Icon o2 shopping centre adds Nike and Adidas stores
The Icon shopping centre within the o2 in Greenwich will see further stores with Nike and Adidas joining the line up.
The centre doesn’t appear to have been a resounding success since opening last year. I visited and wrote up my experience here. Half has not been finished since October 2018.
Reading other sources of media however would lead you to believe it’s often packed. Nothing like regurgitating PR without actually experiencing it first hand.
Anecdotally it does get busier on event nights but employees tell me it can often be very quiet during the week.
We’re now over six months on when many vacant stores were supposed to occupied. Progress has been slow but two household names will help. Some have claimed the existing line up of retailers is quite niche and lacks mass market appeal. It’s also debatable whether the outlet line up has been a great success with the Asian tourist market.
Marketing has been poor. The Twitter account stopped being updated three months ago. Ads are sparse though I did see some on buses recently.
If they can fix that, broaden the appeal and gain greater prominence it could be a great success. Being on the Jubilee Line means it’s close to Stratford and competing with people living in central and east London using the tube, so appealing to those locally in Greenwich makes sense – and so far that’s been lacking.
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I think the marketing is a big problem. Many I’ve spoken to have no idea there’s a shopping centre there. I do also think though that it’s problem is a deeper one. I just don’t think the O2 is a destination for people unless it’s a show or movie. If you look at the restaurants nearly all of them are dead unless it’s just before or after a show or a big movie showing.
I went out there mid-morning last Saturday and it was dead. The lower deck is still in darkness and there just isn’t enough in the way of existing shops to draw Chinese visitors away from Bicester.