31,000 sq.ft ex-Topshop unit will bring JD Sports’ footprint to over 40,000 sq.ft at Westfield Stratford City
Demand for space at Westfield Stratford City remains high as JD Sports leases second store due to high performance
Announcement comes as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield reveals 38 brands have expanded their footprint at its two London centres by 173,000 sq.ft since 2018
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield today announces that JD Sports has signed a ten year lease on a second store at Westfield Stratford City, taking over the former Topshop unit. The 31,000 sq.ft store will more than quadruple the space occupied by the brand at the centre as they grow to fulfil demand and also renew the lease on their current space.
The sports-fashion retailer which has seen its shares rise by approx. 3,200% in the past decade, has seen unprecedented success at a challenging time for retail. Meanwhile, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, with a combined annual turnover of £2 Bn+, are also bucking the industry trend, attracting over 80 million visitors each year including the recent record breaking 363,000 visitors on Boxing Day.
Westfield centres are also seeing an increasing trend of key retailers requiring more space. Since 2018, 38 retailers including JD Sports, the H&M Group, Zara, adidas and the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. have increased their space by a total of 173,000 sq.ft across both centres, creating flagship destination stores for their customers.
Keith Mabbett, Director of Leasing UK/Italy at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “We are thrilled to announce the expansion of JD Sports at Westfield Stratford City as they take over the ex Topshop unit to launch a second store at the centre. We have been working closely with JD Sports to identify the best space to meet their growing needs to create a flagship store. The expansion demonstrates the success of JD Sports with high demand for the brand and the increasing trend for retailers stores to create larger footprints at our centres. We have no doubt the new store will be hugely successful with our shoppers.”
Warren Thompson, Group Head of Acquisitions, JD Sports commented: “We are excited to deliver our new flagship store within Westfield Stratford City, one of our key shopping centre locations in UK. JD will bring the very latest sports fashion to our consumers in our very latest flagship store concept.”