The retail sector has faced many challenges in recent years as shopping habits change and more people move online. Covid-19 has put unprecedented pressure on bricks and mortar shops, as has been illustrated by a range of significant deals. These include online fashion retailer Asos buying the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands that had belonged to the failed Arcadia group. Boohoo then stepped into buy the remaining brands from the administrator, including Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton to make them internet-only – not long after it bought the Debenhams brand. And in Edinburgh there is uncertainty over the future of the much-loved Jenners store. Such developments mean it is more important than ever to rethink the future of retail spaces to help make them relevant in a post-pandemic world.

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