The Mall Ilford
Encyclopedia
The Exchange is the main retail shopping mall
in the town centre
of Ilford
, officially within the London Borough of Redbridge
(though the postal county is historically given as Essex). It was owned by The Mall Fund for a period of time but has now been sold and reverted to its original name of The Exchange Mall. It trades from three levels of retail, though its architectural design layout has resulted in the lower floor of retail being separated into two parts, meaning customers wishing to access both parts of the lower level have to travel between the sections via the middle level. There is also an upper level of retail and food court
facilities accessed from the middle level. Transit between levels is via a series of lifts, stairs and escalators within the Mall; in addition, some stores trade from two or more levels of the mall.
The Exchange's anchor stores are Debenhams
(formerly Allders
), Marks & Spencer
, TK Maxx and Wilkinson's (the latter of which occupies a former Woolworths
store). A new Primark store has opened adjacent to the Exchange.
Other major stores within The Mall Ilford include WH Smith, New Look, Sports Direct
, Clinton Cards
, Burger King
, HMV
, Ryman
, Poundland
, Peacocks, 99p Stores
, The Body Shop
and GAME
.
The design and layout of some of the stores is notable: the Marks & Spencer
store is bisected by the Mall site: at ground level it is accessile from the High Road by its external doors either side of the Mall entrance, whilst on the middle level of the mall it is accessible from two entrances facing opposite each other (as in The Mall Bexleyheath
). One of the two sides of M&S is also publicly accessible from the Upper level of the Mall. TK Maxx was initially two separate stores facing each other on opposite sides of the Mall, but this has more recently been changed, with the extension of TK Maxx across the mall area to create a single unified store, in effect splitting the lower mall into three segments, with a third section around the Cranbrook Road entrance (by Wilkinson) which is now separated from the other main part of the lower mall by TK Maxx.
Past architectural features of the mall were a, now defunct, granite floating sphere and a wishing fountain.
The centre is accessible by car, with access to parking via Havelock Street and Ley Street. The centre is also served by the numerous Transport for London
bus services which serve central Ilford.
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
in the town centre
Town centre
The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...
of Ilford
Ilford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
, officially within the London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
(though the postal county is historically given as Essex). It was owned by The Mall Fund for a period of time but has now been sold and reverted to its original name of The Exchange Mall. It trades from three levels of retail, though its architectural design layout has resulted in the lower floor of retail being separated into two parts, meaning customers wishing to access both parts of the lower level have to travel between the sections via the middle level. There is also an upper level of retail and food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
facilities accessed from the middle level. Transit between levels is via a series of lifts, stairs and escalators within the Mall; in addition, some stores trade from two or more levels of the mall.
The Exchange's anchor stores are Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
(formerly Allders
Allders
Allders is an independent department store in Croydon, established by Joshua Allder in 1862. It is the fourth-largest department store in the United Kingdom.The Croydon store was the flagship of a large chain of department stores in the UK...
), Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, TK Maxx and Wilkinson's (the latter of which occupies a former Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
store). A new Primark store has opened adjacent to the Exchange.
Other major stores within The Mall Ilford include WH Smith, New Look, Sports Direct
Sports Direct
Sports Direct International plc is a British retailing group. Founded in 1982 by former county squash coach Mike Ashley, the company is now the UK's largest sporting retailer through a number of retail subsidiaries and sports equipment brands. Although now a publicly traded company on the London...
, Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards is a chain of stores in the UK founded in 1968 by Don Lewin. Mostly selling greeting cards, as the name suggests, the chain claims to be "the largest specialist retailer of greetings cards, plush merchandise and related products in the UK with over 700 shops." They used to be...
, Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
, Ryman
Ryman
Ryman is the largest British stationery retailer, historically based in London, now based in its £100m headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire.-Formation:...
, Poundland
Poundland
Poundland is a British-based variety store chain which sells every item in its stores for £1. Established in April 1990 by Dave Dodd and Stephen Smith, Poundland stock a variety of around 3,000 home and kitchen-ware, gifts, healthcare and other products, across 16 categories many of which are brand...
, Peacocks, 99p Stores
99p Stores
99p Stores Ltd is a family run business founded in January 2001 by entrepreneur Nadir Lalani, who opened the first store in the chain in Holloway, London, with a further three stores opening later that year...
, The Body Shop
The Body Shop
The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company...
and GAME
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
.
The design and layout of some of the stores is notable: the Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
store is bisected by the Mall site: at ground level it is accessile from the High Road by its external doors either side of the Mall entrance, whilst on the middle level of the mall it is accessible from two entrances facing opposite each other (as in The Mall Bexleyheath
The Mall Bexleyheath
Broadway Shopping Centre, , is the principal covered shopping centre in the town centre of Bexleyheath and is the largest single covered shopping facility in the London Borough of Bexley.The centre opened in its current form in 1984, underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2007, and had...
). One of the two sides of M&S is also publicly accessible from the Upper level of the Mall. TK Maxx was initially two separate stores facing each other on opposite sides of the Mall, but this has more recently been changed, with the extension of TK Maxx across the mall area to create a single unified store, in effect splitting the lower mall into three segments, with a third section around the Cranbrook Road entrance (by Wilkinson) which is now separated from the other main part of the lower mall by TK Maxx.
Past architectural features of the mall were a, now defunct, granite floating sphere and a wishing fountain.
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
bus services which serve central Ilford.