London, 11th June 2022 –

Ibrahim Ibrahim, Managing Director of Portland Design and a regular keynote speaker, has just published his first book: ‘Future-Ready Retail’. After many years of delivering keynote presentations on future consumer trends and their impact on the physical retail space, he has finally put pen to paper and has written his first book which was published earlier this month!

In the book, (published by Kogan Page), he explores the future customer experience, how to re-build retail places, re-ignite our high streets and shopping centres whilst galvanising communities.

Given the context that we are living in, with physical shops facing challenging and unprecedented times, Future-Ready Retail explains how changing consumer needs, the impact of digital and the issues around sustainability and wellness have transformed retail and provides compelling solutions to help re-imagine the high street and out-of-town malls.

Conventional high streets and shopping malls throughout the world no longer attract the crowds needed to sustain them as successful commercial spaces. Suffering from the effects of online shopping, changing consumer attitudes and expectations, and the legacy impact of Covid, there’s a sense of urgency and the need to address the decline in physical retail.

Ibrahim comments: “It’s about the future of retail and what impact that will have on our communities, cities, malls and main streets. I believe it’s a subject that is very current and important to our firm and our clients. Also, I am a board member of the UK Government’s ‘High Street Task Force’, where the topic is deemed very urgent”.

Note to Editors – Ibrahim Ibrahim

Ibrahim Ibrahim is a futurist, retail strategist and designer, based in London, UK. He has been a regular speaker at conferences for over 20 years and is a frequent contributor to journals and the trade press and for The Economist ‘Insights’. He is the Managing Director of Portland Design, part of the Chicago-based Perkins & Will global architecture and design network.

He is a Board Member of the UK Government’s High Street Task Force, Advisory Board Member for the Centre for London Think Tank on town centre regeneration and is a member of the Regeneration and Infrastructure Council at ULI (Urban Land Institute).

Note to Editors – Portland Design

Established in 1987, Portland Design is a London-based, multi-disciplinary design agency and one of the most forward-thinking practices in the world.

We are a collective of creative individuals strong on research and insights, brand communications, retail masterplanning, public realm design, signage and wayfinding and retail and F&B design. In November 2015 Portland was acquired by US architectural firm, Perkins & Will which means we also have access to a full range of architectural services on a global basis.

Clients (past & present) include British Land, CBRE Global Investors, Coima, Ellandi, Legal & General Investment Management, Oxford Properties, Coima, Heathrow Airport, HMSHost, HS2, Nestlé, Roundhill Capital, Transport for London, Unilever and Vienna International Airport.