Oxford Street reborn: The rise of a classic

Oxford Street has long been the backbone of London’s retail scene. It has been the capital’s high street for decades, but over recent years has lost some, if not all, of its shine. Covid hit the street hard and if you believe everything you read in some of our less expert media, the street is now full of Candy Stores and tacky souvenir shops.

The truth, of course, is something quite different.

Oxford street is very quickly being reborn, with a fresh mix of retailers, a fresh mix of uses and a more focused curation from those that own and operate the street.

Vacancy rates are falling, more than 23 candy stores have disappeared from the street – with more to come – some 19 new stores have opened on Oxford Street over the last year and 22 more are under offer.

In this episode EG editor Samantha McClary is joined by Savills’ head of global retail Sam Foyle, Sarah Goldman, head of retail at GPE, and retail expert Dan Hildyard for a behind the scenes tour of London’s most famous street as we seek to undo the “national embarrassment” reputation others suggest Oxford Street has become.

Enjoy.