Content is key when it comes to creating a successful future for Croydon according to Roger Wade, creator of the new Boxpark pop-up mall.
The offering at the recently-opened second Boxpark in Croydon, following on from the success of Mr Wade’s retail initiative in Croydon, has drawn in the crowds since opening a selection of food and drink outlets in shopping containers on the Ruskin Square site towards the end of October.
And speaking on a panel discussion on cutting-edge consumerism at the Develop Croydon Conference, Mr Wade poured scorn on the suggestion that online spelt the death of the high street.
“The reality is we talk about things like cutting edge consumerism, things like that and we’ve tried all that. The reality is that people love to shop, they love the experience of shopping so when you hear about the threat of Amazon and the threat of eBay, you can’t replace the 360 degree feeling of shopping. People simply love that.”
Mr Wade accepted that consumers may decide to go online to take advantage of cheaper prices in white goods adding: “I’m in the fortunate position of dealing in food and drink.
“The message that I want to spread today to everyone that’s here is that Croydon is not going to be successful just based upon the buildings that you build.
“You want to believe that, your architects will tell you that. It’s the way that you fill those buildings, it’s the content that you fill those buildings with that will make it successful.
“Westfield is fundamentally successful, Hammerson is fundamentally successful because they’ve got all the best retailers under one roof – their content is so fantastic. And that’s the thing that we need to focus on here today.
“It’s not just about the building, it’s about how we populate those building; the retailers we bring in; the right sort of tenants.
“We’re in a fortunate position in Croydon because we have leadership that really wants to promote change, it really wants to encourage a major regeneration project. Which is fantastic, but it’s all fundamentally about content.”