Save Our Shops: Sadiq Khan Tells Susie Lau Why We Must Ensure Our High Streets Survive

April 12 is nearly upon us – a date that has become the beacon of hope for the British High Street. The hope hinges on a boomerang recovery when non-essential shops finally open their doors again. But how has our year in-and-out of lockdown impacted our attitudes towards physical stores? Will we feel safe? Do we even remember the joy of going into a shop and browsing racks and shelves of clothing?

Perhaps we have re-assessed our need to accumulate more material goods during our time in lockdown, asour shopping habits shiftedfrom physical to online. Clicking and checking out has become a joyless act. But there’s so much more to the act of shopping in physical spaces, than merely just buying stuff. It’s trying on a new outfit, in the hope of a new encounter. It’s meeting up with friends you’ve lost touch with and catching up in dressing rooms. It’s supporting independent businesses. It’s seeing vital economies once shuttered, begin again as the retail sector attempts to stem the tide of job losses (an estimate of around 180,000 according to Centre for Retail Research) that impacts a disproportionate number of women.

As retailers all over the nation prepared their stores for another round of retail re-openings, I sat down with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, about the challenges that the high street faces and why the very act of shopping is so vital in our collective roadmap out of the pandemic. For Khan, the directive is clear: stay safe, and shop because we have all missed that feeling of “seeing something you didn’t know you wanted.”

SL: Are you personally optimistic that people will return to the high street to shop? How do we balance staying safe and getting people back out there?

SK: The British high street has had a rotten time; it’s the combination of competing against online shopping and also the challenges they face with their overheads and rent. I think we’ve all missed the great experience of going to the shops and browsing, popping out not knowing what you’re going to come back with. You’ll see this unbottled appetite unleashing itself and I can’t wait.

SL: They call it revenge spending. Is that what you’re hopeful for and how do we balance this with feeling safe whilst shopping?

SK: Revenge. Boomerang. The V-belt. Call it what you want. The difference this time, is we have Covid-safe shopping. We now know that many of us have had the vaccine. Many Londoners have made savings and there is that pent up appetite. We’re approaching spring and soon summer. You can’t beat the experience of feeling the fabric or trying a piece of clothing on.

SL: Are you in favour of limiting numbers though?

SK: One of the key things is that to make sure our public transport is safe. We have to make it easy for people to walk or cycle. We are working with the retailers to make sure they are Covid safe. If you saw the West End on Boxing Day just gone, it was heartbreaking. We need footfall to return and to return safely.

SL: The biggest casualty in the West End with the demise of Arcadia Group is the Topshop flagship, which is now all boarded up. What signal does that send out at the moment in one of our most famous shopping areas?

SK: I used to have a Saturday summer job working in Debenhams on Oxford Street and it’s sad to see what it’s facing. We have to recognise as a country that both fashion and retail are really important - British fashion contributes 35 billion pounds to the economy. It should worry us about the state of Oxford Street. I’ve announced £5 million set aside to promote the West End. We have to make sure we think about the future of shopping. What role does that space vacated by Topshop have and how can that change?

SL: What’s your own personal shopping routine?

SK: When I think of my own experience, I get off at Selfridges, walk down Oxford Street, go into Niketown, go down Regent Street and check out J. Crew. Head to Carnaby Street and go into Dr. Martens. And then queue outside Brandy and Melville with my daughter. Then pop down to Covent Garden, see a show or a live gig. The meal before or after theatre. All of that is important. It’s not just retail that is impacted, it’s also leisure, hospitality culture, and entertainment. They’re all linked.

SL: Is your daughter an online shopper or a physical shopper like you?

SK: Their experience used to be like ours. But what’s fascinating is, the last year has changed people’s shopping habits. My daughter and their generation are quite aware of the impact of fast fashion and the consequences to our environment. But their only option was online shopping. The challenge of our high street is to makes sure the experience of shopping in-person can compete with the expediency of shopping online. I’m lobbying the government to look at the rules around taxation because the overheads for physical retail are far higher. There is no better experience as a father taking her daughter out for the day. You can’t replicate that online.

SL: It’s the whole experience of the day out isn’t it?

SK: I’m a firm believer in if you stand still you go backwards. Our competitors aren’t just online. It’s Paris, Madrid, etc. We are a world leader in fashion and at City Hall we contribute to the British Fashion Council. It’s really important to understand the link between fashion and the high street and the economy. But also for normal shoppers like a dad with his daughter. Or for people who need a job.

SL: Retail has been a traditional career path for women and the shuttering of retail has impacted on job losses too.

SK: I’m really worried about this. It’s not just retail – it’s hospitality, tourism, culture and leisure – a disproportionate number of jobs in those sectors are done by women. We need to support those sectors.

We are using two thirds of our skills budget to target women so that they can skill up, retrain and so they go from doing minimum wage jobs to jobs that are better paid.

Covid has exacerbated these inequalities. We’re in danger of 30 years of progress in relation to the gender inequality being undone. Those of us who are proud feminists need to redouble our efforts to make sure this doesn’t continue.

SL: Speaking of which, when we talk about a return to the British High Street – maybe we should rethink the make-up of the high street. What are your thoughts on creating spaces that are not just centred around retail but are more community led?

SK: You’re speaking my language. You’re spot on. I’ve started something called the London Recovery Board and one of its missions is “High Streets for All.” Look at the history of high streets – they have adapted but it’s so easy for it to be a race to the bottom – with the rise of pawn brokers, chicken shops making our kids obese, or pound shops. We have to make sure we intervene in the market. We want to introduce commercial rent control for start-ups and incubators. The reality is politicians don’t create jobs. We create an environment where businesses do. My concern is that we’re not giving the opportunity to would-be entrepreneurs that would change our high street make-up. The future of our high street won’t be a one size fits all. We don’t want the same shops in clone town centres. That’s why we need to intervene in the market.