This study highlighted that the fundamentals that make London’s West End an attractive place to visit and shop, as well as a place to trade, are extremely robust. As a result it is the premier Global Retail Destination in Europe, ranking second globally behind New York. Current growth forecasts in terms of retail spend and international visitors to London as a whole suggest this global position at a city level should be maintained. London’s West End could in fact outperform the growth forecast for the wider London area aided by the improvements to the British visa system for Chinese nationals, the largest source market for international tourists and spend globally, and the arrival of Crossrail.

While the fundamentals are robust the location surveys indicated some challenges related to the quality of service, facilities, the public realm, international marketing reach and operational difficulties associated with opening stores. The positive, however, is that these are challenges that can be addressed through the work of New West End Company and its partners. Tackling these challenges will be vital to the West End maintaining and even improving its global position as the rankings presented in this study are not fixed.

For example, Dubai is forecast to report the strongest growth in retail sales over the next five years of the seven Global Cities examined, potentially challenging London’s West End’s current global position. Likewise an improvement in Hong Kong’s retailing environment, which has suffered on the back of the slowdown in the Chinese economy and decline in mainland Chinese visitors, could also destabilise the current rankings.

The real immediate challenge however, is that of the West End’s public realm. The location surveys highlighted that the West End underperforms against its international competitors in regards to a number of public realm features. As a result public realm investment offers the West End a crucial opportunity to maintain and even improve its global positioning and reputation in the face of mounting competition from other international retail destinations.