Jonathan Rolande: What agents can learn from Wilko collapse

In his latest column Jonathan Rolande looks at the future of estate agnts on the high street.  

You only need to walk down a High Street to see how much it’s changed now from 10 years ago.

These days the main success stories appear to be coffee shops, nail bars and barbers.

I find the death of many high streets incredibly sad, and the news about Wilko’s closure, which comes hot on the heels of Clintons and Argos announcing it will shut stores, does nothing to lift the retail spirits. 

It seems likely that Wilko will close their 400 stores before long unless a buyer is found, and even then we can still expect many casualties as the business is inevitably re-structured.

And, make no mistake, there’s  a knock-on effect for those of us in the property business.

With 400 branches, there will be thousands of agency branches close-by who will be dreading the loss of footfall and boarded-up windows that may be imminent.  

It's fair to say that many of the Wilkos shoppers weren’t directly our buyers and sellers, but the general hustle and bustle of our High Street will take another knock and that’s not good. 

Many agents, already fed up paying sky-high rent and business rates plus the obligatory parking issues will be questioning whether it is worth retaining their presence. And so they should. Let’s face it, most of our business now comes from portals, acquaintances, recommendations, search engines and social media. When was the last time somebody was just passing and popped in to buy a house? 

But I believe there is still a solid justification for retaining the space.

Perhaps the most compelling reason is this – where else would you go? Remote working doesn’t work in this industry which is all about service and not much about retail. Others have tried and have either failed, or are on the cusp of failure. I’ll mention no name…

That big sheet of glass between you and your clients means you stay connected with them – something you don’t get on the 12th floor of a grey office block.

Space is getting cheaper. As others leave the High St, and it means comparable rents fall. I’ve known many estate agent tenants just accept rent increases – ironic for those who are in the trade. At your next review, fight hard for good value.

Sellers like real offices, even online. In other words, when they Google and Streetview us before selling, they like to see a well-presented office. Part of my work involves instructing agents in areas I’ve never even been to, let alone know who is a good agent nearby. I always check their office front when deciding, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

Loss of prestige is another factor too – if you leave, you can bet your competitors will use it in their pitch against you, it could be a downward spiral.

So you see, I firmly believe there is a place for us in shopping parades, visible and ready to help. But things have changed around us. People aren’t spending like they did thanks to inflation and when they spend, online takes an ever-growing share.

Our High Streets need to evolve more, and faster. People want pleasant town centres with things to see, do and experience. A shop that just tries to compete with Amazon with higher prices is doomed of course. We can breathe new life into towns by creating more housing, and allowing cafes and bars to more easily use outside space.

The stakes are high on this. If we can solve the emerging crisis on our High Streets and regenerate them effectively then our sector can really reap the benefits for years to come