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Understanding your trading environment (or proposed trading environment), your own business model and your lease contract on an intimate level are the key underpinnings of successfully driving down your occupancy costs. Sound easy? It really is. While signing a lease...

Brian Walker Being a confident negotiator is mostly about having all the facts, which you should have if you’ve been following the first three Golden Rules. But if you still don’t feel confident about negotiating the lease, I would recommend working with an...

One of the common characteristics of shops with high occupancy costs is that they often do not have a clear position or point of difference within the centre they plan to operate within. Having the right offer in the right environment is at the heart of driving down...

Brian Walker I knew that this was doomed from the get-go. You thought that it was special, special. Circles, Post Malone Recently I shared a post on social media that essentially was asking this perennial question: why is pureplay online retail often a very marginal...

The second golden rule is to gain a comprehensive understanding of your lease proposal. Knowing the key terms and conditions of your proposed lease thoroughly is the next stage of research. Seeking independent assessment of the lease construction, relevant clauses and...

Brian Walker A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air. A psychotic is the man who lives in it. A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent. – Jerome Lewis Let me be honest: this piece is not about the 9 per cent of retail on average that is done online,...

One of the intriguing aspects of customers is why we choose one retail brand over another in our shopping patterns. Of course, to understand this and other motivations of us mere mortals in our shopping habits is one of the great keys to unlock. We know that our...

The single biggest irrationality in business decision-making comes back to the one underlying paradigm that is as common as it is incorrect – that the cognitive mind or the conscious mind determines what consumers do - when, in fact, it is the limbic system that makes...

Brian Walker There is no decision that we can make that doesn’t come with some sort of balance or sacrifice. – Simon Sinek I have also always loved the term, coined by Simon Reynolds, that “when they zig, we zag”. If you read and learn about the greatest leaders of...