Q&A with Rob Kirk
Continuing the Q&A series with key figures from The Howard de Walden Estate
Earlier this year, when Jenny Casebourne went on maternity leave, Rob Kirk joined our business as Head of Retail & Leisure. We spoke to him about the challenges of the past few months and how Marylebone Village has responded.
Rob, you joined the business in January and within a few months we were in lock-down. How has it been?
It has, of course, been a personally and professionally difficult time for everyone. All our occupiers and the team here have been striving to respect the situation and maintain continuity wherever possible, despite the challenges. When I joined in January and reviewed what was ongoing and what was coming up it probably meant I would be naturally talking to about 25% of our retailers/restaurateurs. Fast forward to mid-March and the need was then to engage directly with every occupier and immediately. Luckily the business has some strong relationships with our occupiers, which has made it easier in part. Despite the enormity of the situation and the unknown of what's going on throughout this pandemic, there has been a strong personal aspect in the dialogue.
Could anything from your career have prepared you for this?
Absolutely not, and I think we’re all in the same situation in that respect. I previously worked with Shaftesbury who have large holdings in Soho, Covent Garden and Chinatown and it was always important to know our customers and build relationships, so knowing our customers and working with them has always been key. I think the real positive that has come out of it is the spirit of collaboration that has prevailed throughout.
What’s the current situation across the Estate’s retail and leisure portfolio?
Well, there’s clearly a long way to go before we reach a resemblance of normal trading but retailers are looking at the proposed June 15th reopening date and we hope many of them will open, if they are able to. A lot of the food and drink businesses across Marylebone Village continue to be extremely inventive by providing takeaway and delivery services to diversify their offering and to enable people to enjoy more than the contents of their own fridge. We continue to discuss the survival of businesses, their re-building and re-opening whilst we all get to grips with a different world.
And this week we have the digital Marylebone Festival?
Yes, it’s the result of an amazing collaboration with businesses across Marylebone Village. The Festival, which happens every June, has played a big part of our year so to be able to still do something has been really important to us and hopefully to our occupiers and consumers. Each day of the Festival has a different theme and there will be an extensive programme of online events. It’s a hugely exciting project and a great effort by our Marketing and Events team. We want to do everything we can to help promote Marylebone Village and hopefully this will help showcase what we have to offer to consumers and encourage people back to the area as business starts back.
Where in Marylebone Village are you most looking forward to visiting when we get back to a more normal way of life?
Having just had my first few days back in the office in Marylebone I think whilst we have managed the business well remotely, speaking to colleagues face-to-face (safely of course) reminds me how much socialising plays a part in our working lives. So I would say having a pint in the sunshine at The Coachmakers Arms in Marylebone Lane sounds very attractive.
