Retail’s big rental reset

Luxury retailers to mid-market fashion brands are squeezing landlords for reductions. Will they give up decades of rental growth? Edwin Coe’s Head of Property, Stephen Brower was interviewed in this article for Vogue Business.

Valentino started it last month, suing its Fifth Avenue landlord to exit its 15-year lease because it was “no longer workable” as a luxury destination. Rental prices in Manhattan have been falling since Covid-19 began.

It‘s a pattern playing out in shopping capitals globally. Starved of tourists and city-centre workers, mainstream and luxury retailers like Hugo Boss, Burberry, Mulberry and Nordstrom are pushing their landlords for flexibility as sales decline…

…In London, there had been attempts at rental renegotiation by brands across the price spectrum says Stephen Brower, head of property at British legal firm Edwin Coe. “They’re seeing an opportunity and they are trying to make the most of it while they can.”

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