Westfield London is set to open a Christmas rental pop-up space on its premises, offering a range of festive products for consumers to loan.
The range stocked in the ‘A Very Rental Christmas’ shop, which will open between 3-13 December, has been curated by television presenter, Laura Whitmore. She talked up the sustainability angle of the new initiative, which includes ‘eco-friendly’ potted Christmas trees among the products on sale.
Decorative lights, traditional and modern decorations, and tableware are among the other Christmas rental SKUs, and all proceeds from the store will go towards the centre’s charity partner, Save the Children, which itself will stock seasonal sweaters to rent.
Whitmore, who presents I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Now!, remarked: “This Christmas, creating the perfect festive atmosphere at home will be more important than ever as more people celebrate at home.
“I love the idea of renting things we only use once a year – it’s more sustainable and also means you can try out new styles of decorations each year, which I love to do. This year I’ve gone for a Great Gatsby theme on my tree.”
Whether for sustainability reasons or not, there is a rising rental retail trend in the UK. Westfield parent company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s latest ‘How We Shop’ research shows 44% of millennials are looking to rent something festive this year.
Trees (40%) and decorations (38%) were the most requested products for rental, followed by board games (30%).
Whitmore and a team of stylists curated the store following four key themes: Japandi, a trend inspired by Scandinavian and Japanese minimalism; The Great Gatsby; Monochrome Romance, which features some rich red colours; and ‘Dreaming of a White Christmas’.
The website for booking a visit to the pop-up opened yesterday (30 November), and consumers have the option of booking a virtual consultation with a home stylist, browsing and renting the trends, and using the click & collect service from the centre to procure their goods.
Virtual stylist sessions, VIP previews and private consultations will be available to consumers on 1 and 2 December, for free.
The potted trees available at the store are from Christmas on the Hill, while furniture comes from rental company Harth.
Scott Parsons, UK & Italy managing director for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, commented: “Whether it is to support sustainable products and services, catch up on lost shopping days in November or to allow shoppers to trial products without having to store them for the rest of the year, A Very Rental Christmas Store is sure to be a huge hit this year.”
All rented items from space need to be returned to Westfield London on the 9 and 10 January 2021.
[Image credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire for Westfield London]
