COMMENT The idea for iSmash, which specialises in smartphone, tablet and computer repairs, was born while I was still studying at university. The journey that took us to opening our first physical store in London was one that proved to me that location can make or break a business, writes Julian Shovlin, managing director at iSmash.
By starting in London, we really didn’t make it easy for ourselves; the market is crowded, things can fall through, and the vast difference between two almost adjacent locations could have a huge impact on the business. Since we opened in 2013, we have noticed that landlords in the London market, who have become used to being in a strong negotiating position, have sometimes been unwilling to adapt to the realities of the current uncertain market.
In addition, many UK property owners, most notably funds that have merged or taken on new asset mandates and simultaneously rationalised staff numbers, are operating with overstretched asset management teams, creating the perfect recipe for the agonisingly slow resolution of deals.
Our current focus is to break out of London and expand the iSmash profile nationally in high-footfall, regional cities across the UK.
Represented by Colliers International, we have been able to tackle the various challenges we have faced in the property landscape across the country. We have secured three prime regional openings in 2017 in Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol, with the aim to open a further two in prime regional shopping destinations by the end of year.
Navigating locations outside of the capital has generally been more straightforward as the prime pitch position for acquiring property is often more apparent. The challenge with expansion is ensuring that the appropriate infrastructure that would enable us to best serve our customers is in place, so train stations and shopping centres are a priority.
However, we often find that the landlord consent process is time-consuming and streamlining this process could make roll-out so much more efficient. We also find that our very specific, 150 sq ft to 500 sq ft size requirement means that there are limited options in prime shopping centres, it is very competitive and landlords are currently tending to favour A3 food operators for units of this size.
We are still working to build iSmash’s reputation regionally and we have found that with institutional landlords this takes time. However, I am hoping to increase our nationwide store portfolio to 50 by 2019, so we are continuing to seek out new ventures in hotspots around the country, with the eventual ambition to expand internationally. A streamlined way to ensure that property connects efficiently with occupiers would help us enormously.
