What: London has closed a half-mile stretch of Oxford Street to traffic, between Selfridges and Ikea, as part of a long-term £150mn plan to turn it into a pedestrian destination that rivals Fifth Avenue and the Champs-Élysées.

Why it is important: Flagship demand on Oxford Street is moving toward large-format, experiential stores and Asian entrants, the same logic that is pushing luxury brands and John Lewis toward hospitality-led flagships that compete with department stores for the same visits.

A half-mile stretch of Oxford Street, between Selfridges and Ikea, closes to traffic on Monday after decades of failed proposals. The closure is part of a long-term £150mn plan to create public spaces for promotional events and compete with Fifth Avenue, Via del Corso and the Champs-Élysées.

The street is recovering from a difficult decade marked by the demise of Debenhams and House of Fraser, then the pandemic. According to Savills, vacancies reached 13.7% in 2022, and western rents fell from £1,100 per sq ft in 2016 to £600 in 2021. Over the past year, 39 store deals were signed and vacancies dropped below 1%. Western rents average £850 per sq ft, still more than 20% below the 2016 peak, and footfall remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Miniso and Pop Mart have joined Zara, Nike and Warner Bros in investing in flagships. Miniso will convert the former HMV space into a theme park-style store, while Warner Bros opens its Harry Potter store next month. Property agents credit the Elizabeth Line for helping persuade some top brands to reinvest. Most retailers back the scheme, including John Lewis, although the plan remains controversial with residents and Londoners facing changed transport routes.

IADS Notes: Oxford Street's pedestrianisation follows a policy push that already had retailer backing when the Financial Times reported in February 2026 that the mayor was advancing the plan, with vacancies down to a historic low of 0.5% by May 2025 on more than £300 million of private investment. The experiential logic behind the flagships now taking space reflects a wider shift: Forbes reported in September 2026 that luxury brands are concentrating capital in fewer, larger flagships with hospitality, events and private-client areas, competing with department stores for the same visits. John Lewis has applied that logic on the street itself, and its Press Release, August 2026 on the Oxford Street Platter flagship put hospitality above 20% of in-store transactions. The arrival of Asian brands in Western retail markets was already visible in Inside Retail, January 2026, which covered Pop Mart's plan for more than 20 US mall stores built around experiential formats. On the policy side, Retail Week reported in September 2026 that Selfridges' operating profit rose 88% to £79.7m while its CEO kept calling for the return of tax-free shopping for international visitors.

Oxford Street bans cars in bid to revive its fortunes