Tube crisis batters Oxford Street

THE lengthy closure of the London Underground Central line is costing Oxford Street stores tens of millions of pounds, as shoppers shun the retail thoroughfare in favour of out-of-town malls.

The three-week shutdown has resulted in dramatic sales slumps, and has prompted one City stockbroking firm to advise clients to dump shares in Selfridges.

The Central line runs underneath the mile-and-a-half shopping strip, with stops at Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road - normally four of the busiest stations on the network.

The closure, following the 25 January derailment at Chancery Lane, means many shoppers are have to take the bus or endure long journeys involving changes of trains to get to Oxford Street.

The John Lewis department store said it had seen sales drop by up to 14% in the week after 25 January, followed by a further fall of 5%.

The difficulties could not come at a worse time for the West End, which is still suffering from falling visitor numbers after the 11 September attacks, compounded by the heightened terrorist threat. There are also fears the congestion charge, which starts on Monday, will deter more shoppers.

Graham Voce, a manager at the Covent Garden recruitment agency just off Oxford Street, said: 'There are definitely fewer tourists and mums with shopping bags around. The real litmus test will be next week when half-term starts. The traders normally rely on the mums coming up to town at half-term to do their shopping.'

Retail analyst Iain McDonald, of City stockbrokers Numis Securities, has switched his recommendation on Selfridges shares from a buy to a sell. He said: 'With Heathrow airport on a high terrorist alert, the Central line closed and the introduction of the central London congestion charge, customer flow into the capital is highly likely to be hit and hence all trading on Oxford Street.

'Although Selfridges is a real destination store, people don't have to shop there. Shopping is supposed to be a pleasure but, if it entails a horrible journey, it ceases to be one.'

Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Evolution Beeson Gregory, said: 'Shoppers will simply go to places that are easier to access like Brent Cross and Bluewater.'

Gareth Thomas, director of selling at John Lewis, said: 'Our drop in sales in the first week after the Central line closed was compounded by the bad weather. But we attribute the 5% drop last week totally to the closure of the Central line. Because of the terrorist threat, we expect that figure to be even worse next week.

'It is a serious concern to us and to most retailers on Oxford Street. We are not as dependent on tourists as other outlets. I would imagine they are suffering much worse than us.'