While high streets and city centres outside of central London are losing shops to out of town retailers and online stores, Bond Street – both New and Old - has remained at the centre of the British fashion retail scene for decades cementing itself as one of the main fashion streets globally. Alex Lowry takes a look at why this street is so popular and how it has survived and prospered over the years.

History

Bond Street in London’s Mayfair has been a focus for London’s elite since 1700. While its past residents have included Admiral Horatio Nelson, it is now associated with luxury goods, fashion and jewellery.

Even in its infancy, the street attracted fashionistas like the notable dandy Beau Brummel who frequented the local ‘gentlemen’s clubs’. Over time, the bars and brothels gave way to tailors and hat makers. By the mid-19th century the street was filled with shirt-makers, wine shops, booksellers and even the odd greengrocer.

Since the reign of Queen Victoria, it has also been a favourite of the Royal family with many of the stores to this day having a Royal Warrant to supply Royal households including:

• A.C. Cooper (Colour) Ltd, arts and antiques
• Asprey London Ltd, jewellery
• Cartier, jewellery
• Charbonnel et Walker, chocolate
• Daks Ltd, clothing
• Frank Smythsons Ltd, stationery

While it is now filled with world-famous brands like Hermes, Armani and Chanel, there are a still few individual shops that provide the street with character and a sense of place, like John Mitchell Fine Paintings or Charbonnel et Walker, the chocolate shop that has been around since 1875.

Current trends

Bond Street’s stores have annual sales of more than £1 billion, according to the New West End Company. Retail units on both New and Old Bond Street are much in demand – more so than ever. When trying to expand, Chanel claimed that the street had the highest proportion of luxury fashion stores per square mile of anywhere in the world.

While more new brands are appearing every day and others expand, there is only limited space on the street so the waiting list for units is ever increasing and we are seeing this pent up demand and competition for sites leading to seven figure premiums (key money for leases being paid).

Many firms who have a foothold on the street choose to extend when they can. Hermès, which arrived on the street in 1975, recently doubled its London flagship at 155 Bond Street from 395 to 673 square metres.

Chanel and Christian Dior have also recently expanded upwards, converting the space above their stores into added showroom space.

Recent notable transactions include the letting of 120 New Bond Street to Hugo Boss who have expanded into Follie Follie at £800 Zone A, and the former Bally unit at 116-117 New Bond Street where Victoria’s Secret are expanding and reportedly they bid in excess of £820 Zone A to secure the unit.

Italian luxury brand Tod’s has recently agreed a new lease on 2-3 Old Bond Street to enlarge its store to incorporate the first floor and now occupies approximately 6,000 sq ft over basement, ground and first floor. Alongside Tod’s, Salvatore Ferragamo, located at 24 Old Bond Street, and Chanel, at 158-159 New Bond Street, have also expanded into the space above their respective stores and it is expected that more retailers will follow suit.

These deals only serve to emphasise the strength and rental growth being witnessed on New Bond Street.

Since mid-2008 Bond Street has been London's most expensive retail pitch, with its luxury tenants now paying the highest rents in the capital - £1,600 Zone A.

What will the future bring?

Retailers who don’t want to lose the Bond Street address but who can’t afford to pay growing rents, often choose to move to other, slightly less pricey, sections of the street.

While Bond Street is just half a mile long from its northern point on Oxford Street to where its southern tip joins Piccadilly, there are some areas of the street that are more desirable than others. This means rents change throughout the street with the southern middle section commanding the highest £1,600 Zone A rents and the northern section by Oxford Street having the lowest at £400 Zone A.

However, over time these less popular areas will begin to catch up with the more prestigious addresses.

Demand for luxury goods is showing no sign of abating and while some shops choose to expand, there is only limited retail floor space on the street. This suggests that rents and values on Bond Street will continue to rise over the coming years. Surrounding streets also benefitting from the ongoing demand - particularly Conduit Street, Albemarle Street and Dover Street where rents in some instances have at least double in the last three years.