Appear Here’s Ross Bailey on fixing real estate’s existential crisis

When retail pop-up marketplace Appear Here and developer LandsecU+I began a project to revitalise a half-empty two-acre site next to Deptford station two years ago, the team started with one question: why did this street deserve to exist? For Ross Bailey, founder and chief executive of Appear Here, it is a question that should form the core of all real estate strategies. He suggests it is where some of London’s biggest shopping destinations fall short. “I think some of the big streets in London are failing because they don’t know why they deserve to exist anymore,” Bailey tells EG over a pint outside a bar nestled in Deptford’s heritage railway arches on a busy Friday evening. “What is Oxford Street? Sorry, but getting rid of a few sweet shops isn’t going to change that. It’s about asking: who wants stores that big? How does that street represent London or the UK? And what does that mean? “For somewhere small like here, this isn’t about the rest of London, or even south London. It’s about south-east London, and it’s about Deptford. If we can make a place for Deptford, we can make a place for south-east London.” From that starting point, Deptford Market Yard, SE8, was born. Its 20 shops, restaurants and artists’ studios are occupied by entrepreneurs from within a two-mile radius. Flags above the archways are designed by local primary school children, while metal signage has been replaced by hand-painted designs. The site is overseen by a project leader based minutes away from the street. A seven-strong Deptford “committee of culture” has been assembled to consult on the street, including menswear designer Bianca Saunders and musician Tom Rasmussen. To create an intimate atmosphere, covered seating structures with heaters were added to create a walkway, while string lighting and greenery above the arches have lowered sight lines. Several olive trees, planters and sandwich board signs line the pathway. “Everything is by someone in Deptford,” says Bailey. “It’s somewhere that feels like your little street.” He goes on to describe the street as a simple concept. “It’s not particularly all shiny or all-singing, but the stories are special and individual,” he says. Curating by dots Bailey says the project leans into Deptford’s changing social dynamics, as more people relocate from Peckham and similar areas. By keeping it hyper-local, the scheme lands on the right side of gentrification. Deptford Market Yard is producing five times the income it generated before Appear Here took over, according to Bailey. “It’s about respecting what is already in Deptford, and making it local, but also respecting how it is changing,” he says. “We wanted to create something authentic – still cool and relevant, but also a bit older. We wanted [businesses] that hadn’t really been anywhere else first and super-local. “You don’t want to gentrify somewhere, but gentrification shouldn’t mean you can’t create beautiful places. If the money is going to people from the area and building great stuff, that’s progress. Whereas if you’re building something and going, ‘Let’s put a chain or some entrepreneurs from Fulham into the area,’ that’s wrong. Making it local is right.” Curating the tenant line-up, says Bailey, does not rely on decisions based on “asset and yield”. Rather, it is about determining the way occupiers can feed into each other. From there, the returns follow. “I’m not against big brands,” he adds. In the past, the business has facilitated pop-ups for luxury fashion houses and celebrities such as Harry Styles, Elton John and Madonna, as well as a bookshop for Michelle Obama’s autobiography. “We do stores for Gucci, Loewe, Chanel – we wouldn’t put them here. But could I put Dazed here doing a newsagents, with Goldsmiths around the corner? Probably.” Bailey likens the approach to an impressionist painting. “Every single dot needs to be considered and thought about,” he says. “They won’t all make sense, but when we step back, hopefully it will be a beautiful painting.” Braving a blank slate We head into a buzzing pop-up exhibition on the corner held by 22-year-old artist and actor Isaac Andrews. The collection, attended by more than 300 visitors, is curated by Andrews to display works by emerging artists within a gallery space for free. One artwork has been snapped up by rapper Little Simz, and rumours swirl of a minor royal spotted earlier. “The kid who played God in Ridley Scott’s Exodus, Little Simz and a Windsor walk into a room,” quips Bailey. “Where is it? In Deptford.” He adds: “There needs to be more excitement about collaboration in real estate. I’m excited about the world we’re creating. Why is it that young, smart kids are going into technology, or that incredibly creative people are going into fashion? Because they want to make a change.” Is property too set in its ways? Ross suspects it is. “In real estate, when you’re doing something, you’re creating the real world, not an imaginary one,” he says. “There are not enough people in real estate who ask themselves, ‘Why do we do what we do?’ Of course, to make money and create returns, but why do we do it here, and how are we touching people’s lives? Too often it’s straight into, ‘This is how it’s done.’ “When you look at luxury fashion and [creative] industries, it’s all about questioning, challenging and changing views. Real estate is often about doing the same and getting frustrated when people suggest doing it differently. What’s amazing about LandsecU+I was that it was up for giving it a go and working from a blank slate.” Rebuilding from scratch Like many of Deptford Market Yard’s entrepreneurs, Appear Here was forced to adjust to a new reality. In 2019, the business was flying high, having raised more than £40m over the years. “At points, we had offers for more than double what we’d ever raised,” says Bailey. It employed more than 200 people with shops in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles, and there were plans to open six more offices. But then the country went into lockdown. Revenue plummeted by 95% over the course of a weekend. “It stayed that way for two years,” says Bailey. The business had to be built back up from scratch, and had to let go of 80% of its team to survive. “I got upset and felt a little bit sorry,” says Bailey. “I was working every evening, trying to keep the company alive, because I wanted everyone to keep their jobs and give the investors their money. There was a lot of pressure.” Having pushed through it, Bailey’s advice for entrepreneurs looking to get through tough times is threefold. The first is to remind yourself that, although it “feels horrible”, it is not a life-or-death situation. “You have to remind yourself that it’s not serious,” he says. He also recalls words of wisdom shared by Belgian fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg. “She told me, ‘Ross, your life is a story – this is the good chapter. What makes it a story is the chapter you do next.’” As for his third tip, Bailey says he dug deep to reflect and “go back to why we started”. “I asked myself: why am I doing this?” he says. By reaffirming his belief in shops and streets, he doubled down on Appear Here’s goal to empower entrepreneurs and provide spaces for their ideas. Since the pandemic, the business has proven its resilience. “We built a new team, we survived, we somehow managed to get rid of our debt,” says Bailey. A new UK managing director, Otto Laghzaoui, was appointed earlier this year, and the business is reopening in Paris, with New York to follow soon. Meanwhile, Appear Here’s London business – now in its 10th year – is “bigger than it’s ever been”.  Some 2,000 brands in its circa 250,000-strong occupier database are applying individually for a store in central London every month. “London is launching more stores, doing bigger numbers and getting more demand than ever,” says Bailey. “If we had enough shops in Notting Hill alone, we could open 40 tomorrow. “There shouldn’t be an empty shop. That’s why I’d love for some of the big landlords to work with us.” Under 10% of its demand is fulfilled, Bailey adds. “We need more stores. There are thousands of entrepreneurs and people with ideas who are looking for space. They could be making more money, filling their stores and – like this street – creating amazing places.” All they have to do is have a reason to exist. Photo © Appear Here