Woolworths has announced plans to construct a new automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in the Sydney suburb of Auburn.
According to the retailer, the 22,000sqm CFC will help better serve the online grocery needs of western Sydney customers.
The facility will be built in partnership with Knapp. Its automation technology is expected to help Woolworths’ personal shoppers pick and dispatch up to 50,000 home deliveries a week in western Sydney.
WooliesX Managing Director Amanda Bardwell says the company has seen an extraordinary acceleration in online grocery shopping over the past year.
“As we look ahead, we expect more and more customers will turn to the ease and convenience of home delivery to reclaim time in their busy lives,” she says.
“To keep pace with the demand, we need to innovate with new technology to boost capacity and ensure we’re continuing to offer the best possible online grocery experience.
“This fulfilment centre will deliver a step change in our online offer for our Western Sydney customers. With Knapp’s world-class automation, our team of personal shoppers will be able to pick many more orders — offering our customers faster delivery options and extra windows to choose from.”
Subject to planning approvals, construction is expected to commence this year ahead of an operational launch by 2024. If approved, the CFC will support up to 250 full-time equivalent roles and around 440 jobs during construction.
In support of the capital’s creatives thriving through the pandemic, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City are hosting social media brands that originated as side hustles in 2020 to support small business as non-essential retail re-opens. With over 85,000 online businesses created since the start of the pandemic* and nearly three quarters (74%) of consumers wanting to see retailers adapt to their local areas, Westfield has brought the online offline to provide shoppers with a one-of-a-kind experience that celebrates London’s Side Hustle Heroes.
As Westfield’s latest How We Shop: What’s Changed research reveals that more than half of consumers (52%) are looking to shop more locally, Westfield is welcoming London’s most innovative start-up social media brands, bringing them from your screen straight to Westfield’s windows to browse IRL. Spanning fashion, homeware and beauty, Westfield hand-picked brands that embody creativity and vibrancy and whose founders have demonstrated a relentless ambition to turn a side hustle into a viable business during a time of global uncertainty. The Side Hustle Heroes partnership gives these brands invaluable large scale presence in prominent mall space at Europe’s two largest centres which attracted 1.2 million visitors, safely, in retail’s reopening week.
The windows showcase a breadth of beautiful, eye-catching products from stylish bespoke tie dye accessories to Instagram-able hand-dipped candles, to sexy and sustainable paint. Brands include:
– Founded by Natalie James whilst working full-time in fashion PR, the entrepreneur used her savvy abilities to build a the ultimate self-care subscription box company that has a strong female empowerment stance at the core. When lockdown stopped her browsing the high street for cosmetics, she began supplying subscription boxes of self-care products, helping customers around the world reclaim a little luxury in their lives.
– Founded by Rachael and her partner Alex in June 2020, they recognised a lack of beautifully designed and truly sustainable options in the paint industry and with their combined love of interiors decided to start Pickleson, a truly sustainable brand with ‘Sexy Paint Made Responsibly’.
– A family-run boutique founded by sisters selling sustainable country-inspired dried flowers with a dash of Scandi minimalism offering the finest quality dried flowers, pampas grass and homewares. Following an uncertain year, sisters Philippa and Jessica took a leap of faith to create their own business based on both their passions.
– Fairholme Studio is a candle brand; born during the lockdown in 2020. It offers hand-dipped taper candles in an array of shades from bright and bold to subtle pastel hues. All candles are created using a unique blend of bees and soy wax and are hand-dipped in the UK. Founder, Tony was inspired to create the brand from his love of setting tables and hosting.
– The go to brand for beautifully bespoke tie dye accessories and clothing, Ava May was launched in the height of lockdown, by luxury PR consultant Abbie Lewi whilst on maternity leave. Looking for a creative distraction, and the perfect tie dye sweatshirt, Ava May was created in her garden. Made to order for every purchase, the brand offers a truly personalised service which caters to each and every need, from on trend loungewear, to adorable scrunchies.
– Founded by Visual Stylist, Molly Hill, she turned her expertise into a successful side hustle of her own. MH Living is a homeware & accessories brand developed last year during the pandemic, with hints of contemporary Danish style and Parisian charm.
Harita Shah, Marketing Director UK and Creative, Media, Events, & Brand — Europe, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield comments: “Whilst the pandemic has been a tough time for many it has also simultaneously presented an opportunity for the nation to turn their hobbies and passions into their very own businesses launching online over the past 12 months. With people craving physical experiences more so than ever before and 49% of consumers wanting to buy more locally sourced products, we’re bringing these online brands offline into a physical space for the first time. We’re delighted to be able to hero and support these London entrepreneurs giving them direct exposure to the millions of shoppers who visit our centres each year”.
London’s Side Hustle Heroes will reside across both centres until June and a QR code is available to scan on each store front to lead directly onto each company’s social channels and websites. Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City are focused on ensuring all safety measures are in place and adhered to as the London centres re-open, providing safe spacious environments with measures in place including mask wearing, social distancing queuing systems, cashless parking and more.
To find out more about our centres and their community initiatives, please visit
*Growth Intelligence research, 2020
John Lewis Partnership to donate more than £1m to local charities fighting child poverty
Above: Give A Little Love — Christmas.
The has announced that it will step up efforts to help those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, by donating over £1m this summer to more than 1,000 local charities and community organisations helping to end child poverty across the UK.
It’s part of their programme, which aims to make a lasting difference to those in need.
To help tackle this important issue, each and shop will be directing their regular community donations to charities in their own communities that support children in poverty. This support will run from May to July — providing vital support during the May half term and summer holidays when millions of children are at risk of being hungry.
Support will be given through donations of money, products (for example, clothing or kitchen equipment) and food donations.
The John Lewis Partnership are also proud members of Marcus Rashford’s , a coalition of brands working together to end child food poverty.
Marija Rompani, Partner & Director of Ethics & Sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “No child should ever go hungry or be without basic human needs and we want to do all we can to help. By working with the many incredible charities in local communities across the country, we hope to make a real impact and help as many children as we can.”
Marcus Rashford MBE, commented: “John Lewis Partnership is a valuable founding member of the Child Food Poverty Task Force and the company has strongly demonstrated their commitment to ending child food poverty across the UK since we formed. ‘Give a Little Love’ was a powerful and touching campaign over the Christmas holidays and I’m thrilled to see that campaign being built upon to guarantee more of those in need get the help they deserve. I want to take the opportunity to thank the John Lewis Partnership for their ongoing support.”
The announcement is the latest of a number of initiatives they have launched to support families in need.
In addition to the donation, Waitrose shops will continue to donate surplus food to FareShare, a food distribution charity. Since 2017, they have donated the equivalent of more than five million meals to those in need and also work with Kitchen Social and The Felix Project to donate stock to people facing food insecurity.
Their Give a Little Love campaign has already raised over £3m for long term charity partners FareShare, Home-Start and local community groups, with a further £2m pledged earlier this year by the Partnership. They have also donated nearly 5,000 items of warm clothing to Home-Start to distribute to families during winter.
In February, the company launched a new programme with FareShare — Farm to Family — becoming the first UK supermarket to take surplus food straight from our largest suppliers and farms to the plates of those in need.
Street Soccer opens store at Ocean Terminal. Bullring Estate adds local flavour with new pho restaurant
Street Soccer, the youth charity supported by Sir Alex Ferguson, opens its first ‘community store’ at Ocean Terminal, the waterfront shopping centre in Leith, Edinburgh.
The Dugout, occupies 1,750 sq ft unit on the first of the centre’s three floors of retail and leisure space and will be used for a combination of retail sales, and meeting and chill out places for the young people the charity supports.
Established in 2009, Street Soccer is a social enterprise which uses football inspired training and development as a means to empower young people to make positive changes in their lives. The Dugout, opening when lockdown rules ease in Scotland on 26 April, represents the evolving retail model, where the purpose of physical stores is changing to a more hybrid format to meet the needs of the local community.
Michelle Macleod, Ocean Terminal’s Centre Manager, said:
“The nature of the retail industry has been evolving and changing for some time and we have always felt it important to respond to the significant regeneration happening within our local community. The Dugout is an example of how retail space can be used effectively to create something different and exciting for local people and we are delighted to welcome Street Soccer to Ocean Terminal.
“As a centre we have always sought to innovate and adapt, such as through our leisure partnerships and our connections with the local community. Events of the past year have provided further opportunity to reassess and re-evaluate the shopping experience of the future. Right now, the space that the centre has to offer means we can provide a safe and comfortable place to shop and as COVID restrictions allow, we are ready to welcome visitors back with some new offerings as well as old favourites.”
Bullring Estate adds local flavour with new pho restaurant
Hammerson has announced that Birmingham-based Vietnamese Street Kitchen (VSK) has joined the line-up at the the Bullring Estate.
In a relocation from Birmingham’s Brindleyplace, VSK, an independent, family-run business has taken a 140-cover, 3,640 sq ft space opposite Selfridges. Set amidst the Bullring’s St Martin’s Square dining and leisure hub, its heated outdoor terrace is now open in line with government restrictions, and perfectly suited to al fresco dining. The indoor space is set to open on the 17 May, in line with the Government’s roadmap for England.
The restaurant has a cocktail bar on the first floor, with dining on the ground floor showcasing the best dishes from Vietnam, including Pho, Banh Mi, rice bowls, and an array of traditional street snacks.
Iain Mitchell, UK Commercial Director at Hammerson, said: “We know that our customers at Bullring & Grand Central love to support emerging and Birmingham based brands, and we’re always looking for exciting and innovative operators that bring something new to a destination. VSK does just that, offering fresh and authentic Vietnamese flavours that add to the Bullring Estates’s vibrant mix of world cuisines. We are pleased to welcome VSK to the Bullring Estate alongside safely welcoming back our much-missed brands and customers.”
Oliver Ngo, General Manager at VSK, added: “As an independent, family-owned brand from Birmingham, Bullring has long been a target destination for us. We’re now at a site that is big and central enough to bring our food and hospitality to Brummies on the biggest scale possible. Our food is tasty, affordable, and fresh, and authentic to both traditional and modern Vietnamese cooking. This new type of offer is perfect for the Bullring visitor, and we are delighted to be welcoming customers into the restaurant in a Covid-secure manner.”
The safety and wellbeing of its customers, colleagues and retailers is Bullring’s number one priority, and it has introduced a range of measures to keep people safe. These include: the centre’s Crowd Checker, available via Bullring’s website, that helps customers plan their visit by providing live updates on footfall in real-time; a one-way system; fixed hand sanitiser stations; and clear signage to remind shoppers of the need to social distance.
VSK has also introduced its own safety measures, including sanitising stations, socially distanced outdoor seating, table service, one way systems, and mandatory mask wearing for staff and customers as recommended by the lastest Government guidelines.
has launched a new loyalty app ‘Tyl Rewards’ designed to encourage consumers to continue supporting local businesses, by rewarding regulars as lockdown starts to lift in the UK.
Recent Tyl research found that around a third of UK consumers (30%) feel that the pandemic pushed them to buy from local independent businesses more often whilst a further half (47%) state that they think they could do more to support local in future. To help sustain and incentivise consumer support for local businesses, Tyl Rewards offers businesses who are Tyl customers the ability to set up a reward programme in a matter of minutes, giving consumers the chance to earn points to redeem against rewards for simply supporting their local businesses.
For local businesses that use Tyl as their payment partner, Tyl Rewards is easy to set-up and manage. Owners simply log into the Tyl portal and decide the rewards they wish to offer customers to thank them for their loyalty, along with setting the total points consumers need to earn before they can receive their reward. The points system is kept simple with customers earning 10 Reward points for every £1 spent with participating businesses.
The flexible approach means small businesses can offer meaningful rewards tailored to their regulars to motivate repeat business and build their customer base via word of mouth and advertising the offering. Businesses will be able to track the performance of their Tyl Rewards programme with real-time data, providing a clear picture of what offers are working well and which might need changing.
For consumers, Tyl Rewards offers a hassle-free alternative to multiple loyalty cards and an incentive to continue supporting their favourite local businesses. All they need to do is download the Tyl Rewards app, link their payment card and they can begin collecting points towards earning rewards automatically when they spend. Once logged in, customers can navigate to a dedicated section within the app that will tell the shopper once they’ve earned enough points to redeem a reward.
Powered by , the launch of Tyl Rewards is the latest in a series of innovations aimed at supporting small businesses through the pandemic and giving back to local communities, including the ongoing ‘loyal to local’ campaign, urging consumers to stay loyal to their favourite small businesses. Tyl has also partnered with Pennies, the UK’s leading charity working to protect and grow micro-donations. Tyl donates a proportion of revenue to charities, meaning that businesses who use Tyl give back with every transaction.
Mike Elliff, CEO, Tyl said: ”It’s been inspiring to see the level of support people have given their local businesses over numerous lockdowns. As we start to rebuild, businesses need our support more than ever. And consumers, with even more choice available to them, need reasons to continue to ‘shop local’ as their worlds widen.
“Continued support of local businesses will play a huge role in the recovery of the economy so we hope Tyl Rewards will give local businesses the ability to reward their regulars, thank shoppers for sticking by their local suppliers and incentivise them to keep doing so.”
Cait Salanson, founder and owner at specialist catering service, The Little Kitchen Company, Winchester, who piloted Tyl Rewards ahead of launch said: “As we come out of lockdown it’s the perfect time to build on the love that customers have shown for small businesses such as ours over the pandemic. We wanted to cement the strong relationships we’ve built over the last year and to give something back by introducing a loyalty and reward scheme, as well as encouraging people to stay with us, now they have more options.
“Reward schemes have to be easy to use and our customers enjoy Tyl Rewards for exactly that reason. It’s on their phone, they don’t have to rummage through their bags or remember to bring a stamp card. Everyone has their phone so it’s a simple and modern way of doing it.
“For me as a small business owner, I have to compete with bigger chains as lockdowns lift. It was a simple and easy tool to use to nurture that personal relationship with customers. People love coming to a small business like ours because we remember their last order or their regular drink. Tyl Rewards has cemented that relationship and helped keep customers coming back which can only be a good thing as we build for the future.”
To find out more about Tyl Rewards.
Springfields Outlet & Leisure Bounces Back with Massive Sales Uplift of 31% Vs 2019
Springfields Outlet & Leisure Bounces Back with Massive Sales Uplift of 31% Vs 2019
Springfields reopened on April 12th with sales in the first week up 31% vs. the same week in 2019
Sales per visitor up an astonishing 35%
This is on top of 15 years continuous growth since Springfields opened
Since reopening on April 12th, Springfields outlet, leisure and gardens in Lincolnshire has demonstrated its appeal. When comparing the first week’s trading with the same period in 2019, sales were up 31% on average from over 50 retailers. A very encouraging result as it was Easter week that year. Footfall and sales have bounced back strongly from every lockdown and this time the growth has been even quicker and stronger.
These results reflect Springfields perfect post-Covid mix of outdoor retail, 25 acres of stunning nationally important gardens, extensive leisure and eateries.
Headline results include:
Springfields had its 10thhighest weekly sales on record
Five retailers had triple digit growths with the largest sales at an enormous +173% vs 2019
70% of like-for-like retailers traded up on 2019 and 90% of these had double digit growth
7 retailers reported Springfields as being in their top 3 outlets across the whole of the UK
Ian Sanderson, Director at SLR which developed, and asset manages the scheme, said: “Springfields is a runaway success. Our unique mix of outdoor retail and leisure is exactly what everyone wants. Our teams have worked tirelessly to ensure a perfect customer experience. This performance builds on 15 years of consecutive turnover growth”
With more than 50 stores set in the beautiful and award-winning 25-acre Festival Gardens, this spacious outdoor destination is very well suited to our new retail norms whilst providing an exceptional guest experience. Springfields attracts customers from a very wide catchment area including the Home Counties north of London, East Anglia and the East of England up to South Yorkshire, making Springfields a popular day out. The green healthy space means customers stay longer and return more often, attracted by the safe shopping experience.
Located in south Lincolnshire, the 45-acre retail and leisure scheme is on the junction of the A16 and A151, close to the junction with the A17, three major arterial roads providing easy access to Peterborough, Nottingham, East Anglia, Lincoln and beyond. Springfields is just a 25-minute drive from the A1.
Owned by the Triton Property Fund, managed by UBS, agents for the scheme are Knight Frank and SPACE Retail Property.
