Comment - CBRE Retail response to Mothercare store consolidation

Jonathan De Mello, Head of Retail Consultancy, CBRE, commented:

“The closure of some Mothercare and Blacks stores are further evidence of the sweeping changes that are taking place across the retail provision in the UK.  The challenging economic conditions are only part of the story - retailers are also responding to the changes in shopping habits of the 21^st century time-pressured consumer, the rise of internet shopping and the expansion of the supermarkets.  According to latest CBRE research, the number of shops required to cover 50% of the UK retail market is just 90 trading locations, down from 200 in the 1970s, so market consolidation is an inevitable part of the modernisation of the sector.”