Smiggle to hold talks over rent reductions following poor trading experience

Australian stationer, Smiggle, is to hold talks over rent reductions following reports that some stores were not meeting expectations.

In 2014, the retailer began a mass expansion in the UK and currently operates 130 stores nationwide. A source close to the retailer told Property Week that it had been “fully open with landlords that trade has not been as good as they expected at these stores”. It has been reported that the Smiggle has “contacted landlords at all sites where turnover is not hitting expectations”.

The source told same paper: “The reaction has been a bit mixed. Some landlords have been brutal in their stance saying ‘you agreed these rents; now you need to pay them’, while others have opened a dialogue with them and are trying to work out a solution.”

Reports say that the stores which are struggling are not necessarily those with the highest rents, with the source calling them a “mixed bag”. In its most recent Companies House filing, Smiggle reported a 92% increase in revenue in the year to July 2017, however it is yet to file for 2018.

Just last year, Smiggle opened a new two-storey outlet on London’s Oxford Street.