Custom sneaker brand is among Oxford Street’s first four shops in ground-breaking new project

• CANVVS, the sneaker customisation platform, is among one of the first occupiers to secure a store on Oxford Street after campaign to introduce new and exciting brands and creatives to fill vacant premises
• CANVVS designed footwear worn by Three Lions and Lionesses
• Descendant of Cadbury founder is also to open store for sustainable chocolate brand Love Cocoa close to Bond Street
• Luxury linen brand Kindred of Ireland and British knitwear label Hades also opening in Mayfair
• Westminster City Council and landlords Places for London (TfL’s property company) and Royal London Asset Management Property have worked to bring new tenants to the West End

A custom sneaker brand worn by Ed Sheeran and Gareth Southgate’s England squad will be among the first shops to open on Oxford Street as part of a landmark project by Westminster City Council to bring new and exciting brands to one of the world’s most iconic shopping streets.

CANVVS will open its doors in the coming months as part of a multi-million pound campaign to rejuvenate the world-famous destination.

The Meanwhile On project was set up to provide prime location shops for innovative brands at reduced rent using both vacant spaces on Oxford Street and, in some cases, those formerly occupied by low quality businesses.

The three-year campaign by Westminster City Council will set up each brand in a prime store location with significant relief on business rates, budget for store design, and operational and promotional support along with mentoring from project delivery partner Someday Studios.

With London’s Oxford Street and West End significantly impacted by both the economic downturn and changing shopping habits, this campaign represents a key part of the Westminster City Council’s efforts to revitalise the world-famous street and bring new retailers and experiences. It is part of the Council’s wider Fairer Economy plan for a vibrant and sustainable West End, investing in high streets throughout the borough and enabling jobs for local communities.

Over 800 applications have been received from innovative new businesses since the campaign was announced last year.

Now, the first of a diverse wave of exciting brands is set to open on Europe’s busiest shopping street.

Thanks to Places for London, TfL’s wholly owned property company, Westminster City Council will bring these new retailers to prime central London locations.

Places for London has provided two high quality units at reduced rent in the heart of London’s most famous shopping street to house CANVVS and Love Cocoa.

These new units will be a short walk away from Bond Street station, which is served by the Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines and regularly sees around 120,000 entries and exits a day.

CANVVS’ unique sneakers have been worn by ‘Shape of You’ star Ed Sheeran, the Lionesses following their inspiring Euro 2022 win, and Gareth Southgate’s England squad. Southgate, Harry Kane and Phil Foden also wore CANVVS customs during the 2022 World Cup.

Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development said:

“We set up our Meanwhile On initiative in a bid to tackle the number of vacant stores and poor-quality offerings. With a huge number of excellent businesses applying, I’m delighted that these first brands are kicking off the project – showcasing innovation, quality, creativity and sustainability.”

“By supporting these new small businesses with reduced rent and business rates and promotional and operational support – in the heart of London’s West End – we hope this provides them with a platform for growth and contributes to the diversification and rejuvenation of our high streets, especially Oxford Street.”

Alex Murray, founder CANVVS said:

"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to open our first store in the heart of Oxford Street. Our mission is to empower sneaker creators, and being centre stage in such an iconic location will help us to uplift a huge range of new talent.

“We will be showcasing and supporting a community of local creators at the store who until now have been underserved, underrepresented and largely undiscovered. CANVVS is changing this dynamic and shining a light on this fast-growing group of entrepreneurial and deserving individuals.

“We are so grateful to Westminster City Council and Places for London for providing us with the support to set up our business and the location in which to set up shop. It’s an incredible opportunity to bring wearable art and unexpected experiences into the spotlight, and we can’t wait to start trading.”

As the quality level and volume of applications was so high, the Meanwhile On programme was able to expand beyond Oxford Street, transforming vacant spaces across the wider Westminster area.

One such business will be sustainable luxury chocolate brand Love Cocoa, set up by a descendant of the original Cadbury founder.

The chocolatier will open its doors at 36 South Molton Street in the autumn, made possible by landlord Places for London.

Set up by James Cadbury, the great-great-great-grandson of the world-famous chocolatier, James has worked hard to build up his business from scratch, independently from his family, to make modern, luxury chocolate in an ethical and sustainable way.

Love Cocoa Founder James Cadbury said:

“We are so excited to open our first Love Cocoa store this autumn. We’ve always dreamed of opening a shop and thanks to Westminster Council and Places for London, we’re now able to do so in our dream location, in our home city in London.

“Our own retail space is a real milestone for us as a brand, allowing us to share our sustainably sourced chocolate with more people than ever before, through our retail range of bars and truffles, as well as a brand new hospitality offer including ice cream and hot chocolate”.

Already open to trading this month, this time thanks to landlords Royal London, at 31 Brook Street, are luxury Irish linen brand Kindred of Ireland, run by husband and wife team Amy and Joel Anderson, taking over their space from Barakat gallery.

Amy Anderson, founder said:

"We are thrilled to join the 'Meanwhile On' programme, an incredible opportunity to bring our unique storytelling retail experience to the heart of Mayfair. At Kindred of Ireland, we celebrate the rich heritage of Irish linen and the stories that make each of our clothing pieces special.

“From the history of the fabric to the local linen suppliers and seamstresses, we aim to bring people closer to their clothing, showcasing the full journey from heritage to contemporary, sustainable design. In an increasingly globalised industry, this initiative allows us to reconnect customers with the craftsmanship and longstanding heritage of their garments."

Meanwhile, classic British knitwear brand Hades, a favourite of Alexa Chung and Tilda Swinton, will launch in the same location at the start of September, completing the first of the four businesses to launch.

Hades Founder Cassie Holland said:

“We're delighted to launch our first commercial space in Mayfair this September. As an independent brand, the opportunity to present our collections to both existing and new customers in-person, in such a strong location, is extremely exciting. We are grateful to have a space where we can connect with customers in a new and more direct way than ever before. Through the store, we will showcase HADES and British manufacturing.”

Becky Jones Co-founder of Someday Studios, said:

“When the campaign launched last year, we were blown away by the level of public support and the huge number of high-quality applications we received - from celebrity-backed social enterprises and fast-growth digital brands, to beautiful small-batch craftsmanship. Oxford Street really means something to Londoners, and as the project develops, we’re looking forward to diving deeper into what, and who, our future streets should be for.

"With the right support, we truly believe these first brands can become the next retail superstars, and we’re delighted to help them open their doors onto a global stage for the first time.”

Laura Fernie, Head of Commercial Offices at Places for London, said:

“We are delighted to be able to support the project that aligns well with our efforts to bring exciting new tenants to our portfolio for everyone in London to enjoy. Our estate stretches across London and is home to more than 1,500 businesses, 95 per cent of which are small to medium sized enterprises. By taking up the opportunity to be on the world-famous street, we hope to see CANVVS and Love Cocoa go from strength to strength and will be with them every step of the way.”

Michael Lawrence, Head of Retail at Royal London Asset Management Property, said:

"As a long-term investor in the area, we are committed to ensuring Mayfair continues to offer its visitors a first-class retail experience – which we understand to mean a diverse, quality offering. We are thrilled to be partnering with Westminster Council alongside Someday Studios to bring Kindred of Ireland and Hades – two brilliant and much-admired brands – to Brook Street, supporting them as they grow and bringing them to a wider audience."

On Monday 15th July, Westminster City Council’s Cabinet approved the delivery of the Stage 3 Design for the Oxford Street Programme project, as part of its commitment to continue to rejuvenate the world class West End.