial spaces into student accommodation, which is something we have considerable experience in delivering. Office blocks lend themselves to this cause for several reasons, with a prime benefit being that so many are open plan. Partition walls can easily divide vast spaces into new living areas. Structurally, large open office spaces tend to be solidly constructed and surround a central service core containing lifts, plumbing, ducts and risers, fire stairs, bathrooms and equipment. Wet areas located against the core can easily be connected to the building services and systems.

There is no doubt that there is still a strong case for investment and opportunities because despite a wave of new developments, there remains an enormous supply-demand imbalance. People are shown to be more likely to opt to attend university during a downturn, which drives demand but in turn they also seek a better rental deal, where quality of accommodation is also paramount.

Factors such as a reduction in HMO accommodation due the Renters Rights Bill and the encroachment of BTR as an increasingly popular alternative, means that developers need to carefully consider creating a variety of PBSA options, and not just high-end, to meet the growing demand for student housing and to harvest the opportunities to be had. This is where the true prospects lie and where the financial rewards can be made.

How designers manage value engineering, without compromising on results

Commerciality of concept is paramount in the current landscape due to the mounting financial crisis. Value engineering should be hard baked into design from concept stage by good designers, and ‘good’ clients with clear aspirations and it should also be applied post-concept. This is due to the often rapidly changing financial circumstances during a project’s development and delivery. Post concept stage VE should be relatively straightforward, because the designer would already know and understand the ‘value’ of every piece of the design and can work with the client to ensure key touchpoints are maintained, and those with less impact are mitigated in cost.

But firstly, it helps to have a clear understanding of what Value engineering is, because it isn’t about making nonsensical shortcuts or sacrificing on quality, but rather about being smart and sustainable. The focus should be on what will work, while cutting out unnecessary costs and materials that do not contribute to quality or the experience. This is achieved through a systematic approach to improving the value of a project, by conducting a detailed analysis of its performance, function and cost and then finding the most effective solutions. Far from limiting the creative process, experienced designers know how to imaginatively solve problems and to optimise Value Engineering, through good design and clever use of materials at the outset.

Making Strategic Material Choices:

For Designers, when it comes to creating and delivering a brand experience in a physical environment, then making strategic choices about the use of materials is essential. Through experience of working with varied and cutting-edge materials , designers are adept at considering alternatives that offer comparable performances, sustainability and aesthetics that can be achieved at a lower cost. Similarly, matching materials with projected lifespan allows for appropriate durability and consideration of cradle-to-cradle use.

Ensuring Design Optimisation:

Streamlining layouts through optimised  space planning will not only maximise efficiency and how elements are used, but will also minimise the use of unnecessary materials, creating less waste. This is where modularity can come into its own, as modular furniture and components not only simplify installation, but can offer a far more flexible configuration of a space, which also contributes to its longevity. Utilising pre site fabrication methods, such bathroom pods for hotels can also reduce costs. There is also scope for repurposing existing elements, which saves costs and offers a more sustainable solution. To maximise value in materials, designers can focus on the use of impactful elements and focal points. These could be eye-catching feature walls, distinctive graphics or unique light fixtures, so that the concept execution is more on quality than quantity.

Embracing Current Trends:

There has been an increasing trend for interiors that appear “authentic,” with exposed brickwork and ceilings and concrete finishes. Rather than a love of brick or steel – it’s a reticence to ‘guild the lily’, to accept that the core material of construction can in itself be appealing if considered from the outset. A good historic example of this is the shuttered concrete of the royal festival hall or the “guts-on-the-outside” Lloyd’s building. Aside from being visually striking, money can be saved by expressing certain elements and features in their raw state. This is something that we recently helped achieve for our client Alo Yoga in their new Covent Garden flagship store in London, which has large areas of brickwork that have been left exposed and a stripped back ceiling. These elements provide an eye-catching, textured contrast against the merchandise and new store fixtures and fittings, while also revealing the integrity and character of the historic building that the store is situated in. These features also advocate sustainability, due to the reuse and potentially upcycling of existing architectural elements and installations.

Collaboration and Communication:

Experienced designers tend to have longstanding and trusted relationships with various suppliers who they can consult with to explore cost-effective alternatives and to negotiate prices. However, communication with the client is also essential in this process, to ensure that they understand and buy into the options and the thought processes at all stages of the project.

Utilising the latest technology:

Technology plays a crucial role in value engineering by enabling efficient analysis, cost optimization, and innovative solutions through tools such as 3D modelling, BIM, and data analytics. We are increasingly providing surveys for clients utilising technology from Matterport. This technology enables us to meet with clients either face-to-face or virtually and walk the prospective sites prior to feasibility stage, and discuss their potential and their challenges with absolute clarity. This ability to easily share with the wider client team means quicker buy-in and efficiency in formalising the final brief, thus adding value to the collaborative process. Furthermore, it allows for the seamless integration into our architecture software such as BIM and CAD for total accuracy and efficiency. This information can then also be shared across other disciplines within our business, external consultants and contractors, to ensure synergy, save time and to negate costly risk of error.

To conclude, the best interiors feel authentic and enjoyable to be in. The design of these does not have to be overly decorative or try to be too clever. People appreciate sustainability, authenticity and brand storytelling above costly components that lack integrity, and this is something that should be the driving force of any value engineering going forward.

Utilising the benefits of Matterport

Tell us about what your job entails:

As a part of the Architecture Division, my role involves collaborating with our clients in the development, management and delivery of projects. These can be for new stores, relocations or refits of existing heritage locations. Some of these involve the development of realistic renders, using Enscape and Photoshop. I have developed multiple standard detail packs, which help to ensure seamless delivery of new concepts and to elevate a brand’s ethos. Many within our company will know me as a custodian of Revit, via my training and supporting new members of the team, my creation of client specific Revit families and templates for company-wide use, alongside constant database maintenance and administration.

What made you want to learn how to use a Matterport scanner:

Through my project work, I have often had Matterport scans shared with me. These are fantastic 3D “twins” of spaces, which allow me to virtually visit locations internationally and provide immensely valuable and accurate insights into physical sites, which is useful in my role to optimise the appropriate layouts. They allow me to enhance customer experiences, by tailoring to real world obstacles that may not be evident in traditional plans and photo accompaniments. It was using these Matterport scans that drew my interest and led me to seek out how they were made and how to further harness these into generating 3D models within Revit. Terry Cowen, Associate Director of Architecture, is also our company champion for Matterport surveys, and he imparted his valuable knowledge to me on a live project site.

How easy was it to learn the skills:

The Matterport scanner, I discovered has a user-friendly interface and Terry provided me with the key principles and a simple workflow to ensure efficient capture. The 3D scanner provides a piece-by-piece amalgamation of the built environment around us in real time, with each placement, making it in turn a captivating enterprise to undertake. Once the site is fully surveyed and we are satisfied with the capture of everything, we upload it into our Matterport organisation account for processing. The next step occurs back in our offices, where we import assets from a Matterport space into a point cloud that we can then see within our Revit interface. A point cloud is a collection of data points within a 3D space, where each point is representative of a specific location. Each point can hold a wealth of additional information that can be extremely helpful in the understanding of locations. The power of this allows for detailed visualisation and analysis of the space where accurate dimensions can be taken, even when there are complex architectural elements.

How do you see this impacting work for architects in the future:

It is already influencing the sector and, in my opinion, will only get stronger and more influential. The reason for this is that it has a use in various stages of a project’s lifecycle. In feasibility and design development, it can provide accurate measurements alongside visual data, which can go on to allow for exploration and refinement to designs. In construction stages, it can allow for reduction in site visits, identification of real-life site conflicts and provide a valuable insight to key stakeholders, resulting in better collaboration on a project’s lifecycle and on completion it is a rapid way to capture an As Built survey. As a global architecture, design, cost and project management consultancy, this is an invaluable tool to provide both creative and practical solutions for built environments.

What are the benefits to our clients:

This technology has so many benefits, but ultimately it will provide our clients with an aid to saving time and money on projects, over and above traditional documentation methods. I can also see that in the marketing and sales future, we will see these 3D models being converted to 360° tours for clients and buyers alike to immerse themselves in the environment and will be a powerful tool to allow businesses to engage on a totally new and unique level with their audiences.

The Build to Rent Boom

According to research conducted by Knight Frank, one of the world’s leading independent real estate consultancies, investment in the UK’s Build to Rent (BTR) surpassed £5 billion for the first time in 2024, and is the fifth consecutive record year for investment. The full year figure stands at £5.2 billion, up 11% on 2023. What this demonstrates is the continued confidence from investors in the sector and that the UK remains an attractive market for global capital, with Knight Frank disclosing that there was a 51% year-on-year increase in cross-border spend in 2024. We look more closely at the factors contributing to this growth and any challenges to overcome.

What is driving the demand

This boom in the BTR sector has been sparked by various factors, but is being propelled largely by the changing attitudes of professionals, who now see renting as a more long-term solution to their housing needs, as affordability challenges make home ownership increasingly unattainable for many of them.

Then there is the fact that BTR projects are purpose-built for long-term renting, and are modern and energy-efficient and often feature desirable amenities such as on-site gyms, laundrettes and shared spaces for socialising. BTR developments also tend to offer on-site management and maintenance, to help provide peace of mind and a more seamless and community-driven living experience. These make them a very attractive and possibly more secure alternative to what is offered by some private landlords.

Diverse housing options

More than 22,300 new BTR homes were completed in 2024, and encompassed co-living, multi-family and single-family housing, which now stands at over 126,000 homes, and is up by 21% year-on-year. A further 57,400 homes are currently under construction and 106,500 have full planning permission granted, taking the total size of the sector to 290,000 homes.

Growth in regional markets

Importantly, the supply also continues to grow in regional markets, with 68% of completions in 2024 outside of London, and being led by Manchester and Birmingham. The North West region accounted for 16% of completions, followed by the South East and the West Midlands. Scotland accounted for 10% of delivery in 2024.

Challenges to overcome

For those not in a specific middle- and higher-income bracket, affordability is likely to be an issue, which might deter them from considering BTR living. However, an increase in options for middle- and low-income renters, such as providing more limited amenities and making the accommodation more basic could be a solution to make it more affordable.

While planning restrictions might also have been an issue in the past, the new government is looking to prioritise tackling the current housing shortage and planning reforms are underway to potentially unlock opportunities.

What the future holds

BTR is transforming the UK rental market and is redefining what renting can look like in today’s housing landscape. If the current growth trend continues, it will become an essential element of modern society in the UK, helping to respond to current housing demands and setting a foundation for future developments.

With investment potential estimated at £100 billion, BTR will expand beyond major cities to regional hubs and ‘commuter locations’ such as Milton Keynes, Bedford and others. This will maintain demand and opportunities for developers and construction service providers, as the appeal of BTR increases for a growing population  in the UK.

We can also expect to see BTR developments integrate more and more sustainable practices, considered and energy-efficient designs and the incorporation of smart home technology. These are set to make them very attractive to the renters of the future.

At the rpa:group, we have been working with our retail clients to explore BTR housing above their stores or on unused land. This is an opportunity to utilise brownfield sites, by making better use of potentially dead space above stores and turning these into much needed affordable homes.  Many of our clients’ sites are in prime locations with accessible transport links, reducing commuting times and reliance on cars and therefore making potential residential development attractive to professional renters from the onset. On a social and economic level, BTR not only eases the housing shortage, but would also bring people back into town and city centres, revitalising deteriorating high streets.

About the rpa:group

With over 40 years of experience in the built environment, our team of experienced Chartered Architects, CIAT Technicians, Quantity Surveyors and Specialists are best placed to help with your next BTR scheme. We will ensure that any proposal made meets stringent planning and building regulations, offering peace of mind at every stage of the project life cycle.

As a multi-disciplinary practice, we offer a range of services, including initial feasibility and viability studies, technical packages to completion, supported by our experienced Design, Architecture, Project Management team.

If you would like our help or would like to know more, please contact Christine Lee RIBA Senior Architect on c.lee@therpagroup.com.

The future of restaurants and how designers can support them

This optimism is especially high for fast food and casual dining restaurants, possibly because they benefit from savings made by bulk buying their ingredients, fulfilling higher order volumes at a fast rate and operating with fewer staff. The report details that nearly half of fast food (44%) and casual dining restaurant owners (40%) said they feel much more optimistic compared to last year, followed by café or other (38%), and fine dining (31%) restaurant owners. In spite of this optimism, no restaurant, whether high-end or fast food, can get complacent. There is work to be done, to make this optimism manifest itself into profitability.

Key factors are at play, which can be utilised to help bring this about.

Technology

The primary use of technology should focus on the seamlessness of the dining experience and responding to the diners preferences – whether advanced ordering prior to seating, easy pay-at-table with QR codes, allowing bill-splitting and electronic payment or inviting immediate resolution of issues with the experience. Advanced review of allergens, tolerances and food preferences is becoming more widespread with potential diners foregoing restaurant locations without this clear information. Advanced booking of areas within the restaurant can be accommodated: quieter spaces for neuro-divergent customers, nearer facilities, speedier casual dine-and-go service can all be managed ahead of time.

Expanding from the core offering

Going forward, we are likely to see an increase in uptake at restaurants that are looking to expand their business outside of their core offerings, in order to respond to the growing interests of customers. This can be as varied as providing meal kits of popular dishes, or selling premade meals and even wine subscriptions, if relevant. It is all about understanding who your customer is and what they want. This is particularly pertinent for Gen Z, which is set to become the largest consumer base, and who claim that their interest would be increased by restaurants that offer additional options such as cooking classes and events, or meal kits and the options to order at a kiosk or through a QR code.

Brands need to ensure they understand their core USP to effectively expand their core offer and avoid diluting their core experience. The expanded offer is to provide a ‘memory’ of the experience to generate an enduring authentic engagement and therefore loyalty – not to replace the offer itself. Additionally, the expanded offer needs to retain the commensurate quality of the original experience to add value or offer something complementary – a sushi offer could, for instance, offer a wider insight into the cuisine, its culture and traditions and encourage the making or purchase of dishes or products that are not practical or commercial to offer ‘in-store’ to retain the core offer.

Flexible and Multi-Purpose Spaces

When it comes to restaurant design, the focus needs to be on the creation of adaptable spaces that are flexible enough to be changed easily to support various needs and events. Elements to facilitate this include modular furniture and movable partitions. Having this sort of flexibility enables restaurants to generate additional revenue by renting out the space for private events, which can provide a valuable extra source of income.

Creating a unique dining experience is another advantage of designing multi-purpose spaces as it is through providing a variety of seating options and décor that restaurants can create a customised environment that is relevant to each event, and that optimises the customer experience by catering to their specific requirements.

Multi-purpose spaces are not limited to dining and hospitality events, as revenue can be generated by creating space for art galleries, pop-up shops and even venues for shows and theatrical performances.

Although flexible, blended spaces are more suitable for the pace of fast and casual dining, careful consideration needs to be given to the core of the experience. This form of disruption needs to address whether ‘mindful’ eating is a concern to the whole experience, and the expectation needs to be clear for the customer, to avoid creating an experience that doesn’t fully satisfy the multiple experiences within the space

Creating sensory symmetry

Creating a congruent experience is a skilful combination of all elements of the brand. Ambient temperature, lighting, music choice and even the comfort of the furnishings all form a synergy and the all-important connection with the customer. Sensory theatre can use contrast to amplify a particular experience (thinking Hestons’ dry-ice…) but it needs to be easily read and understood as part of the experience.

Eco-Friendly and sustainable

As customers increasingly make their choices based on ethics, the future of successful restaurant design needs to focus on sustainability.

Governance of ingredients, procurement and quality staffing are all considerations for the inclusive and sustainably aware customer. Seasonal or low-impact natural ingredients have become a focus – and storytelling around this element is key to reassuring the customer and enhancing the experience. Staff, as in retail, are expected to be sensitive and knowledgeable ambassadors for the experience – fully versed on allergies, tolerances and food choices.

Construction and servicing of the physical environment is also increasingly under environmental scrutiny, all through the statutory approval stages via the design process, with constant efficiency of equipment delivering all important saving for the operator.

Utilising Virtual Reality

Though it might still seem far fetched to some, virtual reality technology is making significant strides in revolutionising the entertainment industry and has the potential to be utilised in the food industry as well.  .

There are so many possibilities that can be explored, such as offering augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technologies to be able to help diners to select a three course meal – complimenting tastes with wine selection etc. based on simple inputs, or to transport them to different environments to enhance their understanding of ingredients and flavours.

There is potential to “blur the lines” between the physical and digital worlds, which can elevating the dining experience to new heights. Regardless of advancements, it is important to bear in mind that technology is 99% a tool for efficiency – not the experience itself.

There are many exciting possibilities to justify the optimism being felt by the restaurant industry. It all boils down to knowing who you are catering for and then creating an environment and a service that is responsible, memorable and ultimately enjoyable.

Airports are becoming destinations in their own right

A surge in the middle class globally, rapid urbanisation, and a rise in disposable income has led to an increasing demand for air travel. Nowadays, more people are choosing to fly for business and leisure, and airports are experiencing an increase in passenger traffic, which is driving the need for additional services and infrastructure. Research shows that the global airport services market is expected to hit around USD 485.99 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 17.09% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032.

For millions of us, airports are as much associated with shopping as travel, with retail still the primary experience at airports, prompting one airport retailer to comment that they are quite simply “huge shopping centres with runways attached.”  Such is the demand for retail space, that large airports like Heathrow have a number of applicants for every retail unit, and have become one of the most sought-after retail locations in the world. Each shopper is around for just 60 or 70 minutes on average, and despite being considered a “captive audience”, they still expect the overall retail experience to be effortless and appealing. The challenge for retailers is that the airport trading environment is nothing like the high street and they are having to work even harder to deliver to customer expectations, as the high street also continues to evolve and to create truly engaging experiences.

For designers, airport terminals can throw up a number of challenges, such as awkward spaces, negotiating brutal commercial deals, retail design management and demands for extra-ordinary concepts and short dwell-time potential. However these can in turn stimulate truly creative responses with hard-edged commercial realities.

We are also seeing a different design approach to Airport lounges, with what were previously rather mundane spaces, now being looked at by designers in the same way that a high-end hotel concept would be. They are gearing towards creating more unique and personal atmospheres, with design elements and technology that are not generally seen in commercial projects. In addition, the boundaries between leisure and retail have become blended propositions, which means that exclusiveness in retail can now filter into these ‘exclusive’ lounge spaces and deliver a VIP experience – mimicking the experiences of the finest shopping malls.

rpa:group has extensive experience in terms of designing and project managing various types of Airport experiences from First and Business class lounges to Retail, Restaurants, Airline check-in and more, which makes us the ideal partner for your next airport lounge project. We are also familiar with the process of obtaining the necessary external and internal airside passes and of navigating stringent airport approvals, managing the coordination of approved consultants and site access for a range of schemes. If you would like to know more, or need our help, please get in touch.

Demand sees surge in office refurbs

Hybrid working has been on the rise since the turn of the century and even prior to the pandemic JLL expected 30% of London’s office space to be ‘flexible’ by 2030, however, it is Covid that has permanently changed the way we work, resulting in a surge in demand for flexible workspace globally. This is helping to generate the largest increase in the refurbishment of office buildings since 2020, as demand from workers shifts to the highest quality and flexible spaces and embracing of new working practices.

Comments Geraint Evans, Managing Director of Office Network Global, “Changes to employee rights in the UK will only increase the migration to flexible working when the Flexible Working Bill achieves Royal Assent later this year. The Bill enables employees to request flexible working changes to their job role even before they start work, with each request having to be considered and only dismissed with good reason. Recent CIPD research shows that 6 percent of employees changed jobs last year specifically due to a lack of flexible options and 12 percent left their profession altogether due to a lack of flexibility within the sector. This represents almost 2 and 4 million workers respectively and will undoubtedly result in further alterations and refurbishments as business leaders and landlords strive to accommodate accordingly.”

The Summer 2023 London Office Crane Survey carried out by Deloitte found that the number of office refurbishments across the capital hit a record high in the period between October 2022 and March 2023.

Margaret Doyle, chief insights officer for financial services and real estate at Deloitte, has said: “Tenants’ shift toward quality over quantity has led to desire for attractive, sustainable, well-kitted out spaces, close to transport hubs and amenities.”

This is having a ripple effect with new infrastructure and expanding transport links such as the new Elizabeth Line helping to attract people to previously overlooked areas, such as mid-town and the eastern fringes of the city.

Another influencing factor is the need to bring offices up to scratch legally – especially in terms of energy efficiency – which is set to drive London’s development for the rest of the decade. The letting of commercial space with an EPC rating below E becoming soon becoming unlawful, has initiated 37 new retrofit and refurbishment schemes, providing nearly 300,000m2 of workspace, the highest since Deloitte began tracking activity in 2005.

Recently released figures by Industry analyst Glenigan also show that planning approvals on detailed office schemes in the past three months were up 8 per cent on the start of the year, and 31 per cent on last year, in a clear sign that this sector is not showing any signs of slowing down.

With nearly 40 years of experience delivering construction services including PM and QS, Architecture and Design, in the commercial sector for clients such as WeWork and PVH’s UK Head Quarters , rpa:group is your ideal partner for your next office scheme.

The 15-minute city

Perhaps the only advantage we can extract from the recent global pandemic is that we have learned to be more “local”. We have worked from home, shopped in the vicinity and learned to extract the most we can from our immediate neighbourhoods – and this notion seems to have stuck as we return to some form of normality.

In my own small village, I have recently seen new wine bars, eateries and a number of artisan shops open that sell local produce. This is breathing new life into a tired little high street and is helping to create a thriving local community that answers local needs.

The notion of a thriving local hub that fulfills the needs of its community isn’t only restricted to small communities such as my village. I recently heard about the concept of the “15 minute city” and having delved deeper, have learned that entire cities can also serve their local communites within them,  when they provide everything the local community requires within a 15 minute radius.

The concept “The 15-minute city” has been inspired by French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno. He believes that in cities both large and small, our sense of time has become warped by all the hours that we spend navigating our urban landscape. He feels that cities should in fact be responding to our needs, rather than vice versa.

His concept highlights that it can and should be attainable for people to have access to everything they need within a 15-minute walk or cycle of their dwellings. The six essential functions within this radius should provide living, working, commerce, healthcare, education and entertainment. This in turn makes neighbourhoods ‘human-sized’, accessible and easy for all who dwell within them.

The framework of his model lists the four components to consider as density, proximity, diversity and digitalisation. In regards to density, Moreno cites the work of Nikos Salingaros, a renowned mathematician known for his work on urban, architectural and complexity theory and design philosophy. Saligaros theorises that an optimal density for urban development exists, which encourages local solutions to local problems.

Proximity refers to both space and time. In an increasingly “time-poor” society, having everything we need in close proximity aids our quality of life and reduces the amount of space and time necessary for each activity. We can also consider the environmental impact. Simply put, less driving means less pollution.

Diversity refers to mixed-use development and facilitating diverse and multicultural neighbourhoods, both of which can inherently improve the urban experience and boost community participation in planning processes.

The final element is digitalisation, which is a key aspect of the 15-minute city. The mammoth enhancements in technology in what we may call the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”has given us all access to a connected and virtual world. Online communication and shopping makes everything easily accessible from our own homes.

When these four components combine on a mass scale, the results are accessible cities, which provide a higher quality of life and that are green and sustainable for all who live in them.

The department store dilemma

So, what is to become of these extinct department stores? Clearly something needs to, because space that is no longer fit for purpose has a materially adverse effect on society. Mark Burlton, MD of Cross Border Retail Ltd, a global independent retail real estate business agrees. “Even though many have heritage and are significant landmarks to which people hold an attachment, empty or abandoned buildings emit a sense of local economic distress and impact the perception of the surrounding area.”

This is when we can draw inspiration from the past. For hundreds of years, our high streets were buzzing and multi-faceted hubs, serving the local community with a thriving mix of retail, residential, services and hospitality. Over time, retail cannibalised these and the bubble has now burst.

Nigel Collett, CEO of architecture, design and cost management consultancy, the rpa:group states that what the pandemic has emphasised, is the value of community. “During lockdown, we have spent an unimaginable amount of time in our own neighbourhoods, relying far more heavily on local shops and services during this time.” He adds that this feeds into something referred to as hyper localisation, where the services providers and retailers of a community can directly understand and respond to the needs of the people living within it. “As the new normal will see many more of us working flexibly and spending more time at our homes and surrounds, it is the right time to reintroduce more community relevance and empty department stores can help,” he says.

This is because as we live a more local existence, our essential needs all need to be met and there is still a requirement for some retail, but it will be condensed. There is also opportunity for the introduction of more pop-up, adaptable event spaces, leisure and hospitality and the provision of fitness and healthcare centres. With flexible working becoming the norm, there is going to be a need for co-working spaces and “business hubs” and childcare facilities to support these, which can be accommodated by vacant department stores. “Large empty stores are usually spread over three of four floors and the space can be carefully divided up. Natural daylight is a challenge as their floor plates tend to be large, but there is scope to introduce light-wells, which make the spaces more versatile”, states Nigel.

“Structurally, many department store buildings having flat roofs, and there is opportunity to build onto these and have outdoor entertainment spaces and roof gardens or airspace hotels or residential units,” adds Nigel. Mark agrees  “Airspace construction tends to be more modular and more easily supported by the existing structure of the building. Including residential will bring more people back into towns and city centres, which is what we need.”

Like anything, there are challenges that need to be overcome.

At the onset, a detailed study would need to be carried out to foresee exactly what the needs of the local community surrounding the empty store are and to prevent any replacement being a “five minute wonder”, as Mark puts it. “Staying relevant and responding to these is the most important first step, to ensure the social and economic benefits of repurposing the retail space. A local solution needs to be taken into account and this will result in diverse outcomes”, explains Mark.

As an example, the old Debenhams site that occupied 80,000 square feet in London’s Southside Shopping Mall is being transformed into London’s first active entertainment venue, which includes a Japanese E-karting area, bowling lanes and various hospitality offerings.  Further afield, an old Macys store has been transformed into a secondary school. “In both of these instances, how these buildings are repurposed is in direct relation to answering a local need,” states Nigel.

Like anything, there are challenges that need to be overcome. Mark warns that landlords will need to be convinced that a change of use is in their best financial interest. “Local councils need to lend their support to help uplift the area. From a planning perspective, the recent government guidelines stating that planning permission is not needed for change of use needs to be approached with caution.” Nigel agrees and adds “Architects can help ensure that the character of the building is not lost and that the space is divided and utilised in the best way possible, with full safety and quality practices in place.“

We also cannot ignore the fact that repurposing multi-level retail stores is expensive and architecturally challenging and all the more reason why an experienced architect is essential. And yet, done properly, these present a strong opportunity to transform dead spaces into engaging and commercially viable ones that are adaptable and future proof, no matter what may lie ahead.

What will 2021 and beyond hold for Architects?

A RIBA statement in October last year, revealed that over £3.5 billion of work was scrapped, with a further £7.5 billion on hold. There is no doubt that times are tough and as a result, competition is fierce, which is bringing about a “race to the bottom” on price. It is up to the industry to retain consistency and standards without compromising on quality, which occurs when costs and corners are cut.

For architects involved in retail, there are additional challenges due to the pandemic escalating the popularity for online shopping. The customer journey is changing, and we need to respond to this across both the retail and hospitality sectors, by looking into placemaking and taking a multi-faceted approach. The role of designers should be transforming experiences and collaborating in a more community-driven environment. There are going to be opportunities for architects as spaces need to be repurposed to adapt to the rapidly changing market and make them work differently.

Post pandemic, making people feel safe is going to be an important criteria in how space is utilised. Airport lounges for example will increase in numbers and popularity, as people feel safer in less crowded spaces and will be prepared to pay for this premium.

The pandemic has highlighted the opportunity to be innovative. We will start to see the regeneration of town centres, with vacant office and retail units making way for more placemaking facilities, with spaces for people to live, work and play.

What of rural areas? There is concern over the impact that Brexit has had on these communities, which have seen funding all but disappear. Rural estates need to be optimised to work a little harder, and to look into opportunities for change of use, such as including holiday accommodation, conference, leisure and lifestyle facilities.

And what of London and the larger cities? Interestingly, certain sectors respond more slowly to change, and what is referred to as “critical impact” can take up to three years. What we will start to see more of is changes to the profiles of buildings and some environmental changes, with more and more green spaces.

Overall, there is optimism about the residential sector. The large government debt will see the need for more jobs to be created, to generate taxes to help the economy recover. This will result in more employment in the construction industry. Advancements in construction methods will be explored more than ever, prioritising the use of off-site modern methods of construction (MMC) to deliver homes at a faster pace than traditional methods.  Schools can also take advantage of this form of construction to speed up the shortfall.

However, off-site needs to think very carefully about the environment and sustainability, for what is basically moving boxes of air over vast distances. A way round this is to source things as locally as possible.

There is no doubt that sustainability is going to be increasingly important regardless of sector. With government targets set to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, advancements in technology can support this initiative by utilising collaborative tools such as BIM level 2, which gives an accurate picture of  initial costs and whole life costs, encouraging clients to implement sustainable solutions upfront. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) will become an increasingly important factor in architecture, being the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

In conclusion, there are certainly going to be challenges, but also opportunities that arise from the shifting needs for buildings and spaces and how we will use them.

Why hoteliers should be refurbishing during a pandemic

This is when operators who have planned for a refurbishment scheme have the upper hand. One of the key factors when undertaking works is to avoid disturbance to guests.  With many hotels now at low or zero occupancy, disruption is at a minimum and works can happen more quickly and efficiently.

The government is currently assisting the hospitality industry by helping with staff costs, and this support offers an added reason why hoteliers should be using this time to carry out refurbishments, if they can afford to – it’s as simple as that.

Having a strong procurement plan and committing to a programme with realistic deliverables and timescales is essential. This is where it is prudent to obtain the support of an experienced Project Management and Cost Management team. After all, there is no point in undertaking a rejuvenation scheme if it becomes sabotaged by spiralling costs and unnecessary delays.

Thinking ahead, what customers will need more than ever is reassurance that the hotel they are checking into is a safe place to stay. Aside from reconfiguring guest flow and ensuring communal spaces adhere to social distancing guidelines, some operators are installing thermal CCTV systems, where cameras can take up 30 people’s temperatures as they walk through the door.  Guests are also more likely to spend increased amounts of time in their rooms, where they feel more secure and so these need to offer more than just somewhere to sleep. This could require repurposing areas of bedrooms, for the provision of adequate working facilities. Other increasingly important criteria will include proper entertainment, fast and reliable Wi-Fi and up to date technology.

So, whether hotel operators can embark on large-scale refurbishment schemes, or a series of small but important upgrades, they should be using this time to implement these, ready to entice and reassure future guests when normal travel resumes.

Generation Z are the unlikely saviours of physical retail

According to Bloomberg, around 95% of them visited a physical shopping centre in a three-month period in 2018, as opposed to just 75% of millennials and 58% of Gen X. Also among the researchers was The Grocer, which undertook a major pan-European study that targeted 50,000 adults across 11 countries. What was revealed, was that nearly 22% of Gen Z (aged 18-24) do their research and purchasing in-store, compared to the milennials (people aged 25-34) who came in at just 14%.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic further bolstering online shopping, the convenience of which already being long accepted; why would this group seek to congregate in shopping centres and on high streets? We strongly believe that it is the need for social interaction that is driving this. Think back to the typical “all American” teen movies and inevitably, the social setting for public interactions was “the mall”. However, back then a few fashion retailers and a fast food outlet or two sufficed in keeping the typical teen entertained, but not anymore.

The Generation Z shopper wants an experience that offers ease of use, entertainment, flexibility and immediacy; in other words, much the same as if they are having an online interaction and it is up to the brands to create environments that support this. It is all about breaking the mould, bringing down the barriers, using a lot of imagination and not being afraid of trying new things. In short, there is a need to facilitate the opportunities that create memorable moments and experiences for the Generation Z consumers, which when successful will make them the ultimate brand advocates.

A panel discussion about the future of shopping centres discussed this in detail at the RetailExpo in London. On the panel was Kathryn Malloch Head of Customer Experience at Hammerson, who summed it up by stating, “They must be entertainment venues and not just about shopping.”

Sue Shepherd, General Manager of London Designer Outlet in Wembley, part of the biggest urban regeneration project in the EU agreed. “More than ever, shoppers want an experience, rather than just the option to purchase.”

There is no doubt that retail landlords need to be supporting this and looking at the use of space, to allow for the diversification of the experience. As Kathryn explains, “Traditional anchors are moving. People are coming more for a day out and we need to look at the mix of leisure and retail.” She also went on to explain that there is an opportunity to repurpose redundant department store space, in order to facilitate this growing demand for a variety of experiences. “ People want to do more, rather than buy more,” she added.
A strong example of this is Birmingham’s Bullring, where the mix is constantly changing and evolving. Kathryn explained that there is a strong drive to support local brands, that is involving a move away from the mass market, into something different. This is being bolstered by offering less long-term and more short-term rents, an increase in pop-ups and space for independents, supporting the all-important appeal of localisation.

There are other things that shopping centres and high street retailers can do to attract the Generation Z demographic; events being one of them. Interactive digital displays, increased VR, light shows and artist and celebrity experiences go a long way in increasing the all important dwell time. If the shopping area is located where events happen anyway, then finding ways of making the customer experience easy and effortless, go a long way to increase loyalty.

Sue Shepherd explains. “In Wembley, there are events happening frequently anyway and our focus is more on the overall guest experience.” The solution was to launch a digital experience called “drop it”, which allows customers to leave shopping in the stores, which a concierge collects and arranges to have delivered to their homes. It is all about identifying “pain points” and responding to them.

Research plays a key part in discovering what drives influencers and spend. As previously mentioned, although this generation prefers physical retail, they still want the convenience of the online experience. Developing street style apps, offering click and collect and free delivery and using analytics, will all help to deliver this. Ibeacon and tracking technology allow the affinities between brands, based on consumer behaviour to be analysed, creating better zones and shopper journeys. The relevance and tailored communications that can be offered back to customers as a result of this, via for instance Geolocation software, cannot be underestimated.

In the shopping centres and high streets of the future, we are more likely to see an increase in curating consumer lifestyles. These may well include bespoke offerings such as supper clubs, sushi masterclasses and exclusive events and rewards for local residents only. We are also likely to see an amalgamation of areas, to include mixed-use developments more co-working spaces and possibly even medical and educational environments.

In conclusion, they will become giant “Ecosystems” that facilitate a lifestyle and answer a need. There will be a frictionless experience across brands. They will be very high-tech, but there will always be a place for good service, personalisation, and engagement.

value and values…

The speed at which retail theory evolves has meant that the language and terms we use quickly become overused, obsolete and obfusticated. This means goodbye to ‘experiences’, ‘omnichannel’ and ‘phygital’ and our associations with them. This also reduces our ability to clearly define our brief and brand expectations. However, there is some enduring retail language worth investigating further, to gain a more insightful view of how we might approach this evolution.

Let’s consider ‘value / values’ as a persistent term, associated with retail…

A brand’s value could be said to refer to its customer’s relationship to the product or service and the financial worth attributed to it. As this is calculated on investment in marketing versus uplift, and is exclusive of cost and margin it is sufficient to measure Return on Investment. However it begs the question: Where is the longevity in the relationship? In this sense, Value is subjective and reliant wholly on a brand’s marketing skills to establish and maintain this. The ‘storytelling’ is unilateral, non-interactive and lacks true engagement. We experience this historically in the cosmetics industry, witnessing a pot of cold-cream, increasingly miniaturized, slathered with impenetrable pseudo-scientific jargon and afforded an exorbitant price tag related to perception, but not necessarily performance. Brand loyalty in this case is garnered only by the psychology of limitation and the need for ‘the latest’, not necessarily ‘the best’.

A brand’s Values however, when carefully considered and delivered, can significantly alter this dynamic. Values are inherent components of the human individual that govern selection in most things. They are subconscious and can be subjective, but share commonality that is regardless of gender, race and social background. If you are able to appeal to the fundamental psychological level of shared human values, empathy is generated, inclusivity prevails and lasting engagement is the result. Let’s not forget that humans process their relationships with brands, with the same part of the brain that they use to generate and evaluate friendships and social bonds. If brands and designers engage with and stimulate this process in the same way, through generating genuine empathy and understanding, a lasting retention of the brand experience is created. It results in authentic engagement, and trust – friendship in other words.

So, the ultimate question no doubt is how do designers appeal to these values? Reflecting on the time-poor nature of many consumers, the brand message needs to be focused both on individual relevance and wider cultural inclusion. Generosity, inclusivity and wellbeing are just three arenas in which we to battle for the hearts and minds of customers. We see brand generosity increasingly reflected in conversion of prime retail space, into complimentary service areas. L’Occitane and Lululemon, both on London’s premium Regent Street estate, dedicate their first floors to a focused extension of the main brand. Make no mistake, these are conceptually indulgent, committed, beautifully designed environments, devoid of direct sales and suggesting a wider world beyond the brand. Inclusivity and empathy with alternative social and cultural sectors generates that fundamental feel-good factor, especially alongside the feelings of indulgence during purchasing. US online retailer Zappos understands this and parallel with their retail website has a compelling, but most importantly, easily realised methodology of donating used goods. The customer simply prints and attaches their own label to a box of donations and drops them in the post. Domestic and foreign charities benefit, and allow selection of specific destinations. Physical ease and altruism are a winning formula

Wellbeing and social conscience continue to be enduringly historic on the high street. Arguably, Anita Roddick began to extol the virtues of brand Values with the first UK Body Shops in the late ‘seventies, infusing the brand with ethical sourcing and moral leadership. That trend extended to physical health over a decade ago with Innocent Smoothies 5 for 5 cafes, aiming to serve 5,000 people their 5-a-day for a fiver. We now see slowly increasing focus on mental wellbeing, with active wear brand Ivy Park consulting mental health charity MIND, to help positively empower women by increasing self-esteem. Similarly Boots is focusing on positive engagement with teens regarding their mental and physical wellbeing.

How do designers initiate this process with clients? It all leads back to Values. We need to remember that our clients are human too. Engagement and empathy with their brand aspirations is just as important as translating it for their customer. Understanding the traditional ‘goods-for-money’ transaction is dead. We need to embrace the fact that information is the new currency and investing in understanding any customer or client, taking time to listen and empathise is going to give us a return on experience.

evolving retail: why retail brands are moving from traditional retail spaces

We will see physical shopping undergo a dramatic transformation and in the next few years, it could morph into an activity that is driven almost entirely by experiences and interactive technology.  Stores will become places where customers get to try things on, or test and interact with products in person but don’t actually buy anything at the time, opting instead for the convenience of delivery of their purchases at a time and place that suits them. So, if shopping is becoming all about the experience, then for some retailers, there is a need to adapt their stores,  in some instances even extending their presence beyond them, in order to deliver a truly immersive and flexible experience to their customers.

Pop-ups have been around for a while now and won’t be going anywhere fast, because how better to offer flexible and immediate engagement with prospective customers? We see pop-ups within larger “host” stores and within shopping malls, but what about within transport hubs, gallery spaces, markets and at events? The beauty of the pop-up is that intrinsically the essence of it is temporary, providing intrigue and a sense of urgency that will entice customers, who by the very nature of being human, do not want to “miss out”.  Benefit Cosmetics recently devised a novel way to boost brand experience, by opening the world’s first “Beauty and Brows Popup Shop” close to the Glastonbury festival. The drive-thru format enticed festival-goers stuck in crowds and traffic, to meet beauticians and shop assistants, who provided them with advice and goodie bags.

A step beyond a pop-up, is offering mobile shops, that actually take the brand to customers –  something we think we will be seeing more of.  An excellent example of this is Casper, a USA mattress firm, who has rolled out “napmobiles”, where potential customers can road-test foam mattresses inside a refurbished camper van, before electing to purchase online. However, retailers don’t all need to be mobile or have a pop-up to offer immersive retail experiences to their customers. As long as they can delight and engage and leave a lasting resonance, then brand loyalty will be formed and retained.

The Museum of Ice Cream is a great example of this.  Being neither a museum nor a shop, it sells tickets to a series of garishly coloured installations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Once inside, the very essence of the joy associated with ice-cream is morphed into an experiential interaction, as visitors find themselves immersed in a theme-park type of experience, with engaging things to do rather than buy – such as a giant pool of sugar sprinkles to jump into, an ice-cream themed climbing wall and a giant banana swing.

In the UK, a pioneering social enterprise called Meanwhile Space has forged a series of ground breaking partnerships with local authorities, public bodies and companies to utilise vacant and unconventional spaces, such as disused office blocks and vacant railway arches, turning them into retail and hospitality spaces.  Similar to Box Park, Blue House Yard is one such example, and is a redevelopment and re-imagining of an empty and underused site near Wood Green station, that today offers the local community a bustling mix of retail, hospitality and social spaces, creating local interest and breathing new life into a dying area.

The House of Vans in London is another thriving location and one where art, music, BMX, street culture and fashion converge. The 30,000 square feet building encompasses a cinema, café, live music venue and art gallery, while the bottom floor holds a concrete ramp, mini ramp and street course. Designed by skaters, the park is free to use and customers are encouraged to walk in on the day. What The House of Vans has very cleverly done, is create a space that epitomises its brand identity, by creating a fully interactive and experiential space where young people can shop and socialise.

Whatever the space, retailers need to ensure that they offer quality, as well as originality,  creating a point of difference from competitors. In the same way, customers have also come to expect the unexpected, and providing this will help deliver a key point of difference and form an all important lasting impression.

educational environments: 5 key drivers of change

“Form follows function” a principle associated with 20th-century architecture, denotes that the shape of a building should relate to its intended function. Problems arise when the function no longer fits the form for which it was intended. Previous teaching methods involved a teacher needing to be seen and heard, demonstrating what was being taught via a two dimensional surface. The best way to accommodate this was rows of desks in a rectangular room, all facing the front. However, numerous factors have influenced and changed the way we teach and learn; and trying to squeeze these into traditional teaching spaces is like forcing a square peg into a round hole…

 

 

Why Symbiotic Retail Space Works…

There is no doubt that big changes are afoot and retailers need to adapt in order to prevent themselves from toppling over the edge.

Customers have come to expect more from their retail experience than just the exchange of goods for cash. They can easily undertake this sort of transaction online, so if they have taken the time to venture into a store, they want to be entertained, engaged with and to be made to feel part of a community. With the interaction between retailer and customer becoming more personal, and technological advancements meaning that stores are becoming more like showrooms; stores no longer need to tout everything they offer. Gone therefore is the need for gigantic retail spaces in which to display lots of merchandise. With many retailers still beholden to long term rentals or not wishing to give up prime locations, what does this mean for all the resulting surplus space?

The good news is that excess space can be turned into a great opportunity for retailers. Increasingly, we are seeing some of this being used to accommodate “pop-ups”, which is a perfect example of a symbiotic relationship in that the host retailer benefits from extra capital, the pop-up retailers are provided with a low risk platform to trial their brand to a relevant target market, and customers are offered a more varied environment to engage with.

We are also seeing space used for integration of brands, such as Sainsbury’s incorporating Argos concessions in their stores, which in turn drives footfall and looks to transform the grocer into more of a department store. Not to be left behind, we are seeing some department stores also adapt to new demands and expectations, such as Selfridges incorporating a “silence room”, the perfect antidote to a busy and often overwhelming retail environment.

Utilising space to incorporate coffee shops and restaurants also increases customer dwell time. Book shops have been successfully doing this for years and our client Tommy Hilfiger has recently added a People’s Place café for customers to linger over a latte. The House of Dunhill was an early pioneer to offer some “non retail” space to add value. We worked with their internal team to develop the retail and club concept in their Mayfair flagship, which gives members access to a suite of facilities; including a historic humidor, traditional gentleman’s grooming salon, private club rooms, dining and a private cinema.

Lululemon offers free yoga and fitness classes in many of their stores and we helped our client Adidas transform an original bank vault in a listed building in Barcelona into what has been dubbed “The activity room”, which is used for fitness classes, product demonstrations and guest appearances from sports celebrities.

Ultimately, whether extra retail space is utilised for pop-ups, hospitality and leisure space, or as a social “hub”, it is essential that it both compliments and reinforces the brand ethos of the retailer that offers it.

omnichannel is the only road to success for car dealerships…

For many of us, the stereotypical notion of buying a car involves an over enthusiastic salesman, peddling his deals among rows of shiny motor cars on a large forecourt. But changes are afoot…The technological advancements that can be seen and felt in retail and hospitality environments, combined with the relentless march of online selling; have not spared the motor sales industry.

For starters, consumers are increasingly embracing the web as a means of purchasing goods and services. According to research, in 2017 approximately 87% of U.K. consumers have bought at least one product online in the last 12 months, with the UK being second only to Norway in making e-commerce purchases in Europe.

Car purchasing is becoming no different. Accenture recently reported that some 80% of all research into buying a new car is conducted online, with car buyers subsequently visiting fewer than two dealerships on average. So, while physical car dealerships are still relevant, it is crucial that automotive retailers find innovative ways to address this change in consumer behaviour. It is more important than ever that car manufacturers and dealerships create brand exposure in not only the digital, but also the physical world, before the actual need to purchase arises.

The Millennial generation is the fastest-growing auto retail segment, with 35% of all loans originating from this generation and a 49% growth in Millennials’ share for lease contracts from 2012 to June 2016. This generation is clearly interested in acquiring new vehicles and represents a lucrative segment for those dealerships who can make the connection with this group of car buyers, being fully aware and prepared for the fact that they are arriving at the car purchasing process with some completely new expectations.

Older generations are also picking up some new habits. This is because we are all conditioned by Amazon and other online experiences, and increasingly follow omni-channel customer episodes: We research, select and buy cars in different ways to our non-digital predecessors, and increasingly expect the same capabilities and quality of service when shopping for cars as we are accustomed to experience in other aspects of our digital lives.

In the physical world, the wealth of technology is becoming more prominent and is increasingly being used in the automotive industry to drive customer engagement. There are various examples such as Audi launching their very first Digital Showroom, bringing virtual reality (VR) technology and with it a rich and interactive experience, through simulated test drives on London’s Park Lane. Similarly, Jaguar Land Rover offers potential customers a virtual tour of life-sized, as-yet unreleased models, illustrating technical details through added animations. BMW, was also an early adopter of in-store digital technology, offering dealers worldwide a multi-lingual solution, displaying information and promotional material in showrooms, that can be controlled at a local level to meet the specific needs of a dealer’s demographic.

These days, more and more car manufacturers and dealerships are also electing to trade away from the traditional “out of town” forecourts and are instead taking up residence alongside other retailers in shopping centres and on high streets. The benefits to consumers are that they are offered more diversity while shopping, and that they get to touch and experience these cars, creating a connection and a familiarity with the brand, before the purchasing need arises. For retailers and landlords, it is a valuable use of excess space, and leads to an overall increase in dwell time.

For instance, if you visit Bluewater shopping centre, you’ll see a Hyundai store among all the usual retailers. The location of all of the cars out on test are displayed in-store, which creates an engaging visual for passing shoppers. Customers can visit the store to research Hyundai options and make their purchase, with the cars delivered to a place of their choosing. Bentley has opened in the middle of Westfield Stratford, with the introduction of their luxury studio that allows customers to design their bespoke Bentley onsite. BMW Mini has a presence in Westfield Stratford and Tesla has opened showrooms in Westfield White City and Canary Wharf respectively.

There is no doubt that car dealerships are here to stay. However, it will be the ones that continue to evolve, bringing technology, staff and online strengths together and creating a truly omni-channel automotive retail experience in order to meet the purchasing patterns of today’s customer, that will thrive.

New breed of hotels & restaurants want to be one of the locals…

Airbnb’s rallying cry, “live like a local,” is now being applied by hospitality brands to both hotel and restaurant chains, with owners happily embracing the idea by developing localised design that has extra Millennial appeal. All this is changing the face of hospitality, not just in the UK but across the globe. Millennials, with their desire for something new and authentic, are demanding a new style of venue that offers homely, comfortable and interesting looks, often with a retro or vintage twist.

It may all be artfully designed, choreographed and perhaps even ‘curated’ but it certainly has the gravitational pull to attract the right audience and keep them coming back for more. The evidence is certainly there for all to see with successful ventures like the Hoxton group expanding each year.

Hoxton now has two hotels in London and one each in Amsterdam and Paris. Actually inspired by a neighbourhood, closely associated with graffiti artist Banksy and the original White Cube Gallery, the Hoxton ‘brand’ majors on the looks and ambience that intellectually, emotionally and physically engages both the laptop and latte hotel guest and locals who come to enjoy the restaurant and bar. Hoxton and other brands like Ace are taking design to a hyper-local level by using themes that closely mesh with the locality of each site.

Firmly in the vanguard of hospitality’s new radical chic they both challenge their designers to create a venue for guests and locals and above all to create something that enriches the neighbourhood itself. Like others in the new hospitality vanguard, the brand realises that it needs to imprint a strong brand on each of its venues and this is done largely through typography and a ‘look’ that is rendered, albeit with a twist, in every venue. LEON has even dedicated a page on its website to its changing faces which beautifully illustrates the point.

In conclusion, by tapping into the ‘zeitgeist’, with good interior design and excellent service, hospitality brands will be able to deliver the  surprise, standout and authenticity that Millennials want, creating a unifying brand that will fit both the times and the audience.

the future of student accommodation

Overseas students currently represent 1 in 5 of the student body in the UK and have been prepared to pay more than £160 per week for accommodation where concierge services, private gyms, pools and cinemas are considered standard. Post BREXIT, has seen the numbers of foreign students falling, with 41,000 fewer wanting to study in the UK this year. Developers face the prospect of empty accommodation or slashing rental fees.

Future projects will have to adapt to a rapidly changing market. The challenges differ across the regions. Like other areas, London still suffers from fundamental levels of undersupply, with The London Plan suggesting a need for up-to 31,000 additional bedspaces by 2025. In the capital, development has been impacted significantly by high land costs and competition from other uses forcing developers to acquire secondary stock to recycle, rather than build from scratch.

rpa:group have long been involved in repurposing buildings such as redundant office blocks, as well as refurbishing existing student accommodation schemes in response to the demand for elevated student living. We are now involved in addressing a more affordable future where cluster flats of 2 bedrooms and more are proving popular, creating a communal living opportunity rather than isolated studio “boxes” and breakout spaces that reflect the needs of modern students, such as raised seating and work stations with multiple power supplies to support their technology.

As the Huffington Post recently pointed out, when they surveyed students’ expectations; “ students just want good wifi, a large bedroom and a double bed. Even a dishwasher and a tumble dryer could not crack the top 5 student accommodation desires let alone the desire to have a porter service, a gym and a nightclub on the ground floor. ”

Clearly, higher end design will still have a place in some parts of the country but going forward, a more streamlined version also needs to be considered.

If you would like our help with your next student accommodation project, please contact us on 01784 256 579 or send an email to s.cuff@therpagroup.com

Seismic changes can help secure retail’s future…

With so much happening, so quickly, in the world of retail we thought it was high time to delve deeper into the seismic changes affecting our industry, what they really mean for bricks and mortar retailers and how they can be leveraged to improve the future of retail, both for brands and customers. So, in October we held our first ‘Retail Indaba’, staged in Amsterdam, which met with a very positive response from some of the world’s leading retail brands.

Based on a Zulu word, literally describing a gathering for discussion, our ‘Indaba’ was designed to provide an opportunity for brand owners to put some tough questions to both rpa:group and its partners. To this end we selected an expert panel that included a retail psychologist, our own head of design James Breaks and a technology specialist, all under the watchfull eye of Matthew Valentine, the Editor of Retail Design World, who acted as Chairman.

Our overall aim for the Indaba was to stimulate discussion that could be taken back to boardrooms to inform strategies that would drive positive real life applications. It soon became clear that attendees were grappling with some big issues, ranging from ‘omnichannel’ to AI, and that for some these represented untold opportunities whilst for others they represented challenges that must be met head on. We were delighted not only with the willingness of attendees to share experiences and talk frankly about their business challenges, but also with the challenging questions this led to such as, ”How do we ACTUALLY make fundamental changes within big business?” I think we all agreed that change now typifies retail. In the last ten years the humble high street store, still the preferred destination for 85% of shoppers, has gone through more changes than in the past one hundred.

Now a union of online and bricks and mortar, the once simple store is now an immersive brand theatre, incorporating a glorious cocktail of showrooming, digital entertainment and ‘sharable’ experiences. To deal with this change however requires not just a new mind set from retailers but also a new skill set, one that goes far beyond the old transactional paradigm. There was a general feeling from attendees that the Indaba broke new ground for them and that working collaboratively with our expert panel provided the strategy and insight to help them come to terms with some of the tricky issues that can affect all aspects of their brand identity.

“Knowing the unknowns” has become a constituent part of 21st Century problem solving and our Indaba addressed plenty of unknowns presented by the audience. For many attendees, it signposted a way to investigate complex areas such as brand development, retail design and store function. Above all the event illustrated how a team of experts, all from different disciplines, can address retail challenges in real time, delivering insight and strategy into how brands can interface with their customers.

If you would like our help with your next project, please contact us on 01784 256 579 or send an email to s.cuff@therpagroup.com

crossing cultures…

The countries that I grew up in are a melting pot of many nationalities living and working together in relative harmony. It is testament to the human desire (and necessity) to collaborate for the common good that obligates people to understand and respect different cultures, before putting into practice various coping techniques.

Language is the obvious main difference, but surprisingly has the least impact as most of the educated workforce speaks English. While making the effort to learn Arabic is rewarded with great affection from the locals, it is largely unnecessary. What can cause greater impediment is being unaware of the different nuances of communication needed when engaging with different audiences. There are enormous benefits to interactions between people of different faiths, backgrounds and experiences and I look upon my time in the Middle East with enormous affection. As expats we often expect people to adapt to our way of thinking and approaches to work and life, but we would be very well advised to embrace cultural differences for the benefit of all.

Above I outline some customs and etiquette to bear in mind when doing business in the Middle East.

retailers need to be more “chameleon”

The answer appears to be no. Many retailers are embracing omni-channel in a token way. All too often the mindset is bricks and mortar + online + the brand, frequently the missing ingredient of ‘us’ the consumer. Retailers should act more like one of nature’s triumphs: the Chameleon. This fascinating animal is seamlessly and constantly responsive to its local environment and adapts to external factors in an incredibly agile way. It is one of nature’s most flexible and responsive creatures. Omni-channel requires a more flexible and Chameleon-like response to the consumer and the crucible for this interaction is the store space itself. The physical shop should be every bit as flexible as its digital counterpart and both should be mutually relevant to the consumer. Brands need to understand the relationship between physicaland digital experience better and allow themselves time to experiment, innovate and find what is right retailers need to be more “chameleon” In a world obsessed with separation it’s refreshing that retail at least supports an ecosystem fuelled by inclusivity and interaction.

I am of course referring to omni-channel. Here, borders cannot be closed, evolution cannot be halted and output should signpost the desires of future generations. But I have to ask, do retailers really understand how to fully exploit this dynamic ecosystem? within their own ecosystem so they can be flexible and responsive. Apple demonstrated this in 2001. The brand introduced collaborative side-by-side selling with passionate, knowledgeable staff who could respond to customers’ needs, demands and preferences. In essence the brand had created its own customer laboratory, a test bed where customer experience could be placed under the microscope. Since then we’ve seen most other retail sectors adopt the same key concepts. In a word, to be more Chameleon-like. But how many retailers have a store that allows for speedy reconfiguration in response to what shoppers actually want in that particular country, city or specific locality? Some have used a kit of parts approach whereby a new look store can ‘pop up’ through clever used of graphics and modular elements.

Foot Locker’s Sidestep brand, for example, is agile, collaborative, and happy to bury its ego. At the same time, it is able to reflect its core message, react with authenticity and evolve naturally within a unique brand ecosystem. Sidestep has created an engaging environment using storytelling, an ancient and universal form of immersion, as a base concept. The ‘style editor’ staff form an integral part of the experience by garnering feedback. This has allowed Foot Locker to experiment with content, adding and subtracting collateral and gaining feedback from the fiercely loyal customer base before committing to permanent stores. True brand immersion relies on authentic storytelling, skillful editing and the sharing of brand essence. It can be used both to reinforce the brand and to evolve it.

If you get the formula right it can be just as powerful in a Pop-up as a flagship. The only caveat is that the message has to be genuine. Some are getting it right and have understood the Chameleon concept totally, while others’ lack of adaptability and customer sensitivity makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Wherever you find yourself, the end goal should be to use your store as a learning environment, to reflect your customer’s thinking and desires and, most importantly, to be flexible and responsive with the knowledge you have gained. Being a Chameleon doesn’t mean losing sight of your brand truths. It means being able to reflect the thinking of your customers in the appearance and functionality of your store.

six retail design trends to look out for in 2017

Here we share what we believe to be the top retail trends that will dominate in 2017.

James Breaks, Associate Director (Design) – rpa:group.

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chain reaction takes fast food to a new level

The ‘one look for everywhere’ approach, which traditionally made sense and helped to underscore a brand’s identity has begun to look downmarket rather than consistent, and impersonal rather than recognisable. Consumers expect a more premium experience and the cookie-cutter strategy that dominated the sector is rapidly losing traction. Part of the reason is the artisan ethos pioneered by the smaller players. Brands like Bill’s and Leon – both of which have less than 100 UK sites, tapped into the zeitgeist by borrowing design cues from aspirational domestic interiors and as a result made ambiance the essence of the brand. Fashionable industrial lighting, quality natural materials, quirky buildings, intriguing props and unusual artwork give customers an authentic sense of place.

Big brands are tapping into the trend and are making the expression of their identities far more nuanced. KFC, the epitome of a fast food brand – have also been able to make the strategy work. It’s Bracknell outlet launched a radical new look with brick panels, copper lighting fixtures and handwritten signs. The sense of stylish domestic interior is evident through ‘kitchen tables’ with pendant lighting, which evoke the idea of shared family meals, while the semi-open plan kitchen makes food preparation feel more intimate. The iconic KFC colourways, graphics and visual identity take a back seat and allow the environment to become the brand hero. Burger King has also chosen to move away from full on corporate statement with a new scheme that combines copper, brick, bamboo and reclaimed wood. Branding is subtle with logos embossed into solid wood tabletops. These sorts of environments pick up on the UK consumer’s longstanding love affair with property design and interiors.

We have become less impressed with monolithic faceless corporations and want businesses to demonstrate honesty, authenticity and a more personal service. Branding is now about capturing an ambiance rather than corporate colours and a logo count. The fast food sector is particularly vulnerable to this change in consumer expectation and we can expect to see the trend for more intimate, almost domestic environments to continue in the future.

Nigel Collett – CEO, rpa:group.

“Phygital” – blending the physical and digital worlds of retail

The real purpose of phygital design is to create meaningful transactions and here I mean not only the exchange of money but the exchange of information, a limitless transaction without boundaries of physical space and time limits. The presence of this transaction extends into home, work, leisure and all the spaces in-between. Smart Technology is the means of harnessing this endless transaction in our lives, through smartphones, tablets, PCs, TV’s, wearable and even kitchen appliances. By far, the most important part of this connected culture is the two-way nature of the modern Transaction. In exchange for ultra-personalised service, the consumer trades with their personal information. The retail ecosystem uses this to target future transactions and perpetuate the phygital relationship. How then do we harness the power of this Transaction in a Phygital Design? The answer requires a true understanding of the consumer, the shopper tribe frequenting your store and a willingness on behalf of the retailer to embrace change.

First, we must create an experience, not a website, not an environment. This experience needs to deliver three desired outcomes: immediacy, immersion and interaction. Immediacy and Interaction are relatively easy to provide. Immersion, on the other hand, can be delivered through retail theatre, creating incredible environment and amazing spaces. Truly effective, phygital brand immersion needs to be linked with emotion: a bond made at a sub-conscious level and therefore stronger than any consciously generated suggestion. Understanding and addressing all the senses at this level drives massive commercial potential and it’s the clever use of technology that enables it. An unforgettable retail experience is what we are aiming for here, as the visionary Seth Godin said, “If we’re going to shop, then, there’s an imperative to make it engaging, thrilling and worth the resources we put into it.” With a fresh outlook and the willingness to think outside of the retail box, we can create compelling phygital environments. We certainly have the right audience in the 21st century. The tech literate generations X, Y and Z are ready to engage with something new. We live in a world where customers have grown to expect as opposed to desire. Now shoppers simply expect 3D environments to ‘raise the bar’ of retail experience year on year. We are rapidly reaching the point where a lack of phygital innovation will seriously impact the bottom line of brands that can’t keep up. As ever it will be the innovators who set the pace of change and therefore of consumer expectations.

What constitutes excellence in customer experience is being re-defined by the shopper and often goes far beyond a friendly greeting and helpful service. However, I would sound a note of caution here. It’s easy to be led by what you think the consumer wants, or by fads and fashions. There is no substitute for knowing the shopper who buys your brand. Don’t take them on a journey they feel uncomfortable with and don’t disappoint them when they show interest in a destination you have never heard of! Ultimately, Phygital is flexible but you must always make it meaningful.

why are stores being redesigned more often?

This means individual elements have to be completely compatible with existing products, so that they can be used without difficulty and facilitate the renovation and remodelling of the store with as little time and effort as possible. Today’s stores no longer just have to stand up to comparisons with other retailers on location, but are also in a global competition thanks to the Internet. Merchandise and products are available anytime and anywhere thanks to modern mobile devices. Customers get updated with frequently changing content and have come to expect the same in a physical store environment. Flexibility and engaging retail design are by no means irrelevant; customers still want individual and pleasant shopping experiences. Even if many retailers are now also online, the store remains an important component in the marketing mix.

Through store design and store furnishings, central marketing messages can be directly communicated to customers. In addition, they are indispensable to create unique incentives to buy that differ from those on the Internet and from other competitors. Environment, product and customer service defines brand and forms the connection. More than ever, retailers today have to worry about which target audience they want to reach and which channel enables the best and most direct sales approach in certain cases. However, modern shop-fitting does not just cater to the customer, but also to the purchasing situation and the type of products.

In any case, digital presentation media and a comprehensively arranged, flexible shopfitting concept facilitate a perfect target audience adaptation of the store and enables for quick remodelling to support special sales campaigns. This flexibility is also more economical and allows for continuous engagement with customers because it can be evolved and also allows for bringing in local relevance to the environment. With a direct focus on the customer and their needs, retail design creates emotional buying incentives and effective need satisfaction, which online retail is not able to offer customers. After all, sales promoting emotions are still best created directly at the point of sale.

school rebuilds should be about collaboration, imagination and budgeting…

Time and time again we have found that it is entirely possible to improve older buildings, retain their intrinsic character, and even incorporate current and future trends in teaching. As a team we are no strangers to innovative repurposing of buildings to create outstanding educational spaces that deliver a ‘wow factor’ for both educationalists and students. All it takes is inventive and resourceful use of budgets and real collaboration between all stakeholders.

So, what delivers a great school and what are the ingredients that make something leap beyond the mundane and enter the territory of the inspirational? First of all, partnership is vital. Architects, consultants and designers need to work together in a truly symbiotic way and they all need to work with (and understand) those who will use the school – namely the teachers and the students. Understanding their requirements, desires and challenges will go a long way. Secondly, the team needs to both understand and embrace change. All parties should address where teaching will be in say 10-20 years time. This throws up all manner of topics such as, will we still have classrooms as we know them or will we have more flexible spaces?

Our work for King’s Maths School supports a ‘break-out’ strategy, with brightly coloured pods allowing students to work alone or in small groups. We also need to think about some real fundamentals like the use of walls in the classroom. Currently walls are a vital teaching aid that provides show-space for students work, particularly in primary schools. However, walls can be made to slide and fold so that space can be reconfigured. The question is whether this adds to or subtracts from the ameneties on offer to teachers? Overall It’s vitally important that architects and designers challenge schools to think outside the box and if they do, some great things can be done. All it takes is collaboration, imagination and a sensible budget.

How to reach customers not interested in in-store technology

Do we really understand who uses technology and how they want it to operate within a retail environment? Does everybody want their store to have the latest gadgets? Having taken an initial ‘giant leap’ for customer-kind, many stores have become a committed part of the technology vanguard, pioneering in-store solutions that have the ring of science fiction about them: iris recognition, smart changing rooms, near field communications and clothing that can read your moods. They have seen the ultimate promise of ‘big data’ and are working on how to personalise their stores in order to get to know their customers better than anybody had ever dreamed possible.

All this is exciting territory, however, despite the overall trend, it’s inevitable that a significant number of customers will feel disgruntled and even at odds with a brand to which they have previously been loyal. This group will be quite diverse in attitudes: some will not want to fully embrace IT in their own homes and daily lives, let alone want to experience it in-store. Others may actively enjoy technology but be turned off by it in certain situations or environments. Retailers have to think carefully about how to respond to this situation – after all some ‘techno-phobics’ may be their best customers. For a retailer, it’s now all about understanding ‘tribes’ that make up their customer base. Tribes are not brought together by age, gender or geography or even income, but by being like-minded.

We have identified over the past year or so a number of key tribes to assist our clients: the ‘style-conscious tribe’, the ‘value tribe’, the ‘urban chic’, the ‘collaborators’, the ‘iconoclasts’ and many others. Within any tribe there will be sub-tribes and there will also be members of the tribe that cross over between their tribe and another. For example, research has revealed that 63% of shoppers welcome a mobile app personalised to navigate stores and 43% find in-store location deals (where their location is tracked in order to trigger personalised promotions whilst shopping) positively “cool”. Some are delighted to have intelligent fitting rooms that ‘talk’ to them but would be horrified by the prospect of a salesperson greeting them by name when entering a store, after receiving a signal from the consumer’s mobile phone.
In fact, an overwhelming 73% found the thought of that service ‘creepy’ when asked. In addition, 68% of UK shoppers find facial recognition unnerving.

In the light of findings retailers need to identify the tribes in their customer base and create the ultimate retail environment for them, based on an understanding of their motivations, IT habits and general psychology. That is just as important as being up to speed with the latest techno inventions.

impulse purchasing – creating the right store environment for impulse buyers

First and foremost, you need to define the values that make your brand relevant to your customers and differentiate it from competitors. Then it’s about developing an interior concept that communicates those values, attracting customers and enticing them to spend more in-store, via both planned and impulse purchases. To achieve this the store must become a seductive, compelling environment that tells the “brand story”. Getting the right interior look is critical and interior architecture has got to be exactly on brand.

Creating a unique ‘signature’ environment is often about creating an aspirational environment, a sense of belonging.Tommy Hilfiger for example recently converted a listed building in Berlin, which the design team loaded with beautiful antique light fixtures, interesting pieces of furniture, beautiful rugs and comfortable leather sofas and armchairs. These make some parts of the store feel like a very chic home, one that you are excited and privileged to be in. In fact, the store is so beautiful that you ache to take a part of it home with you, and of course you can, because the gorgeous clothes hanging on the rails are for sale! Also, make sure that your store has “speed bumps”: merchandise displays that work much the same way as speed bumps in parking lots: they slow customers down.

One of the best ‘speed bumps’ is the changing room area. If the customer has made it this far, they intend to make a purchase and one might assume that all spontaneity has now been used up. However, this is vital impulse territory. For example, ‘smart’ changing rooms, that suggest items to go along with the one selected by the customer, frequently unlock our impulsive side, bringing what retail anthropologist Rich Kizer calls “merchandise outposts” back into the customer journey. Although, they may have passed the handbags five minutes earlier with no interest at all, having a compatible handbag suggested at this point can often promote the “I need that!” response, which goes on to secure a sale. If you own a retail store you will undoubtedly understand the simple idea that if customers spend more time in your store, they are more likely to spend more money.

US company, Path Intelligence, recently published a report that shows that extending a customer’s visit by 1%, will see a 1.3% increase in sales. Basically, the longer they stay in store the more unplanned or spontaneous their purchases become. So, get the look right, bear in mind dwell time, make people feel happy, indulged and relaxed. You have now set the scene to encourage very profitable impulse behaviour!

showdown… or showroom…

A recent article by market observer TNS claims that mobiles can be used to tame the risk of showrooming by boosting brand interaction with consumers and converting them from browsers into customers. Of the 38,000 people surveyed across 43 countries, 33% had visited a store to try out products without buying them, with 21% using their mobile devices to showroom. This represents a huge opportunity for brands to approach consumers in a buying environment, as these activities say loud and clear that they are ready to interact with brands whilst in a store.

A staggering 20% of mobile users participating in the poll said that they were willing to receive mobile coupons during their shopping trip and 13% would be interested to use the services of a ‘virtual sales assistant’, which could provide additional information about items. Rather than being the IT devil incarnate, showroomers generally just want to find out more about the price of a product and its suitability and they successfully achieve this by reading reviews in social media, from friends and family and sales staff. This suggests that brands need to adopt a more integrated approach that allows for reaching consumers and meeting their needs at all touch points.

Matthew Froggatt, Chief Development Officer at TNS, rounds it all up quite nicely when he says, “Rather than seeing mobile as a threat to in-store sales, brands and retailers must embrace it as the most immediate and personalised way to engage shoppers to ensure that they don’t leave empty-handed.”

Another interesting piece of research, this time from retail training company Beyond The Box, makes another point that can easily be tackled by retailers. It claims that consumers showroom not just to save money, but because staff are unhelpful and ill-informed. The majority of those surveyed felt that retail staff, were failing to ‘connect’ with them or their needs, and that staff failed to ‘explain products and services’ to them. If this is true, there is one major dynamic being overlooked by retailers, today’s customers want information, lots of it, they are price savvy and, both online and in-store, they are looking for exceptional service. Sadly, the research shows that if customers are unable to find an empathetic and informed retail professional to talk with, there is a very good chance they’ll take their business online.

To sum up, UK retailers need to culture showrooming, encourage it, embrace it, and if they do they will benefit, honest. Make friends with the mobile, encourage people to use your store in a more high tech way, and make sure your staff deliver the experience that today’s consumers are looking for.

restaurants: high street newbies get a slice of the action

Established chains like Pizza Express, Mr Pretzels, Hummingbird Bakery and Starbucks are doing well, but there’s no doubt that restaurants still need to find exactly the right interior design recipe in order to succeed. More than ever diners are looking for added benefit, both in the food they eat and in the restaurant environment itself and it’s only those that can tap into the zeitgeist when it comes to their look that will survive the choppy waters of an uncertain economy. Two of the most interesting eateries that we have come across recently are MASH and Moment.

MASH, or the Modern American Steak House, may just be one of those right time right place offerings. The hugely successful Copenhagen Concepts, plumped for Soho as its first foray outside of Denmark and looks like its got a hit on its hands. However, restauranteur Peter Trauboth comments that the brand is going to take it’s time considering whether to stick or twist when it comes to a UK roll out, “it’s one thing to play like a world champion at home but it’s another to go to Wembley,” he says modestly. However, at the moment with rave reviews, things are looking good and the 300 seat restaurant that brings style to steak, is a far cry from your local Angus. But, having said that, a big hit calls for broad appeal, and MASH’s interior design has set out to appeal to women, an American inspired trend that is happening throughout the steak world at the moment.

Can we support the growing numbers of steak restaurants? It would appear that MASH is not life threatening to London’s other high end steakeries although its kind could just sound the death knell for the few remaining Angus Steak Houses. Also, on the wave of a new look is Greggs which has launched ‘Moment’, a Newcastle coffee bar concept that leaves the doughnut and the almond slice far behind. More restaurant than corner cafe it sports chesterfield sofas, discreet lighting, and elegant
coffee tables. It deserves to catch on, but I cannot think why they have retained the Greggs identity on the fascia.

All of this is a far cry from the bakery I knew and loved as a 6th former and, as I pause through my first bite of a perfectly frosted cupcake, I wonder if I’ve fallen into a  parallel universe. It’s only the picture of Greggs fascia board, uploaded by a puzzled Geordie onto the brand’s Facebook page and succinctly captioned: “Explain?”, that brings me crashing back to earth. With its low cost food and high comfort surroundings, Moment is right for an age of austerity where people are looking for alternatives to expensive high street coffee shops. But does it have the magic that’s needed to hack it on the high street? Some soul searching is obviously going on as Tony Rowson, formerly a senior executive at Costa Coffee, has been asked to look at the brand’s potential for a UK roll-out. So, we shall see.

…the future of retail

Apparently women in their 30’s are most likely to rage at the unsatisfactory space allocated for trying on clothes (72%). The study, commissioned by isme, found that fully 75% of women are so fed-up with cramped, cluttered and exposed fitting rooms that they’ve stopped trying clothes on altogether, and 60% of women admit to angrily leaving garments on the nearest rail rather than endure changing cubicle. This is surprising given that according to separate research, 71% of those who try clothes on buy (according to London consultancy Envision Retail), as opposed to just 10% of those who do not try the clothes on in store. And retailers widely acknowledge the importance of the changing room experience. Therefore, stores need to really step up their game in respect of dressing rooms, because that is where the emotion happens with a product. A display can make you fall in love with something, but when a shopper can try it on, in a beautifully furnished and well lit space, then they fall in love with the item on themselves.

Stores need to be designed in a way that features the changing room as the focus of the experience – and added value services are being provided to shoppers as they make their way through their purchase paths. Yet when asked about their emotional state upon visiting a high street changing room, 58% of women expressed feeling disappointed in, and 48% feeling frustrated with, their experience. The major changing room gripes highlighted include curtains that don’t shut properly (55%), long queues (41%), no hooks to hang own clothes on (41%) and not enough space (40%). Other top ten gripes include ‘poor lighting’. But this is a good example of how a seemingly simple expectation by customers may not be all that it seems… While studies have examined lighting on the sales floor, there is very little data on the effects it has on shoppers in dressing rooms.

A recent study by Baumstarck, of female shoppers aged 18 to 35 who tried on clothes, showed a clear preference for frontal lights (those installed along the sides of the mirror) to overhead lights, which were ceiling mounted. Women complained that overhead lighting created shadows on their face and made them look unattractive. To avoid these unwanted shadows, shoppers had to step back from the mirror. Overhead lighting also makes a room seem smaller, creating a ‘claustrophobic’ experience. With frontal lighting, dressing rooms appear bigger and shoppers are willing to stay longer and even try on more clothes. Adult behaviour psychologist, Susan Quilliam says: “Beautiful clothes will always make a woman feel more beautiful and therefore more positive about her appearance, and more optimistic in general. We often use shopping to offset disappointments in other parts of life, or to balance out the negative emotions we feel about ourselves and others.

But if the shopping experience itself is negative, the whole event can be utterly destructive. Instead of boosting our self-esteem, it saps it; instead of making us feel good about ourselves and our lives, it brings up frustration, irritation and anger.” At a time when retailers are looking to every part of their businesses to improve performance, there is no substitute for good design based upon research. The use of space, lighting and brand identity within the changing areas have to make it easy for the consumer to buy into the brand ethos as much as the clothes themselves. The whole experience has to be appropriate for the shopper and their expectations of the brand. Outside of the changing rooms, the lobby needs to be inviting and designed to facilitate an attentive interaction between staff and customers. And in the era of multi-channel retailing, interactive technologies such as the magic mirror, virtual closet and other interactive dressing room technologies need to be appropriately integrated into the shopping and brand experience. In changing rooms and adjacent areas the application of expert design and input will, it seems, inevitably reward retailers with higher sales and happier customers.

a luxury retail bric in the wall

Part of the fall-out of such rapid economic growth is that the established rich and emerging BRIC middle classes are now enjoying their wealth through buying into Western luxury. According to Euromonitor the BRIC economies accounted for 11% of all global luxury sales by value last year, and will achieve 16% by 2017. China, by far the star of this trend and the big prize in the luxury goods market, has seen its consumption triple over the last five years. Forecasters say that by 2017 China will double in value again, overtaking Western Europe and Japan and establishing itself as the second biggest luxury market in the world after the US.

The country is the Holy Grail for luxury retailers, with innumerable Western store launches, not just in the major cities, but also in second and third tier markets too. Some names dominate: the forty year old Mulberry brand has a Beijing flagship and plans thirty more stores for the region, Dunhill which opened its first store in Shanghai twenty years ago now has one hundred stores and Burberry has fifty five stores across the country and nine in Beijing alone. But, will the High Street brands be able to replicate the success of their designer and luxury counterparts? Many American and European clothing brands have ambitious plans for China and others are entering the market for the first time this year. They are competing in an apparel market that was worth £150bn last year and if they get it right there are undoubtedly profits to be made.

Inditex, owners of Spanish fast fashion brand Zara, definitely lead the pack with 350 stores across mainland China. Sweden’s H&M opened 32 outlets last year and now has 78 stores in China. Analysts believe the brand will treble its store numbers over the next 3 years. Meanwhile, Gap aims to have 45 stores by the end of 2013. Others have so far embraced expansion on a more modest scale. M&S opened its first store in Shanghai in 2008 and now plans to increase numbers to 18 across the country. Top Shop has been even more tentative, making do with a pop-up store during last year’s Beijing Design Week, albeit a move that could herald a more permanent foothold. Hollister, a sub brand of Abercrombie & Fitch, is also eyeing up the Chinese mainland and Forever 21 has flagships in both Beijing and Shanghai. John Lewis Partnership is also exploring shops in China, a move which would mark its first foray outside the UK.

Closer to home, western retailers have not been slow to grasp the opportunity presented by Russia’s fast growing economy. There is also very good news for challenger European and American brands, as pointed out by Per Kaufman, chief executive of Russian operations for Ikea, who says, “It is a bit like the Wild West a hundred years ago. There is such demand and dynamism in the market that you can succeed even if you’re not the top retailer.”

Our own involvement in Russia with Nokia’s Vertu brand and Tommy Hilfiger shows that upmarket stores in Moscow and St Petersburg are already no different from those of any other major capital. Russian consumers, like their Chinese counterparts, see Western brands as a means of self definition. With the average Russian income having increased sixteen fold in the past 12 years it’s no longer only those on the biggest salaries that can wear foreign clothes and use foreign cosmetics, even though it may still be the preserve of the rich to drive one of the 15,000 Jaguars and Landrovers that will be sold in Russia this year, or to own an i-pad. Again, like China, brands such as Zara have responded to the increasing middle class desire for western fashion with aggressive growth plans. The company has a plan to open 50 new shops a year, and names like Hamleys and Debenhams are rushing to join early entrants like M&S.

It will be interesting to see what other developments take place in the two most dynamic BRIC markets over the course of the next 12 months. But, one key thing is evident right now, western retail expertise will be in high demand alongside the influx of western products. rpa:group for example have been working with a major Russian retailer on their corporate identity and the retail concept design of one hundred plus stores. And the message is clear, Russians like the reassurance of western design, even if the goods they are buying are Russian.

Big Data or Big Brother?

Maybe too many retail brands are so heavily focussed on the sophisticated techniques which can slice and dice data, that they are beginning to overlook the ‘softer’ skill of understanding the customer? An American professor was explaining on the TV just this week how a mobile phone switched on in somebody’s pocket or handbag, can gather endless data on consumer behaviour patterns in a cityscape. How and when consumers travel, where and what they eat and drink, where and for how long they congregate – there was no end to the information. The spy-like invasion of consumers’ everyday life is compelling, but what happens when this intelligence is put into a retail marketing strategy?

It is easy to assume that once the complex task of analysis has been completed, all that remains is to attach a logical marketing communication and your work is done.

For instance, mobile-watching might reveal the group that walk the least and spend the most time in fast-food outlets and would therefore be high risk for obesity and diabetes. It would make sense to target them with ads for diet foods according to the data.

But data is ultimately meaningless if not informed by insight into the customer. No one likes to think they are being tracked down by the data’s Big Game Hunters and if you happen to be overweight, with a weakness for a Big Mac and fries, you are probably going to be insulted by finding diet food ads dropping through your letterbox or popping up on your computer screen. “Why me?” you might think, “Are they trying to suggest I’m too fat?” Equally, if you are over 50, it makes for a depressing self image to be bombarded with offers of life insurance, care homes, and incontinency products! You may be overweight and you may be getting on a bit, but you don’t need to reminded of it every time you log on to Facebook!

Mary Portas, the British retail guru made a comment this week on national radio that shops are frequented by people. That may sound a bit daft, but think a moment. Regard your customers as people and treat them with respect and you can’t go too far wrong. Regard them merely as ‘targets’ and see them only as a possible quick sale and you run the risk of alienating them forever.

Big Data is all well and good, but be careful about the insights you take from it and the actions that arise from these insights. Quantitative data is a useful tool, but at the end of the day advertising is about real people connecting with real people in a meaningful way.

Advertise to people with too much surgical precision and you may risk causing them annoyance and these days, when customer reaction is quick and far reaching, you may run the risk of unleashing the darker side of the social media genii. Personally, I have always believed the old adage that a happy customer tells three people whereas an unhappy customer tells ten, and now, in the age of social media, the ten carries on to be hundreds if not thousands.

So, don’t hunt your customers down and get too much into their personal space. Don’t make them feel that a Retail Big Brother is always watching them and has cynically sliced and diced their habits to reveal every strand of their shopping DNA. Be polite, be friendly and respectful, and consign the pushy and too familiar side of marketing to the wastebasket.

olympic torch lights up the economy…

After playing our own small part in the mega event of London 2012, RPA is settling down, like so many others, to evaluate the legacy of the Games for Britain.

The euphoric wave of medal winning, creativity and showmanship delivered by The Summer of Sport gave us something more fundamental and longer lasting than a few weeks of top class entertainment. It gave us back something of the confidence and self-belief that had been slowly ebbing away over the past few years of recession.  And, perhaps more importantly, it gave us an excellent opportunity to rebuild ourselves, not just at home but abroad. Now British business needs to work hard to take advantage of our new found confidence and build upon it. We need more initiatives like the ‘British Business Embassy’ run at Lancaster House alongside the Olympics. The “embassy” arranged for 4,000 business leaders to attend the biggest trade event ever held in the UK, and helped to generate £1bn of the £11bn of trade and inward investment so far expected as a result of the Games.

As we officially leave recession behind us the economic benefits of the Games have started to kick in. Now, something needs to underpin what we have achieved so far and it’s the perfect time for British brands to embrace being British, associating their products and services with the fundamental values of heritage, passion and style that were illustrated so well in Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony. Maybe it’s time that we revisited the advertising campaign, created by Mother for the British Government in 2011?  The campaign, centered around the word ‘Great’ was intended to send out the message loud and proud that this is a great place to do business. Then, against a backdrop of rioting hoodies, it didn’t strike the right note, but now it would be a perfect fit. If there was ever a time and a place to put the ‘Great’ back into Britain it is here and now.

The feel good factor should also help lift the mood on Britain’s High Streets, as the success of the Games is predicted to bring more visitors to the UK in coming months and years. Stores should be planning to take a leaf out of Danny Boyle’s book. After all, he showed the world how impactful ‘theatre’ can be, and that theatre can be translated into the retail environment. It’s important to remember that we are not just feeling different about ourselves we are also being viewed differently overseas.  Feedback from colleagues and clients across the globe all boils down to buzz words like quality, innovation and success. There is a universal feeling that Britain can punch above its weight and still has what it takes. Once again global investors are prepared to listen and willing to invest in BrandGB, and that is a legacy worth having.

launching the bim revolution

Colour coding would vary from organisation to organisation. Designers wishing to share information with contractors would have to explain their standards on each project. There would be no continuity from job to job, massive duplication of effort between parties and inevitable conflicts between designer, contractor, facilities managers and clients. Clearly such a system would be unworkable. A common standard is a must to optimise efficiencies, safety and cost effectiveness. Pity then the architects, engineers, contractors, clients, et al, who are tasked with working from shared BIM information…

Designed to avoid conflicts, optimise efficiency through materials and time savings and provide valuable data after the initial build for the operation, maintenance and modification of the buildings, the lack of standardisation (or “social BIM”) makes the full realisation of the BIM’s potential impossible. “My business was an early adopter of BIM and we have for some time been realising significant efficiencies on behalf of our clients. Nevertheless, the lack of common standards outside of our organisation can be extremely frustrating. So who is going to drive this need for standardisation?” asks Derek Pratley, director at rpa:group.

Government is capable of forcing the issue, of course, through legislation or economic imperatives. David Philip, Head of BIM implementation for The Cabinet Office, has stated that government tenders will soon require BIM. “We are developing simple guidance and templates through the first tranche of our (funded) work packages, which will be complete by Q1 2012, allowing BIM tenders to start entering the pipeline… towards full adoption by 2016”. Adam Matthews of Autodesk’s Government Affairs team and supporting the BIM Task Group, asserts that while the Government is not saying BIM is mandatory, it is specifying outcomes and deliverables that add a commercial imperative to the adoption of BIM for those wishing to work on public sector projects, and so creating impetus for change.

Matthews points out that, in a quest to meet its target of reducing the cost of constructing and running public buildings by 20% by 2016, the Government has, as part of this strategy, adopted a five point plan. The idea is to look for savings in the key areas of inter alia procurement and facilities management, something that BIM lends itself readily to the pursuit of. Accordingly the Government now requires building information to be offered in a format called COBie (Construction Operations Building information exchange). It’s a long description for something quite straightforward: the COBie file contains the information required by an owner/operator to manage a building through its operational phase. Additionally traditional drawing submittals to public clients are not going to be acceptable simply in PDF formats; going forward BIM models will be required in native file formats along with the COBie file. And in June the British Standards will publish the new PAS1192:2 standard: a guidance note for how the supply chain on public works can share information and collaborate with themselves.

But if the Government, while falling short of making BIM mandatory, is encouraging its use by the construction and FM industries, who has the influence necessary to put BIM centre stage in the private sector?

An example of large organisations making the running would be the BIM For Retail forum. Comprising Asda, Waitrose, John Lewis and 3 others, with advice from architects HOK and engineers Romboll, the forum is designed to “agree standards and processes for BIM that will improve the quality of design information, what standard to work to  and how to manage it”, according to James Brown, head of model and specification for Asda. Wal Mart, owners of Asda, is of course an American company. It is worth noting that in the US the application of BIM has been more readily seized upon and the level of advancement there is now some way ahead of UK practice. There companies in the Retail, Healthcare and Education sectors have readily embraced the value realisable from BIM, in terms of the supply chain, and are much more inclined to mandate the delivery of BIM.

Another view is that contractors themselves should be responsible for agreeing common standards. Chris Gilmour of BAM Construction UK, says “contractors need to accept the responsibility of being the integrators.”

“There is no doubt that there is a swell of activity across the industry responding to the government’s BIM strategy. The clear message I hear from those already adopting it is that it’s better to start early and gain the internal efficiency and value benefits from BIM rather than trying to play catch-up”, says Adam Matthews. Whoever drives it, there needs to be a standard for BIM. There’s a convention for AutoCAD; everyone knows that. If you pick up a drawing anyone can work from it. And with an estimated 68% of firms stating that they have shared BIM information with firms outside of their own organisations, the urgent need for common standards is clear.

an “olympic year” for the hotel industry

However, Michael Saunders, of Citigroup, has examined the data from ten Olympics held between 1964 and 2008. He finds that growth tends to rise in the run-up to the tournament, but the effect starts to fall away even before the games begin. Then afterwards, growth tends to be weaker.

Visa Europe’s report concedes: “This is a first for an Olympic Games host market, which usually experience a domestic spending slump during the Games. This will be driven by the public’s enthusiasm for the Games, demonstrated by the high demand for Olympic tickets.” Who is right? We shall see. It is perhaps ironic that a year that brings the largest sporting event that the UK has ever seen may also herald a break up of the Euro. The hotel industry is, of course, international by its nature. If a Eurozone break up was to occur it has been estimated that we could see national currencies devaluing by up to 40%, impacting profits derived from Euro transactions. Fingers crossed…To add to the litany of others, there is the potential threat of the “staycation”, where people choose to spend their vacation time at or near home in order to save money.

However, “holidaying at home” has boosted UK demand, with Butlins and Haven holiday parks seeing a 6% rise in pre-tax profits to £93.4 million in the year to December 2010, thanks to Britain’s ‘staycation’ trend as the weak pound makes it relatively expensive to go overseas. So actually, perhaps that is a good thing. Whatever your take on prospects for the future, it is a fact that the UK leads the way in hotel property sales and investment. In 2010 it topped Europe in terms of hotel transactions, with a figure of €1.9 billion.

In recent years, private equity firms have made big profits through aggressive acquisition strategies. However, they no longer have the influence they perhaps once did at a time when funds are hard to borrow and valuations declining. Some funding is moving back towards traditional models, such as the Feathers Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the North West of England. They announced in October 2011 that they are to invest further money into their portfolio of three
and four-star hotels with the continued financial support of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate and Institutional Banking (RBS CIB) team.

Other funding models, increasingly popular with the value hotel chains, are a little more complex. The concept is that a developer, who is often also a contractor, builds the hotel and then leases it to an operator for 25-30 years at a predetermined rent level. The operator never actually owns the hotel. Containing cost is an essential part of making these arrangements work, and so a particular approach is necessary. Planning costs can be minimized by an appreciation of the appetite each planning authority has for such schemes, be they new build or the increasingly popular conversion of 1960’s and 70’s office blocks. An understanding of the necessary occupancy levels and room numbers, together with an operator’s preferred location criteria, footprint and mix of retail and accommodation on a development avoid wasted time and money. Construction utilizing modular techniques may cost a similar amount to that using conventional techniques. However, construction times, even on complex projects, can be substantially truncated – perhaps by as much as 60% – greatly reducing the overall cost of the building. This innovative approach can make otherwise unworkable schemes viable for both developer and operator.

One such value hotel chain, Travelodge, announced in December 2011 that they would target 146 new UK sites for openings in 2012, including 26 new hotels throughout London to be opened ahead of the Games – all within walking distance of the Olympic venues. So clearly the model can be successfully employed. The boutique hotel sector, after undergoing a period of expansion over the past few years, is also proving resilient. Smaller properties commanding higher revenue per room have proved attractive to operators grappling with the economic downturn. Research suggests it is the fastest growing hotel segment in London and is expected to have doubled in size by 2013. In conclusion, it has been said that if you took all the economists in the world and laid them end to end… they still could not reach a conclusion!

Despite uncertainty in the market, smart hotel operators are continuing to invest; to take advantage of the many opportunities that come their way, and to build their businesses. Now is the right time for all operators to identify what opportunities are available to take advantage of, whether through acquisition or redevelopment. Every operator should be looking for a positive advantage, not just preparing for the worst, which may never happen.