The Future of Food Chains

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

CONSUMPTION

OVER-SIZED

Many of the large stores acquired during the 00’s and 90’s remain in use, but are now oversized relative to the operating models of today. The proliferation of the discount retail model, pioneered and scaled by operators such as Netto, and more recently Lidl and Aldi, has posed a series of questions about the best size and configuration of supermarket space.

Occupational demand for Supermarket space has evolved rapidly in recent years, with a movement away from hypermarket and mega-store formats.

The chart below breaks down the total supermarket footprint in the United Kingdom by size and demographic traits.

DISTRIBUTION OF SUPERMARKET SALES AREA BY LOCATION AND UNIT SIZE

Within the UK there is 118 million sq ft of retail space across 1300 stores that have a footprint of over 60,000 sq ft. Of this space 61m is located in rural locations, and 35m is located in town locations. Of the 118 million sq ft, 60 million is within units of over 90,000 sq ft, which we would deem to be oversized. Owed to the changing dynamics within the Supermarket sector, this reflects a considerable proportion of space that would be liable to re positioning.

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

2.5-30K

60-90K

90K+

30-60K

RURAL

SUBURBAN TOWN URBAN

Source: Storepoint.geo, 2023